AM John 2:23-3:15

[0:00] Okay, sir. Thank you. Again, let me use the Heidelberg Catechism to lead us into prayer.

[0:13] Question number 86. Since then we are redeemed from our misery by grace through Christ without any merit of ours. Why must we do good works?

[0:24] The answer is because Christ having redeemed us by His blood, renews us also by His Holy Spirit after His own image, that with our whole life we may show ourselves thankful to God for His blessing, and that He may be glorified through us, then also that we ourselves may be assured of our faith by the fruits thereof, and by our godly walk may win others also to Christ.

[0:59] Let us unite our hearts in prayer. Let us pray. Our gracious God and eternal Heavenly Father, we bow before you this day once again to praise you and to worship you, to glory in the splendor of your revelation to us, and particularly the splendor of that revelation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[1:27] But we thank you, Heavenly Father, that from the very first days of time here on earth, you revealed yourself in the wonder and splendor of your creation, that men and women would look round, would see the hills and the trees, would see the order of the changing seasons, and would know that your almighty hand was at work, creating, sustaining, transforming, bringing order out of chaos, bringing light out of darkness, bringing life from nothing.

[2:12] And praise you, Heavenly Father, is what we delight to do, because we now have an even greater understanding of you as God, as you as creator, because we know about your only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, very God himself, who came among us in all his splendor, and in all his fullness, taking the form of a man, becoming obedient unto death, even death on the cross.

[2:50] And Heavenly Father, as we gather here, we thank you for that grace that brought us to this place, that that grace that saved us and redeemed us, that that grace that chose us, even before the beginning of the world.

[3:09] And so, Heavenly Father, as we bow, we do so in deep gratitude, for the faith that you have given those of us who believe. And we pray, Heavenly Father, for any who are still to come to faith.

[3:26] We pray that they might know and understand your goodness, and your grace, that they might be drawn by the love and mercy, proclaimed in the cross, and through your gospel.

[3:43] And we do pray, Heavenly Father, that in this day and age, that in judgment, you might remember mercy. that in these days of woe, and worry, and fear, that you might yet see mercy, and grace, working in the lives of people who have yet to come to you, Heavenly Father.

[4:09] Father, we remember that in the New Testament, there was still some in this town, who were yours, that did not yet know you.

[4:20] And we pray, Heavenly Father, that for this town of Dumfries, that might yet be the case. That you might not have turned your heart from this town, or this community, or these people.

[4:37] That you might yet revive this place. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that that might begin with each one of us. Forgive us for the great sin of expecting, the church, to be something that we ourselves, are not prepared to be.

[4:56] Forgive our foolish ways. Forgive us when we fail to witness, as you have called us to witness, as salt and light, in this world.

[5:11] Truly forgive our foolish ways. When we have wandered from the path, when we have lived, contrary to your word, when we have failed to engage in witness.

[5:29] Father, in mercy and in grace, renew us through the power of your Holy Spirit. that that Holy Spirit might be so evident in our lives, that people might look at us, and indeed see something of Jesus.

[5:50] Father, we confess our sin before you. We are sinners, and we have sinned. In mercy and in grace, Father, forgive us.

[6:13] Hear our confessions. May your Holy Spirit so live in our lives, that we truly repent of those sins. and rouse us, heavenly Father, to be a people of power, and a people of praise, in the celebration of your grace, and your gospel.

[6:36] Hear these our prayers, heavenly Father. Forgive our sins. Renew our lives. For we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

[6:49] Amen. Now, Thomas. I'm going to speak this morning.

[7:01] What I thought I would do is, I've got to know some of the children's names, who are in the church. And I thought today, I would start with the name Thomas.

[7:13] So that was why I was so glad, that you were here today. And you'll find your name in the Bible. No. And it, it, he was an important person, in the Bible.

[7:27] He was one of the people, that Jesus had chosen, to be part of his special group of people. Now, do you know what your name means? What does it mean?

[7:38] You don't know. It actually means, a twin. Is there two of you? No, no, there's just one of you.

[7:49] You're very special. Well, I think Thomas was probably a twin. I think probably at some point, he had a brother in the Bible. And, he was a very special.

[8:00] And, we read a wee bit about Thomas. And, there's a bit of bad news here. Because, Thomas in the Bible, was called, Doubting Thomas.

[8:14] Now, I wonder why he was called, Doubting Thomas. He was called, Doubting Thomas, because, after Jesus had died, a death on the cross, and, he died on that cross, so that our sins, might be forgiven.

[8:29] And, that was an amazing thing, for Jesus to do, for you, and for me. He died on that cross, so that our sins, might be forgiven. And then, something happened, three days later.

[8:40] Do you know what happened, three days later? What happened? Those people went to the tomb, and the tomb was empty. And, Jesus had, risen from the dead.

[8:52] He'd, he'd come alive. And, the Bible tells us about, lots and lots of times, when, people actually saw, that Jesus was alive. And, we'll maybe think about, some of those times later, when I'm here.

[9:06] But, one of the times, the disciples, were in the upper room, and Jesus came into, the middle of the room, and, and, he showed himself, to the disciples.

[9:20] And then we're told, he just suddenly, disappeared. But, somebody was missing, that day, from that group of people. Thomas, wasn't there. Yeah.

[9:31] I don't know, why he wasn't there. He was maybe busy, doing his job, or, maybe his wife, had given him, the hoovering to do, or something, like that. But, he wasn't there. And, when he came back, the other disciples said, guess what's happened?

[9:45] Jesus has come, and he's appeared, in the midst of us. And, Thomas said, he said this, he said, I'm not sure, that I believe you. He says, unless I see, the holes in his hands, and the spear, mark in his side, I'm not going to believe.

[10:02] And, that's why he was called, Doubting Thomas. Well, the good thing was, that Jesus then appeared, and, allowed Thomas, to see, the, the, the hands, Jesus' hands, that had nails, put in them, and his side, that had the spear, put into him.

[10:20] And, that's why he was called, Doubting Thomas. But, you know, I've always thought, that Thomas, got a bit of a hard deal, being called, Doubting Thomas.

[10:32] Because, his doubt, wasn't really, that he didn't believe, in Jesus. What he wanted, was to actually, see that Jesus, had physically, risen from the dead.

[10:47] And, you know, I think Thomas, was partly right, in saying, unless I see, his hands, and his side, I wouldn't believe.

[10:59] Because, it's very important, for all of us, that we don't just, believe, in a Jesus, who has, kind of, spiritually, risen from the dead, and made us feel, better, about things.

[11:13] That's what some people, wrongly believe, happened, that Jesus, didn't actually, rise from the dead, but, his spirit rose. That's not what, the Bible tells us. The Bible told us, that his body, rose, from the dead.

[11:28] He was dead, and became alive. And so, although Thomas, was, perhaps, a wee bit naughty, in doubting, there was actually, part of him, that was quite right, to say, that we should believe, in a Jesus, who physically, rose, from the dead.

[11:50] Thomas, is an amazing name. He's also the name, of a famous train, didn't you know that? Yes. Yeah. But, leaving aside, the famous train, I hope you'll be proud, of your name, and the fact that, it was one of the people, that Jesus chose, and that you'll live up, to that name, as, as a disciple, and as a follower, of Jesus.

[12:18] Thank you, for listening, this morning. We're just going to pray, will we? Father, we thank you, for Thomas, and the Bible, and we thank you, for Thomas, and the young people, who come to this church.

[12:31] What a joy it is, and a privilege, to be able, to bring these children, into our midst, and to tell them, stories about, a wonderful Jesus, who loves them, who cares for them, and who died, for them, on the cross.

[12:48] They are covenant children, and we thank you, for that covenant relationship. Father, we pray for all our children, we pray that, they might grow up, in the knowledge, of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that they might be, the fruits, of your kingdom, Heavenly Father.

[13:08] Bless them, this day, as they worship with us, through Jesus Christ, the Lord, we ask this. Amen. We're going to sing, again, we're going to sing, Psalm number 95, we're going to sing, the opening, six verses, O come, let us sing, to the Lord, come, let us, everyone, a joyful noise, make to the rock, of our salvation.

[13:36] Psalm number 95, to God's praise. O come, let us, sing, to the Lord, come, let us, every one, a joyful noise, make to the rock, of our salvation.

[14:11] Let us, before his salvation, come, with rich and thankful voice, let us sing, song, to live with grace, and make a joyful noise.

[14:46] For God, a great, father and great King, our God, of all God, he is, his home, feet.

[15:05] The land of rectativas, The cry that God so far in his hands Is more than words to say O God, let us more cheer thee Let us come down with hope.

[16:08] And all our need is before the Lord. Our maker let us go.

[16:31] What I want to do this morning and this evening is to focus on what I regard as one of the most significant encounters that Jesus had with an individual in the New Testament.

[16:53] The man is called Nicodemus and I'm always really, really nervous about talking about Nicodemus.

[17:05] Ever since I was a wee boy, I always get Nicodemus and Zacchaeus mixed up. And I have to think of the songs that I learned. You know, Zacchaeus was a very little man.

[17:16] A very little man was he. And Nicodemus came to Jesus one night long ago to be able to separate them in my mind. So if I'm in the middle of preaching this and I start talking about somebody else, you'll know why that is.

[17:32] So I suppose you're sitting there wondering how we're ever going to be able to spend two sermons talking about three or four verses of the Bible. But you'll see.

[17:43] You'll see. But first of all, I want us to turn to the Old Testament, to the book of Ezekiel. That's not the easiest one to find. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel.

[17:58] And if you come to Daniel, you've missed it. Chapter 36. And we're going to read from verse 22.

[18:11] This is the Word of God. Therefore, say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord. It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.

[18:32] And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

[18:51] I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanliness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

[19:12] And I will give you, and I will give you, and I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit, and I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.

[19:28] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules.

[19:39] You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all uncleanliness, and I will summon the grain, and make it abundant, and lay no famine upon you.

[20:00] I will make the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.

[20:11] Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourself for your iniquities, and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord.

[20:25] Let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord God, on that day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.

[20:48] And so on, and if you turn with me to the Gospel of John. Chapter 3.

[21:11] And we continue to read the Word of God. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

[21:34] And Jesus answered him, truly, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

[21:46] Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

[21:57] And Jesus answered, truly, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

[22:10] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, ye must be born again.

[22:24] The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

[22:38] And Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? Jesus answered him, are you of a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

[22:52] Truly, truly, truly, I speak to you. We speak of what we know, and we bear witness to what we have seen. But you do not receive our testimony.

[23:04] If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

[23:19] And Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

[23:34] What an amazing, amazing passage. Let's turn to sing again. We sing, have we just sung 92? No?

[23:48] We'll sing 92 now. We'll sing 92 now. Yep, that's great. We're going to sing Psalm 92, verses 12 to 15. The last four stanzas of Psalm 92, verses 12 to 15.

[24:04] Psalm 93, verses 12 to 15.

[24:34] Psalm 93, verses 12 to 15.

[25:04] Psalm 93, verses 12 to 15.

[25:34] Psalm 93, verses 12 to 15. Psalm 94, verses 12 to 15.

[26:04] Who show that upright is the Lord. Who show that upright is the Lord. He is our God to be.

[26:18] And he from all unrighteousness. And he from all unrighteousness. And he from all unrighteousness.

[26:34] Is all to never free. Let's pray together. Let's pray together. Let's pray together.

[26:49] Almighty God, we pray now for the ministry of your Holy Spirit to be very evident in our midst.

[26:59] That we this day will not simply hear the words of a mere man. But by the power of your Holy Spirit. But by the power of your Holy Spirit might hear the very word of God.

[27:12] We pray that that ministry of the Holy Spirit. We pray that that ministry of the Holy Spirit might renew and redirect. From cowardice that dare not face new truth. From laziness that is content with half truth.

[27:25] From arrogance that thinks it knows all truth. What we have not give us. What we know not teach us.

[27:37] And what we are not make us. And may your word speak to us. O Lord. Show us our self. Show us yourself.

[27:49] And show us the Savior. And may your word speak to us. O Lord. Amen. Well this is, as I said, one of the most amazing.

[28:09] The most amazing passages of indeed the whole of the Bible. Certainly of the New Testament. And while it would always be cautious in saying that one part of the Bible is more important than the other part of the Bible.

[28:26] The Westminster Confession of Faith says a very similar thing. It says that not all the places in Scripture are equally clear and equally understood.

[28:37] And similarly, not all the passages of Scripture have the same power and authority to convict and convert. When we come to this amazing encounter with this young man Nicodemus.

[28:54] Then we have what I think, out of the crucifixion narratives. I think we have one of the most important encounters that Jesus ever has with anybody here on earth.

[29:13] It's important in a number of ways. But perhaps why it's so significant is that for the first time in the Gospels.

[29:28] We have a key part of what we would call the doctrine of regeneration. What it means to be saved and converted.

[29:42] Now, the doctrine of regeneration, salvation's plan and salvation's declaration, is of course something that runs through the whole of Scripture.

[29:56] God willing, I'm not here next week, but the following week. I'm here for a number of weeks. And we're going to look at that God's plan of salvation right through the whole of the Bible in the lead-up to Christmas time.

[30:13] So, the plan of salvation, that doctrine of regeneration, is something that runs through the whole of the Bible. And of course, it has many, many aspects to it.

[30:27] It of course begins before the beginning of the world. It begins in the councils of the Trinity, determining who would be the elect of God.

[30:41] So, predestination and election is the beginning place of the doctrine of regeneration. Within the Bible.

[30:53] And it's important for us to realize that and to recognize that, that this is not something that John Calvin made up. It's not even something that Paul made up.

[31:05] It didn't just come into being when Jesus began to preach and speak and talk about those that the Father had given to me. This happened before the beginning of the world.

[31:19] For those of you who want the fancy theological term, supra-lapsarianism. That the elect were chosen before the creation of the world.

[31:31] And so that sets an important foundation for any understanding of the gospel, of salvation, of mission, of outreach.

[31:45] That all that is there. Not as many think to sustain the church. As if we need to evangelize so that the church will grow and so that we'll be able to survive.

[31:58] But mission actually has its first point of reference in the heart of God. Mission begins in God's heart.

[32:10] You see God, as he knew that we were going to fall, didn't have to save us. He was under absolutely no obligation to save us.

[32:22] But because of who God is, because he is rich in mercy, abounding in grace, He chose before the beginning of the world to save us.

[32:37] Our God, if it's appropriate to say in human terms, has a missionary heart. And that's why mission must always be at the very forefront of the life and witness of the church.

[32:56] That's what motivated the great missionaries that went from our land. That's what motivated the churches to establish churches throughout the world.

[33:10] And many, many places in the world you will go where they will trace back their heritage to missionaries which came from certainly the shores of the British Isles.

[33:25] And those of you who know anything about the history of the church will know that conventions like the Keswick Convention on the Thursday night used to have a specific missionary evening where the specific focus was to call people from that convention into full-time service and specifically missionary service.

[33:52] And the likes of Amy Carmichael who was the great missionary to young girls in India in that orphanage in Donavur in India was one of the people who would testify to the influence that that Thursday night missionary meeting at Keswick that Keswick had on her own life.

[34:21] So the first stage of the doctrine of regeneration rests in the heart of God. But why this is so important is that this is the first human revelation of the doctrine of generation coming out into our world in a way that we can hear and see and understand and see the impact and the drive and the direction that this regeneration has.

[35:03] And of course it's summed up in the whole back and forward between Jesus and Nicodemus in this whole notion of being born again.

[35:15] So this encounter with Jesus now brings that, if you like, hidden, almost spiritual, ethereal doctrine of regeneration right into our own world that this now is something that is about people it's about a declaration of the gospel and of grace and of love and mercy of God and of the response that is demanded and that's part of what we have to see here it is a response of what is demanded by the gospel and by the declarer of the gospel in seeking to win people to this new birth to this conversion and to this salvation.

[36:17] Let me just quickly and we have a bit of time because we're not going to rush this this is going to go on tonight but it's important that we understand what is going on here in its full context that we see here.

[36:34] Many people, particularly in the liberal side of the church get all hot and bothered about this notion of being born again to such extent that, particularly in the United States if they go there, you will be asked if you are a born again Christian.

[36:54] Now you see, the problem is that the supposition behind that is that you can somehow be a non-born again Christian Clearly that must be in the back of their mind if they are saying, you know, it's like asking me if I'm a ranger spotter you have blue nose as if, you know, everybody is you can only be a Christian if you are born again.

[37:24] So if we're ever asked that question the first thing we should do is we should completely reject the premise of the question there is no such thing as a believer who is born again it simply means that we have been born from above that the very nature of that new birth is that a miraculous event has taken place based completely as we're going to see and this is the real significance of this based completely on the sovereign workings of God So let's just part that aside and let's just also think about John's Gospel Now, when we read John's Gospel we have to be very aware that John is not John is not writing a biography of Jesus' life He's definitely not doing that John is doing two things as he's writing his Gospel

[38:32] The first is his Gospel is polemical Now, what does that mean? It's just a big fancy word for saying that his issue is to produce evidence that Jesus is the Christ Now, it's important if we are to properly understand and interpret scripture that we understand what each of the Gospel writers is doing and John is very definitely and very clearly engaging in polemic he's offering evidence and information about the Christ he's proving that Jesus is God Now, if you don't take my word for it and you should never take my word for it that's why we should have our Bibles open pulpit frankly

[39:36] I wouldn't take your word for it if you were standing here and you just said that you've got to check that what is said from this pulpit and indeed any other pulpit is correct so I want to show you how I'm not just making this up this is not just some theological angle that I'm taking here if you flight back to the end of John's Gospel to the penultimate chapter chapter 20 and verse 30 we will see there very clearly what I'm saying now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book but these are written so that here it is you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name so there it is Jesus John is about a polemic producing evidence of who the Christ is that Jesus is God and he's also producing evidence that shows that what he is about is salvation so John has very clearly said

[40:57] I've got an editorial policy here I'm not just going to write a biography about this happened and that happened and that happened and that happened hundreds of things happened Jesus had hundreds of encounters with people but I've chosen specific ones for these specific purposes to produce evidence evidence that Jesus is the Christ that he is God and to produce evidence that he is the only means of salvation now with that as background we now come to read and to think about what is going on here in this third chapter and this encounter with

[41:59] Nicodemus now the other thing I want you to remember because I'm sure you all know this is that when the Bible was written it wasn't written with chapter headings and sometimes these can be helpful indeed they can be very helpful in just simply finding simply finding the passage but sometimes they can kind of perhaps not they can knock us off a wee bit and this would be an instance where the chapter division is not helpful here because what I want you to do with your Bibles open is I want you to just look back at the last three verses of chapter 2 because they are vitally important in setting the scene and giving us the background to what is going on here now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing and verse 24 is a really strange verse and it begins not but but Jesus on his part did not and this word has been translated in trust but it is exactly the same word as has appeared in the previous verse that is translated believed so many believed in his name so many believed in his name but Jesus on his part did not believe himself to them because he knew all people and needed to be no one to bear witness about man for he himself knew what was in men and the reason that is significant is that that's why

[44:22] John now goes on to tell us about this encounter with Nicodemus because this encounter with Nicodemus tells us precisely a specific instance of one who would be part of the them that Jesus had not entrusted himself to them and part of the them or the many who believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing in other words when Jesus encountered Nicodemus as part of this group who had believed in his name when they saw the signs this did not for Jesus represent saving faith because if it had Jesus would have entrusted himself to them and why did he not do that?

[45:27] because he knew their hearts and do you see now how how it's important that we've we've come to this with that understanding of what John was about John was trying to prove to us that Jesus was the Christ that he was God Almighty that he could see beyond the outward displays of affection towards Jesus of even belief in his name and now you see we have a great foundation that makes understanding what is going on here with Nicodemus much easier for us to do now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews this man came to Jesus by night and said to him Rabbi and notice the plural here we know that you are a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them do you see how that relates back to verse 23 of chapter 2 now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing and then we come to hear Nicodemus speaking on behalf of people that had been drawn to Jesus because of the signs

[47:01] Rabbi we know that you are a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him and here we have a Jesus Christ who penetrates who penetrates the lives of those who come to him who if you like sees right through them now we have a few minutes left this morning what I want to do is I want to just complete if you like this introduction and setting the scene for tonight the first thing that we want to do is we want to see that he was a man of the Pharisees so we are talking here about a man that came to Jesus who was clearly enthusiastic about him this is the only instance in the whole of the New Testament where a Pharisee comes to Jesus it of course happens in the epistles because Paul was to a Pharisee but here was one of the elite the religious elite

[48:29] Josephus who was the New Testament historian historian probably was a Pharisee himself that's not 100% clear but certainly most good scholarly opinion recognizing that Josephus was says that at the time of Jesus there were around 6,000 Pharisees so a small number of these people and we are also told that he was a ruler of the Jews now that didn't automatically go with being a Pharisee there was another smaller group of between 60 and 80 and Josephus believes that at the time of Jesus there would be 80 of these people who were if you like a Pharisee council within the Pharisees who would be have the rule and the authority that would have been specially chosen for their scholarly wisdom for their credentials for their education and for their upholding of the Jewish law so here was a man with credentials here was a man with authority here was a man who had reached the very pinnacle of his religion and here friends is the reality he knew that the most important thing thing in life was missing and we are going to leave it there because that is a good point to leave it there but just in case you don't manage back this evening here is the challenge like Nicodemus you can have significance you can have significance you can have place and position within your church you could be of the highest moral standing that is possible and believe you me the Pharisees had every I dotted and every T crossed and yet you need to find Jesus you can even be with the many who believed in his name who were marveled at the signs he was been doing who know your Bible back to front upside down and inside out but have not yet saving faith and that is what is so amazing and so poignant about this encounter when we realise the background when we understand how significant this first encounter with the redemption plan of God is this first worldly example of that great salvation plan being able to be worked out it begins with the most devastating of challenges that none of that none of it has any value and that of course is exactly the conclusion that Paul comes to in the book of Philippians where he reflects on his own life

[52:31] as a rabbi and his own inheritance and his own background and his own family and his own scholarly achievements and his own teachers a Hebrew of Hebrews a Jew of the Jews in terms of the law faultless and when he tallies it up nothing compared to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ brothers and sisters let us not leave this place today without being absolutely sure that we are not numbered among the multitudes who just saw the signs and had some kind of attraction to Jesus or who are depending on our works on the reputation that we have amongst men let us be sure let us be sure and let us be certain that when our column is tallied up at the very bottom is the righteousness of Christ paid in full in full let us pray let us pray and just in the quietness of this moment let us just speak to God and tell him where we are in relation to what we have heard this morning and ask for the ministry of his Holy Spirit to help us fix our eyes truly upon Jesus as the Christ the Saviour and to have confidence in nothing other than his saving death and his precious blood and to remember that we bow this morning before a God who penetrates our hearts who knows men and to ask forgiveness a repentant heart and a renewal of life and spirit through the precious blood of Christ and in his name we pray

[55:20] Amen Amen I'm going to finish with a new hymn you'll not find it in your hymn books it's called Christ our hope in life and death Christ alone Christ alone what is our hope in life and death Christ alone Christ alone what is our only confidence that our souls do belong who holds our gifts within his hand what comes apart from his command what will keep us to the end who holds our gifts within his hand what comes apart from his command what will keep us to the end the love of Christ in which we stand what will keep us to the end what will keep us to the end what will keep us to the end the love of Christ in which we stand O sing

[56:22] Hallelujah our hope in this great eternal O sing Hallelujah how we never confess Christ our hope in life and death God the last God is good God is good Where is his grace and good is known In our great Redeemer's blood Who holds our faith Our faith with fears arise, who stands above us all these trials, who sends the waves that bring us life unto the shore, the rock of Christ.

[57:29] Oh, sing hallelujah, our hope is eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah, now in heaven we confess, Christ our hope and life in the end.

[57:59] To the grave, what will we see? Christ gives, Christ gives, and what reward will heaven bring.

[58:14] Ever lost in life within, there we will rise to meet the Lord, and sin and death will be destroyed.

[58:27] And we will feast in the dead of the flood, when Christ is ours forevermore. Oh, sing hallelujah, our hope springs eternal.

[58:49] Oh, sing hallelujah, now in heaven we confess, Christ our hope and life in the end.

[59:02] Oh, sing hallelujah, our hope is eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah, now in heaven we confess, Christ our hope and life in the end.

[59:24] Now in heaven we confess, Christ our hope and life in the end. Let's pray.

[59:36] Let's pray. Let's pray. And now may grace, mercy and peace of the one true living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest and abide with each and every one of us this day and forevermore.

[59:50] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[60:03] Amen. Amen. Amen.

[60:15] Amen. Thank you.

[60:47] Thank you.