[0:00] Let's read the Word of God together as we have it in the Gospel of John.
[0:12] And we'll read at chapter 2 and verse 11. John chapter 2 and verse 11. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory.
[0:42] And his disciples believed on him. After this he went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples. And they continued there not many days.
[0:54] And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money sitting.
[1:08] And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen. And poured out the changers' money and overthrew the tables.
[1:21] And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence. Make not my father's house and house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
[1:39] Then answered the Jews and said to him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.
[1:54] Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple and building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.
[2:06] When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
[2:20] Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man.
[2:41] There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.
[3:00] Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old?
[3:16] Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say to thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
[3:32] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
[3:44] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.
[3:58] Nicodemus answered and said to him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
[4:11] Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness.
[4:22] If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven.
[4:40] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
[4:53] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[5:05] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
[5:28] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world. And men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
[5:41] For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
[6:01] And so on, may the Lord bless that reading of his own holy word. We'll sing again now in Psalm 2. Psalm 2 and at verse 6.
[6:14] Psalm 3 and at verse 6.
[6:44] Ask of me, and for heritage the heathen I'll make thine, and for possession I to thee will give earth's utmost line. Thou shalt as with a witty rod of iron break them all, and as a potter's shared, thou shalt them dash in pieces small.
[7:04] Now therefore, kings, be wise. Be taught, ye judges of the earth. Serve God in fear, and see that you join trembling with your myrrh.
[7:16] Kiss ye the sun, lest in his ire he perish from the way, if once his wrath begin to burn. Blessed all that on him stay.
[7:28] These verses to God's praise. Yet notwithstanding I have him to be my king appointed, and know thou sign my holy hymn, I have him king appointed.
[8:09] The sure decree will declare the Lord that said to me, Thou art mine only sound.
[8:35] This day I have begotten thee.
[8:46] And know ye now thy heritage, The heathen I may claim, And for possession I to thee Will give earth's utmost line.
[9:23] The shalt as with the witty heart, O fight and break them all, And as a potter's shirt, Where shalt lend us In pieces small?
[10:00] Now therefore, kings, Be wise, be taught, Be wise, be taught, He urges of the earth, Serve God in fear, Hear and see that ye join Cremely with your murmur.
[10:39] See the soundless in his heart, Ye perish in the way, If once his love begin to burn, Blessed all that pound him stream.
[11:16] Seeking the Lord's blessing, Then for the time that we have, Let's turn again to the portion of scripture we read.
[11:29] And we'll look at this whole portion, And try to look particularly at that question, That Nicodemus asked in verse 9, How can these things be?
[11:45] How can these things be? We'll look at it under three headings. First the context, Secondly the conversation, And finally the conclusion.
[11:58] So the context of this is the absolute necessity Of being born again. The absolute necessity of it.
[12:10] The famous preacher, Whitfield, It is said, Preached this text over 300 times. And somebody asked him, Why have you preached on this text so often?
[12:24] And of course the answer to the text is, Well because you must be born again. The question is critical.
[12:35] How can these things be? I could put the question another way to you. Do you want to get to heaven? Do you want to get to heaven?
[12:49] Because no new birth, No heaven. No new birth into the kingdom of God, Into the kingdom of heaven.
[13:02] Heaven. No heaven. No heaven. And the alternative is hell. This chapter, In chapter 3 in particular, Is like a commentary, By Christ himself, On the doctrine of regeneration, And of the new birth, And of the work of the Holy Spirit.
[13:26] And in looking at that commentary, On the doctrine of regeneration, And the new birth, You have to understand, And we have to take in, The reality, Of the opposite position.
[13:41] And that is, Man's original condition. Man's depravity. The depravity of the unregenerate heart. The natural heart, The natural heart, Of man.
[13:55] The chapter, Is such a marvelous, Wonderful chapter. Because it speaks, As we know of that, Doctrine, But it also speaks of the kingdom, And the king.
[14:08] It speaks of love. Love, The love of God. It speaks of condemnation, And judgment. And the awful consequences, Of rejecting Jesus.
[14:27] B.B. Warfield, The great theologian said this, That the recreative activity, Of the spirit of God, Is made the crowning, Messianic blessing.
[14:40] The crowning, Messianic blessing. And Warfield was speaking, About portions, Of the Old Testament, Old Testament prophecy, That speak, Specifically, About these two things.
[14:57] The renewal, Of men's hearts, Men and women of course. The renewal, Of the heart, And the removal of sin, Or the expiation, Expiation, Expiation, Which is the removal, Of sin, Or the guilt, Of sin.
[15:16] Ezekiel 36, 27, And I will put my spirit, Within you, And cause you to walk, In my statutes, And you shall keep my judgments, And do them.
[15:29] The promised, Messianic salvation, Included, Includes in it, The provision, The provision, For the renewal, Of men and women's hearts, As well as the removal, Of sin.
[15:45] Maybe you've asked, The question, How can these things be? What is this, Born again?
[15:57] What is this salvation? What is it? What is it? What is, What does it really mean, To be a Christian? What does it mean, To be taken, From the kingdom, Of darkness, To the kingdom, Of light, To the kingdom, Of God, To heaven, To be translated, Transferred, You'd change, Of state, From a state, Of sin, And misery, To a state, Of grace, What is it?
[16:35] What is heaven? How do I get to heaven? Maybe you've asked the question. Maybe you're still asking the question, How can these things be?
[16:46] Well, Jesus explains this question, And this issue to Nicodemus, A man of excellent, Religious background, A Jew, A Pharisee, A ruler, A member of the Sanhedrin, You couldn't get a better specimen, In the whole of, The country, Than somebody who had reached this level, With this religious background, And heritage, With his knowledge of scripture, Of the Old Testament, And with the great influence that he had.
[17:25] You would almost say in this narrative, When you look at it, This is the last man who needs to hear this. Oh, but that's not so.
[17:36] It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter who you are. I was speaking earlier about the Queen herself, Her Majesty the Queen.
[17:49] She came to know Christ, her Saviour. She's testified of that. Every king, every queen, Every ruler, President, Prime Minister, Regardless of status, Need to know this.
[18:03] And this man came to Jesus by night. It's understandable. It's understandable. Because of who he was, And the rank that he had.
[18:16] And if his fellow Jews, And members of the Sanhedrin heard, There would be trouble. I was thinking about this, This morning.
[18:29] About him coming like this. But even in our own experiences. If you look back at your own Christian experience, If you're a Christian.
[18:44] I think perhaps there's something you can follow here. When the Lord started working in your life, You didn't want anyone to know. You wanted to hide it.
[18:57] I remember a man coming to see me many years ago. He's now in glory. A beautiful man. And he told me his testimony. And he said, Right there, Standing in my office.
[19:10] He told me his testimony. And witness to Christ. And he said, Do you know what? The Lord was working on me. And I wanted to go to the prayer meeting. But I was too scared to say it.
[19:21] Too scared to say it. And I said it to my wife finally. I plucked up the courage to say to her, I'm going to the prayer meeting. And do you know what she said to me? Well, do you know what? I'm going to the prayer meeting too.
[19:33] The Lord was speaking to both of them. And they didn't admit it. Even to their closest. And their dearest. How can these things be?
[19:52] And here is Nicodemus. And he comes. And he says to Jesus. Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. For no man can do these miracles.
[20:04] That thou doest except God be with him. He understands who this person is in front of him. A teacher come from God.
[20:16] A teacher come from God. Rabbi. A teacher come from God. Ah, yes Nicodemus. But what you have to learn Nicodemus is this.
[20:27] This is more than a teacher come from God. That is true. But standing in front of you Nicodemus. Is God himself in our nature.
[20:40] God himself in our nature. For no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. He connects the miracles or the signs with Jesus' teaching.
[20:58] He connects these two things. He must have witnessed these miracles. I think it is safe for us to say that. He would have certainly heard of these miracles. And this connects us back to the previous passage in chapter 2.
[21:12] Where we read about that miracle. At Cana of Galilee. And what do we read of that miracle? Chapter 2 and verse 11.
[21:24] And 11 in particular. This beginning of miracles to Jesus in Cana of Galilee. And manifested forth his glory.
[21:36] Manifested his glory. John testifies earlier in chapter 1. We have seen his glory. The glory.
[21:47] What glory? The glory. The glory as of the only begotten of God. The glory. The glory. The glory.
[21:58] Of the only begotten of God. And the world was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory.
[22:09] The glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Full of grace and truth. Full of grace. Full of grace. And truth. And many believed in his miracles.
[22:24] For the miracles that he did. But of course the narrative says to us. But Jesus did not commit himself to them. At the end of chapter 2. Because he knew all men.
[22:36] And he knew what was in man. Many believed for the miracles. It doesn't mean that. They didn't believe. And then continue to believe.
[22:48] Savingly. They may well have. But you have to believe. Not just in what he does. But in who he is. And what he does. Who he is.
[22:59] And what he does. And we see Jesus here. Coming to Jerusalem. Coming to Jerusalem. He had come with his parents as a child. He had come as a child for his purification.
[23:13] He was worshipped as a child. By Simeon and Anna as the Messiah. They knew who he was. They were waiting for the consolation of Israel.
[23:27] Waiting for the Messiah. Waiting for the kingdom. Even the men who came from the east. Luke tells us. Where is he.
[23:38] Who has been born king of the Jews. For we saw his star when it rose. And have come to worship him. Even men from the east.
[23:49] Even Nicodemus was waiting for this. He was waiting for a Messiah. A king. To free them from the oppression of the Romans.
[24:00] But they didn't believe the scriptures. Which spoke so clearly of this. And the signs. And the miracles which he did.
[24:11] They did not believe. In John chapter 1 and verse 11. And this is just in the passing. He came unto his own.
[24:22] And his own received him not. You are familiar enough. With that text. And the word could be translated.
[24:35] And it was one of the commentators. Who brought this out. And I thought it was worth sharing with you. The words might be translated like this. He came home.
[24:47] He came to his own. He came home. And the reason the commentator is. Is saying this. Is because.
[24:58] The same expression is used of. John. When in response to Jesus' word from the cross. He took Mary. Unto his own home.
[25:09] Unto his own home. And I thought it was quite a. Beautiful thought. He came home. He came. To Israel.
[25:21] To Israel. The people of God. Of God. God's own peculiar. People. He didn't go. Where. Where.
[25:32] He could not have expected. To be known. But he came to his own. His own people. But what is said of his own people. But his own people. Rejected him.
[25:43] They did not receive him. And John highlights the tragedy. Of that rejection. And it is a tragedy.
[25:54] To reject. The Lord. Jesus. Christ. The Lord. Jesus. Christ. And here he is. Here. And he is even here.
[26:05] In the temple. In the temple. Where. God. And man. Ought. To meet. Where. God. And man.
[26:16] Ought. To meet. Where God. And man. Ought. To meet. And he cleanses. The temple.
[26:27] Malachi. Chapter 3. Verse. 1. And. 2. And 3. Speaks. Of these things.
[26:38] Behold. I will send my messenger. And he shall prepare the way before me. And there is the messenger. John the Baptist.
[26:49] And then it says this. And the Lord. Whom you seek. Shall suddenly come. To his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant. Whom you delight in.
[27:01] Behold. He shall come. Come. Says the Lord of hosts. But who may abide. The day of his coming. And who shall stand. When he appears.
[27:12] For he is like a refiner's fire. And like a fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner. And purifier of silver. And he shall purify the sons of Levi. And purge them as gold and silver.
[27:25] That they may offer unto the Lord. An offering. In righteousness. Righteousness. He. Will come to his temple.
[27:36] And here he is. In his temple. The temple that speaks. Of him. The temple that speaks. Of God and man meeting. Where can God and man possibly meet.
[27:49] In him. And through him. The place where God condescends. To dwell with his people. Where God tabernacles.
[28:02] In the midst. Of his pilgrim people. He came to his temple. And. He made a skirt.
[28:14] He made a skirt. And he drove them out. And he says to them. Make not my father's house. A house of merchandise.
[28:25] The father's house. Which is a house of prayer. As Isaiah says to us. In another place. This house. Is a house. Of prayer. And they needed to understand.
[28:37] Who stood before them. We need to understand. Who is here today. With us. Present here. Christ is present here.
[28:48] And. Nicodemus needed to understand it. These people needed to understand it. The people who. Who were.
[28:59] Who were. Mocking him. When he told them. About the temple. And. The people who. Who were. Who were. Mocking him. When he told them.
[29:11] About the temple. And he spoke of the temple. Of his. Body. Of his body. Of his body. All of these signs. Were.
[29:22] Signposts. Talking of him. And pointing people to him. Pointing to him. And this man. Says to him.
[29:35] Rabbi. We know. That there were. A teacher. Come from God. For no man. Can do these miracles. That thou doest. Except God.
[29:46] To be with him. And Christ. Speaks to him. Verily. Verily. I say unto thee. Except a man. Be born again. He cannot see. The kingdom. Of God.
[29:57] And that follows. Through this conversation. This conversation. Jesus affirms. The necessity. Of the matter. Of the new birth.
[30:08] And of the kingdom. And he cuts across. Nicodemus. Just as this word. Must cut across. Our hearts. And our minds. And engage.
[30:19] Our hearts. And minds. With the reality. That we must. Be saved. We must. Be saved. Nicodemus. Thought he was. Already.
[30:30] In the kingdom. That he was. A son of Abraham. That Abraham. Was their father. But if you follow. This gospel.
[30:41] And you can follow it. For yourselves. In. John chapter 8. Jesus lays. Before them. The reality. And. As always. Christ. Never minces.
[30:52] His words. And he says. To them. You. Are of your father. The devil. You. Are of your father.
[31:03] The devil. There is only one father. God. And Christ. Cuts. Right. To the chase.
[31:14] To the heart. He. Says. To him. Verily. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[31:25] Except. A man. Don't you. One. Except. A person. An individual person. Regardless. Of place. Of time.
[31:36] Or circumstances. Or country. Or race. Or economic situation. Anyone. Including you. Nicodemus. Jesus. I. Say.
[31:47] To you. You cannot see. The kingdom of God. See. Means. To enjoy. By experience. To inwardly. See. And understand. And rejoice.
[31:58] Because. One of the great blessings. Of. The new birth. Of regeneration. Is. Faith. And faith. Gives you eyes. To see. To see. To see Christ.
[32:09] To see. What Christ. Has done. For you. Who he is. And what he has done. For you. Nicodemus. You must see. And all of us. Here.
[32:20] Must see. Nothing. Regardless. Of your. Heritage. And what a heritage. He had. Could he have been better. Born and bred.
[32:31] No. Well. You. Living in a place. Where there is a remarkable. Privilege. The privilege. Of the gospel. Could you be better.
[32:42] Born and bred. No. But that won't do you. Any good. Unless you know Christ. As your savior. As your savior.
[32:53] As your savior. As your savior. How can a man be born. When he is old. Surely. Can he enter the second time.
[33:04] Into his mother's womb. And be born. Nicodemus knew. That that could not be. It's as if he admits. His ignorance. Witnesses to his need. But he doesn't run away.
[33:17] He doesn't run away. John Murray. John Murray. The theologian. Says this. There is no. Appreciation of. No. Entrance into. No.
[33:28] Life in. The kingdom of God. Except. By a change. As radical. And momentous. As birth. There must be a change.
[33:40] A change. From above. Nicodemus. And Christ. Reafference. The teaching. In verse five. Amen. Amen. Nicodemus. This is a birth.
[33:51] Of water. And spirit. That would be familiar. To Nicodemus. Familiar. To him. The concepts. Of water. Of purification. I read a piece.
[34:03] Out of. Ezekiel 36. If you read that narrative. In 25. And 26. It's almost. An old. Testament. Parallel. John. 3.
[34:14] 3. Water. Signifying. Washing. And purifying. Of sin. And he would have been familiar. Hearing about. John. The Baptist.
[34:25] This. John. The Baptist. Was baptizing. And preaching. The gospel. Of repentance. And remission. Of sins. With water. In the.
[34:36] In the river. Jordan. All of these things. Would have. Meant something. In the river. Of this. Our repentance. And a remission. A purification. Water.
[34:47] And spirit. Nicodemus. The. Holy spirit. New life. And he says to him. You cannot.
[34:58] Enter into. Unless. You're born. Again. You can't live. In it. Now. Or enter. Into it. Fully. day unless you are born again. And the same applies to you and to me unless we're born again.
[35:18] And Christ goes on to explain these things. All flesh is flesh. Human nature under the direction and control of sin. The natural produces the natural.
[35:32] Sinful human nature can only produce sinful human nature. Job 14 verse 4 says this. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
[35:46] There is not one. There is not one. And the New Testament speaks to us. There is none righteous. No, not one. None that doeth good.
[35:58] Total depravity. The depravity of the human nature. And he says to him, but Nicodemus spirit is spirit. Whoever is born of the spirit of the Holy Spirit is spirit.
[36:10] This is human nature under the dominance of the Holy Spirit. Under the control of the Holy Spirit. So that that person is now a spiritual person. A spiritual man. A spiritual woman. A spiritual boy or girl.
[36:28] And Christ affirms this to him personally. Marvel not that I say these things to you Nicodemus.
[36:41] Personally. And he uses the example of the wind. Take the wind. And he goes on to talk about the wind. It is invisible.
[36:52] It is mysterious. You don't know where it came from or where it's going. And we're very familiar with the wind. Especially in these last days and many days.
[37:04] It's invisible. It's mysterious. It's also irresistible. The wind blows where it listeth.
[37:15] You can't resist it. And you can't make it change course. Thirdly. It is this. It is a sovereign work in the new birth.
[37:26] It is a sovereign work. The work of the Holy Spirit. The wind blows where it listeth. Where it wills. Where it wills. Where God wills.
[37:38] In his sovereign grace. And it is an effective work. Fourthly. You hear the sound. You hear the sound. You know that the wind affects your senses.
[37:50] You can feel it. On your body. On your face. On your skin. It's a reality and a fact. And so it is with the Spirit of God.
[38:01] When the Spirit of God comes into the heart of a sinner. They are new creations. They are transformed. They are new creations in Christ. There is evidence and there must be evidence.
[38:14] And he says how can these things be? It's almost as if he admits of the possibility. You who are a teacher of Israel.
[38:31] The people of God to whom God gave his word and his revelation. You still do not understand why?
[38:43] Because you reject the gospel. because of unbelief. Unbelief. The opposite of faith.
[38:55] And he goes on to say to him of course as he says to us the heart of the problem is this. It is the heart of man.
[39:06] This is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light. light. That's the natural heart.
[39:20] The flesh. We love darkness rather than light. Why did Christ come?
[39:34] He came to save his people. Verse 17. God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved.
[39:50] And that's the glory of Christ. And that's where you have to begin to be saved. To be saved by the grace of God from your sin and from your misery.
[40:04] And Christ goes on then to speak of this remarkable salvation. I'm the living embodiment. I am God's witness.
[40:19] I have come down from heaven to witness of who God is and what God is and what God has done. I am the son of man.
[40:33] The son of man the name that Christ gave to himself more than any other name. Which speaks of true sinless humanity. It speaks of him as the last Adam.
[40:46] It speaks of the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And there is more Nicodemus. I have come down for a purpose Nicodemus and that purpose is this that I must go to Calvary.
[41:02] I must go to Calvary because at Calvary I'm going to deal with sin. With the sins of my people. I'm going to be lifted up just as the serpent in the wilderness was lifted up.
[41:16] I'm going to be lifted up onto that cross. So Nicodemus I am the remedy for sin. I'm the remedy for sin.
[41:28] Look to me who I am and what I came to do and the way that the scriptures witness of me. Nicodemus believe believe.
[41:44] Christ on the cross the remedy for sin. And do you know what Nicodemus it's all because of love. Love. What on earth was this man to do with this saviour who stood who he thought was a teacher come from God.
[42:07] And he speaks of love of going to Calvary of the incarnation and of the atonement. Nicodemus God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
[42:23] I am come. And I'm giving myself. Luther said about these words in John 3 16 they flow like milk and honey.
[42:42] Words which are able to make the sad happy the dead alive if only the heart believes them firmly. Oh this greatest display of love ever.
[42:57] do you believe? Are you still asking the question how can these things be? Do you want to get to heaven?
[43:15] Whosoever believes that whosoever believes only God knows her duty is to believe to believe what is the conclusion of the whole matter?
[43:33] What is the conclusion of the whole matter in relation to Nicodemus? We've seen the context and we've seen the conversation with Jesus.
[43:47] What is the conclusion? Where do we see Nicodemus next? Well we see him in chapter 7 and at verse 51 if we read at verse 48 of chapter 7 have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?
[44:05] but this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus said to them he that came to Jesus by night being one of them says this one of the Pharisees that is doth our law judge any man before it hears him and know what he doeth?
[44:30] Here is Nicodemus this conversation and this encounter with Christ feels as if it affects Nicodemus it's had an effect on him it's had an impact on him where do we see him then?
[44:48] We see him in chapter 19 and at verse 39 and we'll look at verse 37 and again another scripture saith they shall look on him whom they pierced here is Jesus on the cross of Calvary here is this Jesus who witnessed to Nicodemus I'm going to be lifted up onto the cross Nicodemus because that's the only way to deal with sin even your sin Nicodemus do you believe this?
[45:25] These things can be Nicodemus and after this Joseph of Arimathea being a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews very like Nicodemus besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus and Pilate give him leave he came therefore and took the body of Jesus and what does the scripture say and there came also Nicodemus which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pound weight then took they the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices as the manner of the Jews is to bury and there cometh also
[46:25] Nicodemus is that going to be true of you that you will also come that you will also come come to Jesus come to Christ come to the Savior come into the kingdom do you want to get to heaven I hope that every one of you is saying oh yes oh yes I want to get to heaven I don't want to be in a lost eternity if so then come amen may the lord bless these thoughts on his word our final singing is in psalm 87 psalm 87 and we'll sing the whole psalm upon the hills of holiness he his foundation sets and do you know that sometimes when you're reading these psalms other thoughts come to you but upon the hills of holiness he his foundation sets what is the holiness of
[48:03] God what is the holiness of God how do you see the holiness of God well you see it in this it was because of the holiness of God that Calvary took place oh what do you mean by that oh I mean that it is because of the holiness of God that sin had to be dealt with that sin had to be dealt with by a holy and a just God and deal with it he did and what a way he dealt with it by sending his own son and that son going to Calvary for you and for me upon the hills of holiness he his foundation sets God more than
[49:03] Jacob's dwellings all delights in science gates things glorious are said of thee thou city of the Lord thou Rahab and Babel I to those that know me will record behold even Tyrus and with it the land of Palestine and likewise Ethiopia this man was born therein born again the new birth and it of Sion which is the church shall be said this man and that man there was born and he that is most high himself shall establish her when God the people writes he'll count that this man born was there there be that sing and play and all my well springs in thee are the whole psalm to God's praise upon the heaven holiness he his foundation sets
[50:20] God more than Jacob's dwelling things all the heights in Zion's gates glory as thou said of thee thou city of the Lord may have and be be to those that know me will record the hope leave Titus and with it the land of
[51:24] Palestine Palestine and likewise if he appeared this man was born there in and it of Zion shall be said he said this man that man there was born and he that is most high himself shall establish pleasure when God the people rights he'll count that this man born was there there be that sing and play that sing and play and all my well springs in the hour we'll pray in conclusion to the most gracious and holy and loving
[53:07] God part us now with thy blessing oh how we pray for the Holy Spirit bless us prepare us for this evening and be with us for this afternoon help us to love the Lord's day cleanse from sin we pray in Christ's precious name Amen