What Makes the Good News Good?

[0:00] in the right order. I think that's me on. Is that me on? Good, good, good. It's nice to be with you once again. It seems a long time. It's only two weeks since I was last here, but it seems a lot longer than that. Maybe that's a good thing. I think it is a good thing. Turn with me, please, to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. I think this is the fourth sermon that I've preached here, and every other passage has been in the Old Testament. Just to let you know, I'm aware of the New Testament, so we're moving into the New Testament. Next week is Easter Sunday, and I'm down to preach this week, next week, and the week after. The next three Sundays, you're stuck with me. And next Sunday, usually it's my practice as a pastor when I'm preaching at Easter and at Christmas. I don't preach the same length of sermons. I tend to preach shorter sermons, but I make them very user friendly. So if you wanted to invite somebody to church on Easter Sunday, hopefully it will be accessible to them. It's an evangelistic address, a clear evangelistic address, but hopefully it's interesting enough. Always in my mind, picture that somebody is going to the fringe and have wandered into the wrong venue. I preach to that type of person so that they don't doze off on you because they're not Christians. So that's what will happen next week on Easter Sunday. If you want to bring somebody to hear the gospel, that might be a good one to bring them to. This morning's message is very much for Christians, and we're going to look at that this morning. Ephesians 1. Let's read this together. We're looking at the first 14 verses. I'm not going to expound this. I'm preaching topically this morning, which I don't prefer to do. I prefer to work through a book, and I've not done that up until now. They've all been individual sermons. This morning is no different. Ephesians 1.

[1:55] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to God's holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. In him, that is Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace, that he lavished on us.

[2:55] With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, when you believed you were marked with him, with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his glory. We'll end our reading at the end of this lofty passage of God's word and the explanation of the gospel. Let's come before God and ask for his help.

[4:11] Our loving Heavenly Father, we just still ourself in your presence this morning. We thank you for all that's gone before. Thank you for the prayers that have been offered in praise and in intercession.

[4:21] We thank you for the songs that we've been singing that have warmed our heart and reminded us, Lord, of the truth of the gospel and of your great love and grace and mercy to us in Christ. Lord, in this special day in our church calendar where we remember Christ riding on to death into Jerusalem, Father, we pray that you would speak to us now. Speak to us, Lord, and reveal something of your heart towards us, something of the gospel, something, Lord, of how you have ordained all things according to your own pleasure and will. Our desire this morning, Lord, is that we are better disciples, better followers of Christ. So help us, Father, to understand who you are and that we might place our footsteps in the footsteps of Jesus and walk as he walked. So, Father, lead us and guide us, we pray and we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I have quite a few friends who have immigrated to America. Your own pastors disappeared off to America. I have no desire whatsoever to live in

[5:26] America. I've visited it and the culture doesn't really appeal to me. It's okay for them. That's fine. I wouldn't mind the weather in California, but apart from that, I have no great desire to live in America. But there is one thing that they do in America that we don't do here. It's this, if we can fire up on the screen. Every now and again, or throughout the year, they do these appreciation days. And it can be for absolutely anything. I don't know if we can get that up there, not to worry if we can't. There we go. Appreciation. They have appreciation days for anybody, for Uncle Tom Cobbley and all. Even the lineman, the BT engineer, has an appreciation day for him.

[6:14] And I know every October, because I get emails, it's Pastor Appreciation Day. And that's the day when I'm supposed to send this out to remind the members, why don't you appreciate me? A bit self-serving, which I never quite do. But it's a great thing, I must confess, that you have a day set aside.

[6:34] Imagine you did that in the church, the musicians, an appreciation day, Sunday for them, where you just thanked the Lord. You actually took specific time to thank them for their ministry, or the technical folk, or the elders, or whatever that is. It's great. I mean, if you had a corner shop here, and they had a customer appreciation day, and they gave you a free bar of chocolate or something, you would think a lot of that. You'd think, I feel appreciated. I'm a customer. They've shown their appreciation. Appreciation is great to be able to stop and to think what somebody does, and to appreciate them. When was the last time you said to somebody, I appreciate, it might be your husband or your wife, I appreciate the meals, I appreciate what you do, I appreciate your ministry in the church. It's a great thing. But it made me wonder, how much do we really appreciate God? How much do we stop to think about who He is and what He has done? And linked to this, how much do we really appreciate the gospel? How much do we understand the gospel? How much do we appreciate what the gospel is all about, and how God links to that? The more we understand the gospel, the more we will appreciate

[7:50] God and our Savior. And that's what I want to do this morning. A number of years ago, I'd injured my back, and I was off for about two or three months after surgery, and that's a good time to hit the reset button in ministry, or maybe even in your life. You think, where am I going? What's it all about?

[8:11] And at that time, I asked the question, I'm a pastor of a church. What is the main thing? What's the main thing that we're doing? Not just on a treadmill doing the same thing for the sake of it, but what is the main thing? The main thing is to produce disciples. That is the great commission. Go into all the world, not just to preach the gospel, not just converts, but to produce disciples. Make disciples. People who are converted under the power of God and who are following Him. Living a life worthy of the gospel, witnessing and working for Jesus. That's basically what every church is about.

[8:50] Imagine somebody came to you and said to you, they just discovered, they say something like, I just met one of your lot on Wednesday, and they go to church, and you know what they told me? They told me that the word gospel means good news. I never realized it meant that. Gosh, I just thought it was music, gospel music. So, they say to you, why is the gospel good news? Now, what an opportunity that would be to tell them the gospel. But how would you answer that this morning? If somebody said to you on Monday, the word gospel means good news, what is so good about the good news? Where would you begin? What would be the first thing that you would say? Most of you would probably say, which most of the courses do in evangelism, you can be forgiven. You can enter into a real and living relationship with God, and you can go to heaven.

[9:54] Various things like that. It's amazing how maybe the first answer that you give for you might be the most important thing. What is good about the good news? We often relate the gospel especially in evangelistic courses and things in church life about what the good news means to us.

[10:13] We make ourselves the focus of the gospel, and the gospel is great because of what it means to me, John Lowry, a Glaswegian, saved in 1980, May the 12th. This is what the gospel means to me.

[10:28] But it's right for us to step back. If we are to preach the gospel, if we are to share the good news, if we are to appreciate God, we need to realize that the first and most important thing that makes the good news good is it glorifies God. It brings in glory more than creation. David Attenborough, whoever, showing you things, and we as Christians go, isn't God's handiwork great? The gospel is far more than revealing God in His creation power. But in the gospel, you see the character of God, His love, His grace, and His mercy. Nothing brings God more glory than the gospel to understand the gospel. And that's what I want us to do this morning, is to look at that. But to look at it primarily, even when we talk about God, Christians are quite fuzzy when it comes to God. Or we're unthinking. We don't often do enough joined-up thinking. We can be saved. God saved us. We know the difference in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But often in our prayers,

[11:41] I sometimes listen to prayers of Christians. I've got two daughters. I'm always listening to their prayers, how they pray, and so forth. And sometimes we can pray, and you could pray the same prayer in a mosque, and you wouldn't be kicked out. It's just God, God, God, God, God. And there's no distinction in the Godhead between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We don't often make much of Jesus until He, as we are Christians, ours is a specific God, a one God. There is only one God, and one Savior, one plan of salvation. And for us to appreciate who God is, we need to understand who He is and what He is all about. So, this was a 20-week series that I did after being laid aside for a few months. I says, we'd already done the Gospel of John, looking at the personal work of Jesus. We'd already done the Acts of the Apostles. You will be my witnesses. Then I thought, well, I need to help these folk preach the Gospel. They need to know what the Gospel is. Over 20 weeks, we looked at the many facets of the Gospel, such that you thrill at the Gospel, at the doctrines in the Bible, reconciliation, redemption, propitiation, atonement. You know the differences. They thrill you.

[12:59] Because if you're not thrilled by the Gospel, no one else will be. In this corner of Westerhales, this has to be a church that thrills, not just at singing, but thrills at God and the Gospel.

[13:14] So, let's first of all unpack what we mean by God. God is glorified. This morning, I just want to look at, two weeks time, I'm going to look at Jesus. And you're only getting two of the 20. That's all you're getting there. You can do the research afterwards. But I cannot look at the Father without the Son. And you cannot look at the Son without the Father. So, this morning, we begin, first and foremost, what makes the good news good? Or what's so good about the good news? God, the Father, is glorified. Theologians talk about an economic trinity. It just comes from a Greek word which sounds like economy or economic, which just means the arrangement of things. How are things working together in the financial world, economy? But as it relates to the Trinity, theologians talk about the roles within the Godhead. One God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And in the Gospel, they all work together. And as Christians, we need to appreciate how that actually comes about, how they relate to each other. They have different roles. They had different roles in creation, right at the very beginning. We see that God, the Father, God the Son, God creates the world through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, the Father very much comes across as the first in order. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But not in equality, not in their person. They are equal. They are all equally God. God the Father is not more God than God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. But as it relates to the Gospel, they have different roles. And in those roles, they are subordinate to each other.

[15:08] And that is what you see in the Gospel. In the Old and New Testament, God the Father occupies often the first position. First in order and in rank, but not in nature, not in substance, not in existence, not in excellence. He's not before the Son, and so forth. The Son is not created. These are bigger things. But just to lay that out, they are equal. But when it comes to the Gospel, they have different roles. And yet, whatever activity, whether it's creation or the Gospel, the three of them are always at work.

[15:44] Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are key in the Gospel. And in creation, it was the work of the Father by the Son through the agency of the Holy Spirit. But when you come to the Gospel, the Father is the one who plans redemption in that way. The Son obeys the Father. The Father sends the Son. The Son comes in obedience to the Father. And then when He dies and ascends to heaven, the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit. Do you see the roles? Do you see how it works? Does this thrill you, the mechanics of the Gospel? And they function together. So, the Father sends the Son. The Son comes down from heaven. We celebrate this at Easter. Not to do His own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Him. And then the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit. And there will come a day when the Son will hand over the kingdom, you and I, to the Father. Well, that's a great picture, isn't it? Like a bride prepared spotless.

[16:56] My daughter's getting married. We've just discovered she's finally got a date the 15th of September, looking forward to that date. My first daughter being married, I think the tears will be blinding me.

[17:08] I'll need to steel myself on that day, that's for sure. But what a day that will be when the Father hands the King, when the Son hands the kingdom over to the Father. And the culmination of Jesus' work, He's not just setting His face towards Jerusalem for John Lowry in Glasgow, as much as He is. He's dying for me, as He's dying for you. He's doing all of this for the glory of the Father. The Father is glorified in the—it's in the heart of His Son. And therefore, as a Christian, it's good for us not to be fuzzy about God, and we just somehow—God will sort it all out, and we don't know what we mean by God. That in our mind, we specifically think of the Father as the prime mover in a lot of these things.

[17:59] And the Son comes, sent by the Father. He dies. He sets His face towards Jerusalem. Now is the Son of Man glorified, Jesus says, and God the Father is glorified in Him.

[18:14] I brought you glory on earth, Jesus says, by finishing the work you gave me to do. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord—what comes next?—to the glory of God the Father.

[18:31] And therefore, it's important as Christians, we are clear. That's why I need to look at God the Son as well, because the Father shares His glory. He is glory within Himself, and we'll look at that next time.

[18:43] But the Father is the prime mover in the gospel, in salvation. He is, in many ways, the architect, along with the Son, who pulls all this together. But in Ephesians, verse 3, it's a chapter we read, "'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.'" Paul was clear. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. And here we see the importance of this. And therefore, it's important that we distinguish or we know what's exciting about the gospel. The Father sends, directs, predestines us. More on this in a moment, the Son does the will of the Father, becomes flesh, dies on the cross for us, and the Holy Spirit indwells us, sanctifies us, changes us, comforts us, makes us holy. There are different roles within the Godhead. These are the distinctions within the Trinity. If there's no distinctions, there's no Trinity. There are distinctions within the Trinity. All are equal in their attributes. All are equally God. One God in three persons. All equal to God, the Father, God the Son, God. All equal to each other. So, first of all, three things then. I want to look at the first point. God, the glory of God in the Old Testament. In the

[20:23] Old Testament, God, triune God, is glorious. If you read your Old Testament, you know our God is wow. He is just so impressive. He is almighty in creation and so forth. And that is why Jesus, when he teaches us how to pray, the very first words that should leave your lips in every prayer our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name. The Son draws attention to the Father. And he teaches us, John, don't be fuzzy about the whole God thing and have it just, well, I'll fire up a prayer to God. Think of the Father. Mention the Father. Come to the Father through me, but may seek his glory.

[21:10] As I sought his glory, so seek the Father's glory. And God, throughout the Old Testament, revealed something of his glory in creation. Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of God.

[21:24] The skies proclaim the work of his hands. He is glorious in the Old Testament. The nation Israel, he chose a nation. Why? Not just because he loved them, to display his glory. Exodus 14, I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself.

[21:46] Do you thrive? Do you love to glorify God? That is your chief end, isn't it? What's your chief end? To glorify God and enjoy him forever. That is your, it's easy to forget this. So, in preaching the gospel, it's not about you. It is primarily about him and what he has done.

[22:07] We looked at Ezekiel not that long ago, a couple of weeks back, I think that was the last sermon I preached to you, where his glory is visible. Cherubim and seraphim flying and a mobile chariot thrown and all these things. He is, he is wow. He is a glorious, glorious God. His, his, uh, glorious scene throughout the Old Testament. And it was prophesied as well, looking forward to the gospel, looking forward to the New Testament. He does all these glorious things in the Old Testament, this triune God, but it points to the gospel. Arise, this is Isaiah 60, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord arises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples. But the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn. God is about to do something, wow, better than creation, better than parting the Red Sea. He's going to come in the person of his Son. God the Son will come and he will bring glory. He will forgive sinners, even Scotsmen and Scotswomen and, uh, Welsh. I've come from a multinational church in, in, in London. There were Iranians and, and, and, and from, uh, from, uh,

[23:36] Portugal and Spain and France. It was great. But about 14 or 15 different nationalities in a small church. Before I, in this series, before I even look at forgiveness, that, that aspect of the gospel, I comment on the fact that it's a gospel for all nations, every nation. It's the hope for the world, the only hope for the world. This is God. This is what God does. And the whole of the Old Testament points to that future glory of God. What is this gospel? Secondly, then, the glory of the, of the Father specifically in the gospel. So let's look at that. The glory of God, the work of the Father.

[24:21] We'll go through these fairly quickly. Nothing reveals the glory of God the Father more than the gospel. It's greater than creation. Creation is God's power and God's handiwork. But in the gospel, you see the character of God. You remember at Christmas, Luke chapter 2, what happens when Jesus is, is, is, is born or it's announced? Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared in the, with the angel, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace. That's why in Ephesians 1, 3, Paul, looking at the gospel, looking at what Christ has achieved, says, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Now, why should the Father be glorified? What are these every spiritual blessings? We don't have time to go. I had a 20-week series on this. I could have made it 40 or 60. If you're only thinking of forgiveness, the good news is forgiveness. Wow, you're impoverished. You, you, there's so much in the gospel. It's like a diamond. You really should hold it up and go, there is something else.

[25:33] Something else that I never quite realized. I used to be a member before I went, I hadn't been saved long. I was a member in a Baptist Union church, a small, very small Baptist. And all we got was sermons on how to be good to each other and keep plodding on and stuff. And I remember thinking, and then I went to the Scottish Reformed Church. That, that's where I got my doctrine from.

[25:56] The doctrines of grace, the love of God, that God chose me out of the world by an Ulster man in Glasgow. And, and it would just, it was like being born again, all over again, realizing there's a plan of salvation. It's not just one or two things. There are so many things working. It produces this diamond that you thrill and you go, isn't God great? He's put this together and I am part of this.

[26:24] Paul touches on some of this. Look at verses three through to five. He's explaining the gospel here. He's explaining something of these every spiritual blessings. For he, the Father, chose us in him. He chose you. If you're here this morning, it's because he chose you. That was a revelation to me. I can remember the night I was saved in the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. I lived in Silky Hall Street.

[26:49] I can remember it as clear as day. From my perspective, I chose him. He didn't choose me. But from my, suddenly you realize, well, wait a wee minute. So he actually had to choose me before I chose him because I am dead in trespasses and sins. That just thrilled me. That humbled me.

[27:07] But it thrilled me. When I was in Nidre, there was a woman there. She adopted two children. I always remember saying she used to remind them that you're not less. You were chosen.

[27:19] Most of us are stuck with the kids that we gave birth to and we'd love to swap them with somebody else. But she chose them. And when she said this to me, I thought, isn't that great? In other churches where I've pastored, there have been couples who have adopted folk. They are loved dearly. And they were chosen. It's quite something. If you're here this morning, all praise to the Father. Why? Because He chose you. The Father chose you. It's quite something. And read on.

[27:52] For He predestined us for adoption. Paul's clear on the Father gospel thing. He gets it all. The initial act is with God the Father. He chose us. He predestined us. Why?

[28:06] Not just for salvation, but for adoption. For an inheritance. For a kingdom. We are living in a wee flat in Musselboro. I'd love to be able to give our daughters a great inheritance. There it is. There's a picture. There's the oil painting that's worth three and a half million. They'll get the microwave and the toaster and what's left of the car. That's all they've got to look forward to. But you have an inheritance. You're adopted into the family of God. Why? To the praise of the Father. He loves you. He chose you. Why did He choose us?

[28:43] It says here, according to foreknowledge. The actual word is not based on what God knows. It's not a... It's more a relational thing. It's more a covenant thing. It doesn't refer to rational knowledge.

[28:59] Well, I've weighed it all up. John's actually quite a good guy. I'm going to choose him based on that knowledge. It's not. The knowledge is to do with His covenant, His plan. That's why it says, in accordance, verse 5, with His pleasure and His will. You want to know why God chose you? I don't know. All I know was, He delighted to choose you, and it was His will. That's enough for me. I do not concern myself with matters too great for me, David says. That's enough for me, and that thrills me.

[29:32] He delighted to choose you, and He's chosen you out of grace. Look at verse 6. To the praise of what? His glorious grace. He didn't have to do this. He didn't have to form a church, Westerhales Baptist. But He did this. Why? Out of His glorious grace. And then Paul goes on more.

[29:50] Look at verse 7 and 8. Redemption. In Him we have redemption. What's good about the good news? You have been bought with a price. I remember when I lived here, the first time there's a garage in Musselboro. They used to give you these wacky tokens if you spent so much petrol or something, and it had a redemption value, if you looked at the bottom of, 0.00001 pence. You need about 5 million to get 10 pence. They made it difficult for you to redeem them, in other words. Did they cheat to put a redemption value on it? In other words, this thing you're holding in your hands is worth absolutely nothing. But the redemption to redeem you cost the blood of His Son. Do you doubt that God loves you?

[30:34] He crucified His Son. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Why? Because out of His pleasure and will, He wanted to save you and adopt you and choose you into His family. Other verses in Luke talk about forgiveness. It's the Father who forgives. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing.

[30:58] Father, forgive. The Father forgives you. He chooses you. The Father forgives you. The Father raises the Lord to life, and as it says in John 5, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life. We'll look at this more next week. The Father and the Son give life. He raises His back to this inheritance. Jesus says, then the King will say to those on His right, Matthew 25, come you, blessed by my Father, take your inheritance. Know this this morning, you are dearly blessed by the Father Himself and all that He has done. Look at verse 14 or 13. You believed you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. The context is God the Father to praise of His glory.

[31:58] Everything that comes your way comes from the Father. James knew this. Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father. He blesses you so much, and that's why in the gospel we need to really emphasize the Father, and not keep it woolly. Rejoice and think of what the Father has done for you.

[32:21] You are secure in the Father's hand. Jesus said this, didn't He? My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

[32:32] He has the plan. He's putting it all in place. It didn't stop when Jesus died and rose again. You are in the Father's hand. You are in the presence of His Father's hand. You are in the presence of His presence, jump on His knee, and say, Daddy, Abba, Father. That is something, isn't it? Even angels veil their faces in the presence of a holy God. He is a consuming fire, and yet Jesus says, you can come to Him, not as just God Almighty, but Abba. It's a dear—it was great to meet Emma, Phil's daughter, this morning, a lovely wee girl—to have a child run into His Father's presence.

[33:17] Quite something, isn't it? Quite something. The Father gives us endurance and encouragement. May the God who gives endurance, Romans 15, and encouragement, give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Jesus Christ, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's peppered throughout the New Testament. Glorify the Father. Understand the Father. Glorify Him. That is what the gospel is all about. Glorify Him. Compassion and comfort come from the Father. 2 Corinthians 1, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Everything comes from the Father. He has blessed us in Christ.

[34:06] Without Christ, we get none of these, and we'll look at this in two weeks' time. But in Christ, all the promises of God, the Father, are yes. Yes, John, they're all yours. Blessings come from the Father. That's why when Jesus says, our Father who art in heaven, then goes on to say, give us today our daily bread. You need the Father. You should rejoice in the Father. You should be clear in your mind how it's all working.

[34:34] Muslims will talk about Allah. We talk about God, our Father. There's only one God, and He is our Father, and He loves us. So, the Father is the administrator of salvation. He oversees the whole process from beginning to end. That's why Paul says, thank the Father for everything, because He's worthy to be thanked for everything. Absolutely everything. And it's quite something. So, He chooses us out of His grace. He redeems us. He forgives us. He gives us eternal life and inheritance, sonship, strength to press on, compassion, comfort, daily blessings. And you come up for air, and you can add more to that.

[35:17] He is worthy of praise. The glory of the Father is seen in the work of the Father. Secondly, very quick, or thirdly, very quickly, we'll go through this, the work of the Son. The work of the Son. He too brings glory to God the Father. All the promises are yes to the glory of God the Father. Jesus came in love, but He also came in obedience to the Father to do His will. He was sent by the Father. John 7, I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent me. The Father sent me, and I have come to glorify Him.

[35:55] The teaching, even His teaching, Jesus says, John 7, my teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me. I did not speak on my own. John 12, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say, and that's what I've spoken. He comes in submission to the Father, out of love, but He comes. He teaches what the Father told. He comes in obedience. My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work. And all of this leads to the cross. Remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I don't know, but you. It's got something good when it comes to Good Friday. The nation's shocking. It's just, it's just shocking. I must confess, I'm ashamed of my own nation. I've been, I've enjoyed living in England. Everything stops. In England, they take bank holidays. They really do. In Scotland, you don't need to take it. You take it whenever you feel like it. There's something nice when everything stops, and the shops are shut, and most folk take a bank. Even London was like that. We said, bank holiday, let's go up the city, Lucille, and we'll party away. Everything's shut. A lot of the things, apart from the wacky tourists. There are services. Wait for it. During the day, at half past ten in the morning. Why? Because everybody's off their work, and they can come.

[37:20] But in Scotland, you have to go at night. Why? Because Good Friday. We just work on Good Friday. We don't take time to stop and to think. Shame on you, Scotland. I just, I just don't like it. I don't like it. Good Friday. Take the time off. Nobody's going to die. Take it off. Just hang up your stethoscope or whatever it is, and think about Good Friday. Go to a church during the day.

[37:46] So it feels strange to be back in that way. Good Friday. It is quite something. Jesus says, Father, what shall I say? He says, Father, save me from this hour. No, it's for this very reason I came.

[37:59] Father, glorify your name. He, the Son, everything he does is to the glory of God the Father. Should it not be for us as well? Everything we do to the glory of God the Father. How does the death of Jesus bring glory? He dies to atone for our sin. He dies to remove the wrath of God from us. He dies to redeem us back to himself. He dies in such a way that we are saved only by faith and not by works. He lives a life, a spotless life, so that we don't have to earn salvation. His righteousness is credited to our account. He gives us eternal life. He secures it for us, all to the glory of God the Father.

[38:48] Everything the Son did not only benefits us, but brings glory to God the Father. Fourthly, with us, I'm finished. The work of the Holy Spirit. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit into the world, into your heart. When the counselor comes, Jesus says, whom I, Jesus, will send to you from the Father. The Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father will testify about me. The Holy Spirit comes from the Father. He comes to teach, to testify of Jesus, but also to make us alive. Ephesians 2.5, the Father makes us alive through the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? In his great mercy, he has given us new birth. He associates the new birth to the Father through the Holy Spirit. The Father is worthy of praise and glory. When the Holy Spirit comes and reveals God's Word, when he leads us and guides us and comforts us, this originated from the

[40:00] Father. Sending the Holy Spirit. It is quite something. Remember when Simon Peter says, I know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. That was his confession. He says, this was not revealed to you by man, but by, he didn't say the Holy Spirit, he says, but by my Father in heaven.

[40:22] He attributes enlightenment, regeneration, knowledge to the Father. Everything stems from the Father. It really is quite something. The Father brings glory to the Father by sanctifying you, by making you like Jesus. He comes to give you assurance of salvation, so that when you're assured, when you leave this place, if you died, get hit with a bus or something in Princess Street or a tram or whatever, you're secure.

[40:52] Your salvation is secure to the glory of God the Father. If you know love and joy and peace and guidance and comfort and instruction and chastisement, that is through the Holy Spirit sent by the Father.

[41:07] Father, and even when you pray, the Holy Spirit helps that you do not know how to pray, but he intercedes. So, with this, I'm finished. What's so good about the good news? I hope that you'll leave this place this morning with one other facet of the gospel. I'm not just going to say to somebody, you can be forgiven. God can lead you into a good job. God can do this. You can have Jesus as a sunbeam or whatever, that you can actually say, let me tell you about God the Father. Let me tell you about the glory of my wonderful God. And then you can mention all these aspects of the gospel that come from the Father.

[41:51] In two weeks' time, we will look at Jesus, who became obedient to death, and God raised him. And at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and the Father and the Son are glorified together.

[42:07] You cannot finish this just here. You need to look at the glory of the Son. The Son is glorious. And I look forward to preaching and bringing that message to you. Do you want to know more about the gospel, how great God is, the Father, the Son? Long before you start considering you, think of them.

[42:27] Think of them and their glory. We're going to sing an old song. I don't know if I'm singing a new tune to it. I'm not too sure. To God be the glory, great things he has done. So loved he the world, thinking of the Father. He gave us his Son. So loved you that he gave his Son. So maybe this week, you'll be praising the Father for who he is, for everything that he means to you. So let's stand and we'll sing this together to God. Wow, very good. Every time we close a song, I just, the music, I just think it's great. Boy, you guys are spoiled here. I'm sure I've got another two Sundays to go here in April, next week and the week after. I'm sure one of these times I'm going to say, please take your partners for the last song. It's just so upbeat. Let me just close with a benediction. Let God's word be the last word we hear. It's in Romans, the very last chapter.

[43:21] Now to him, God the Father, who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God so that all nations might believe and obey him. To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ and all God's people said, Amen. Amen. Please be seated.

[44:04] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[44:15] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[44:30] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.