WEBVTT 00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:04.080 We're going to begin our worship now, and we're singing firstly in Psalm 24. 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:11.599 Psalm 24, this is in the Scottish Psalter on page 230, and we're singing to Tune Winchester. 00:00:13.120 --> 00:00:18.339 The earth belongs unto the Lord, and all that it contains, the world that is inhabited, 00:00:18.580 --> 00:00:24.359 and all that there remains. For the foundations thereof he on the seas did lay, and he hath 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:32.740 it established upon the floods to stay. Singing verses 1 to 5, Psalm 24, the earth belongs 00:00:32.740 --> 00:00:34.920 unto the Lord, and we stand to sing. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:54.340 The earth belongs unto the Lord, and all that it contains, the world that is inhabited, 00:00:54.359 --> 00:01:21.359 and all that there remains. For the foundations thereof he on the seas did lay, and he hath 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:43.359 hath it established upon the floods to stay. Who is the man that shall ascend into the hill 00:01:43.359 --> 00:02:05.359 of God? For who within his holy place shall have a firm at home? Whose hands are clean, whose heart 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:27.360 heart is pure and done to vanity? Who hath not lifted up his soul, nor scorned deceitfully? 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:52.360 He from the eternal shall receive a blessing upon, and righteousness came from the God of his salvation. 00:02:52.360 --> 00:03:01.060 Let's now call upon the Lord in prayer. Let's join together in prayer. 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:13.560 O Lord, O Lord, O gracious God, you have once again revealed to us in these words aspects of your own 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:19.860 greatness, your sovereignty as creator over all that you have created and brought into being. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:26.960 We thank you that you have also revealed to us, even in these words, the grace that you have shown 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:35.760 toward your people, a grace that you have shown in your presence with a clean heart through Jesus Christ. 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:43.520 And we thank you, Lord, for the way in which he will always be, the means by which we are made acceptable to you. 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:49.240 And we give thanks for the certainty of these things, for they are revealed to us in your own word, 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:55.180 and they have your own truthfulness behind them. And therefore, Lord, help us never to doubt them. 00:03:55.180 --> 00:04:02.500 Help us to come before you with a due acknowledgement of the reality of our standing before God 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:05.840 when our faith is in Christ Jesus, O Lord. 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:14.340 We thank you once again for this day, and we thank you for the privilege of knowing how important this day is to your people, 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:19.680 and how it is a day that you have set apart from all other days of the week. 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:29.740 And we thank you, Lord, that this remains with us a precious fact, even though we know that there is much mistreatment of your day, 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:37.960 and that it is so much in our generation, despised and not kept in a way that is holy to the Lord. 00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:45.819 We know that we ourselves, O Lord, fail in some ways to keep this day holy as you require. 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:49.420 And so we look to you, Lord, for your forgiveness tonight. 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:54.939 There are many ways in which we fail to measure up to the standard, not only here, 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:58.199 but in other aspects of your word and of your commands, 00:04:58.939 --> 00:05:04.339 that we fail to measure up to the terms and to the standard that you set before us. 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:07.899 And so we are all the more grateful and thankful, O Lord, 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:15.519 for our perfect Savior, in whom we are presented to you as if we had been and are perfect ourselves. 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:18.879 We thank you tonight, Lord, for his merit. 00:05:19.659 --> 00:05:21.379 We thank you for his achievements. 00:05:22.299 --> 00:05:25.759 We thank you for the success of his time in this world, 00:05:26.419 --> 00:05:30.199 in coming to be born into this world as a human being, 00:05:30.919 --> 00:05:33.899 in coming to give himself to the service of the Father, 00:05:33.899 --> 00:05:37.859 in coming to give perfect obedience to the will of the Father, 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:41.739 in coming to fulfill that death of the cross, 00:05:42.239 --> 00:05:46.099 by which he provided an atonement for the sin of his people. 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:50.379 We thank you for the way that he has now risen from the dead, 00:05:50.979 --> 00:05:54.919 and for his exaltation and session at the right hand of God. 00:05:55.799 --> 00:06:02.439 We thank you, O Lord, as we anticipate remembering the Lord and his death in this coming Lord's Day. 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:07.639 We thank you that the reality of his death is held out before us, 00:06:07.719 --> 00:06:12.939 not only on this kind of occasion, but also every time we come to your Word. 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:18.699 And we do thank you, O Lord, for the reality of all that has been achieved by the cross, 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:26.040 that it is the way in which we have come to be represented and set before God in his person, 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:32.960 so that all that he has achieved comes to his people to be as real as if they had achieved it themselves. 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:37.480 We thank you for that great union that your people have with you, 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:43.939 for the way that you enable us, Lord, by the power of your Spirit to know of new life, 00:06:44.460 --> 00:06:48.920 of life as those who are born again and brought into your kingdom 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:52.360 and into the possession of the privileges of your children. 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:58.640 We pray, Lord, tonight as we anticipate gathering our minds together to focus briefly 00:06:58.640 --> 00:07:04.319 on what it is to be children of God and how it has come about that we are so. 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:08.840 Help us, Lord, we pray, to do so thankfully and dependently, 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:17.699 and to do so especially in a way that is grateful for the grace that comes to be revealed to us in this. 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:23.779 We ask, Lord, that you would help us to fulfill all that it means to belong to your children. 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:28.679 And we pray that for any of us tonight who are not yet born again, 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:34.899 those who have not yet come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ trustingly and savingly, 00:07:35.659 --> 00:07:37.899 those who have not come to trust in his name, 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:43.039 Lord, we pray for them and we pray that you would tonight work in their souls, 00:07:43.620 --> 00:07:47.139 that you would give them to know that power of your Spirit, 00:07:47.779 --> 00:07:50.719 the power that has brought our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, 00:07:51.359 --> 00:07:53.659 the power that brings us to life spiritually. 00:07:54.359 --> 00:07:59.959 We ask that that power may be in our midst and in the midst of all your people's gathering tonight. 00:08:00.799 --> 00:08:03.139 We pray, Lord, for ourselves as a congregation. 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:06.519 Again, we commit ourselves to you as a people. 00:08:06.519 --> 00:08:10.879 Lord, there are so many things that we can and do bring before you, 00:08:11.419 --> 00:08:17.039 and as we do so privately, so we do so as we gather here at this occasion. 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:23.539 And we pray that all that we seek to do in your name will be guided by your Spirit. 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:31.759 Help us, Lord, we pray, to set before adults and children alike the claims of God, 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:41.159 the claims of Christ, the claims that come to us as we know the reality of your rule and of your saviorship over us. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:48.819 Oh, Lord, our God, we pray that as we do so, we may know your blessing accompanying all that is done. 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:51.639 Bless the children who belong to us. 00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:53.279 Bless them in our families. 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:55.740 Bless them in schoolwork. 00:08:55.740 --> 00:09:00.820 Bless them at the Sunday school and creche, Bible class and tweenies. 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:06.879 We thank you for all occasions and all activities associated, Lord, with their well-being. 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:11.899 We do pray again for your blessing to accompany all these efforts. 00:09:12.580 --> 00:09:18.860 Bless the leaders who had looked to head up the various groups of young people. 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:23.480 We thank you for them, and we give thanks for their willingness to serve. 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:31.080 We give thanks, oh Lord, for their readiness to give of their time and of the gifts you have given them in the service of the Lord. 00:09:31.539 --> 00:09:36.600 We pray that they may know your blessing, and that they may know gladness and joy of heart 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:42.560 to see these young lives develop morally and spiritually as they receive your Word. 00:09:43.300 --> 00:09:47.480 And Lord, we ask too that you bless tonight those we know are unable to be with us. 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:56.759 We thank you for the technology that enables those who cannot leave their homes yet to be part virtually of our services of worship. 00:09:57.460 --> 00:10:05.220 Bless all such tonight, we pray, and all even through other parts of the world who come to log in to our services. 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:11.539 Lord, we pray that the gospel, as it goes forth in that way too, will be blessed by you, 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:18.299 and that many will come to have their lives touched even from listening to the message of the gospel proclaimed. 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:27.799 We ask, oh Lord, too, for those tonight who are ill, especially those who are seriously ill and those who are critically ill. 00:10:27.939 --> 00:10:29.319 Remember them, Lord, we pray. 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:32.360 We belong to various families in the congregation. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:35.899 Again, we ask your blessing to rest upon them. 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:42.379 We ask for their loved ones that you would calm and pacify their hearts and give them to know, Lord, 00:10:42.459 --> 00:10:46.919 your surrounding care and your own compassion directed towards them. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:52.659 We pray that your healing hand will be upon such, if it be your will that they recover, 00:10:53.439 --> 00:10:59.659 and if it be, Lord, that it is your choice, your will that they should leave this world and enter into eternity. 00:10:59.659 --> 00:11:11.079 Our prayer for them is that you would enable them to take that step in the grace and in the salvation that has been procured in the Lord Jesus Christ for us. 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:17.319 We ask, Lord, your blessing for our community, for all who serve you in different ways in our community, 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:26.179 in different kinds of services and emergency services, in the police force, in our hospitals and care homes, medical practices, 00:11:26.179 --> 00:11:33.639 and all who help to, Lord, meet our needs at different times, the various groups and charities, 00:11:34.319 --> 00:11:36.699 and like, say, families and Crossroads and others. 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:44.579 Oh, Lord, who give such good service to us in our community, in our family and personal experiences. 00:11:45.219 --> 00:11:48.879 So bless us, we pray, and continue to bless us in these ways. 00:11:49.439 --> 00:11:55.679 And in all of these things, as we confess our sins anew, receive us graciously, cleanse us from our sins, 00:11:55.679 --> 00:12:01.019 for we ask all of these things in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. 00:12:04.939 --> 00:12:06.559 Well, let's praise God once again. 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:08.779 This time we're praising him from Psalm 130. 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:13.099 Again, it's in the Singed Psalms, sorry, it's in the Scottish Psalter. 00:12:13.839 --> 00:12:17.959 Sorry, it's in the Singed Psalms version, yes, page 173. 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:24.099 And we're singing to the tune, Martyrdom. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:36.439 Psalm 173, a psalm that so many people down through many generations have found of such use and comfort and assurance, 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:43.559 as we find the psalmist calling from the depths to the Lord to hear him from his place on high. 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:54.759 And here, like quite a number of the psalms, they begin in the depths, they begin with complaint to God of their situation, 00:12:54.899 --> 00:12:57.139 complaint in the sense of reaching out to him. 00:12:57.719 --> 00:13:07.139 And yet, by the time you reach the end of the psalm, you come to expressions of comfort and trust and reliance upon God, 00:13:07.139 --> 00:13:12.059 and even us here calling upon others to put their hope in the Lord. 00:13:12.139 --> 00:13:17.279 So Psalm 130, Lord, from the depths I call to you. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:31.740 Lord, from the depths I call to you. 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:49.180 Lord, dearly come on high, and give attention to my voice, 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:58.179 Lord, dearly come on high, and give attention to my怱Is. 00:13:58.179 --> 00:14:06.979 Lord, in your presence, who thou stand? 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:15.480 If you are sentry, Lord, 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:24.980 But yet forgiveness is with you, 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:33.220 That we may hear you, Lord. 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:44.500 I wait, my soul, wait for the Lord, 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:52.340 My hope is in His word. 00:14:52.340 --> 00:15:02.540 More than the watch and reach for God, 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:10.539 My soul, wait for the Lord. 00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:21.620 O Israel, birth, your old in rock, 00:15:21.620 --> 00:15:28.620 For mercy is with Him, 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:39.740 And full redemption from their sins 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:47.740 As He will be redeemed. 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:47.980 Amen. 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:52.159 Now let's turn to read God's word. 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:54.120 Tonight we're reading from the Gospel of John, 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:57.799 And chapter 1, verses 1 to 18. 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:03.379 Gospel of John, reading from the beginning, 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:05.500 The first 18 verses. 00:16:05.500 --> 00:16:14.019 In the beginning was the Word, 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:16.080 And the Word was with God, 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:18.039 And the Word was God. 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:20.620 He was in the beginning with God. 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:22.940 All things were made through Him, 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:26.240 And without Him was not anything made that was made. 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:28.159 In Him was life, 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:30.580 And the life was the light of men. 00:16:30.580 --> 00:16:33.320 The light shines in the darkness, 00:16:33.780 --> 00:16:35.759 And the darkness has not overcome it. 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.240 There was a man sent from God, 00:16:38.420 --> 00:16:40.440 Whose name was John. 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:42.420 He came as a witness, 00:16:42.900 --> 00:16:44.600 To bear witness about the light, 00:16:44.900 --> 00:16:47.080 That all might believe through Him. 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:49.280 He was not the light, 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.139 But came to bear witness about the light. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:53.960 The true light, 00:16:54.400 --> 00:16:55.680 Which enlightens everyone, 00:16:56.160 --> 00:16:57.740 Was coming into the world. 00:16:57.740 --> 00:17:00.120 He was in the world, 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:02.379 And the world was made through Him, 00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:04.700 Yet the world did not know Him. 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:06.680 He came to His own, 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.259 And His own people did not receive Him. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:11.759 But to all who did receive Him, 00:17:12.120 --> 00:17:13.440 Who believed in His name, 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.660 He gave the right to become children of God, 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:19.200 Who were born not of blood, 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:21.180 Nor of the will of the flesh, 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:22.980 Nor of the will of man, 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.900 But of God. 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:27.340 And the word became flesh, 00:17:27.540 --> 00:17:28.500 And dwelt among us. 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:30.420 We have seen His glory, 00:17:30.560 --> 00:17:32.640 Glory as of the only Son, 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:33.380 From the Father, 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:35.320 Full of grace and truth. 00:17:36.320 --> 00:17:37.900 John bore witness about Him, 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:38.680 And cried out, 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:40.960 This was He of whom I said, 00:17:41.580 --> 00:17:42.720 He who comes after me, 00:17:42.800 --> 00:17:43.860 Ranks before me, 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:46.220 Because He was before me. 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:48.060 And from His fullness, 00:17:48.620 --> 00:17:49.820 Have we all received, 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:51.280 Grace upon grace. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.099 For the law was given through Moses, 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:58.460 Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:01.299 No one has ever seen God, 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.180 The only God who is at the Father's side, 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:07.319 He has made Him known. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:09.839 And so on, 00:18:09.879 --> 00:18:11.279 And may God follow with His blessing, 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:13.359 Again as we read His Word. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:16.099 Once again, let's praise the Lord, 00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:18.980 This time we're praising Him from Psalm 119, 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:22.279 Psalm 119, 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:24.980 Page 404, 00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:26.000 In Scottish Psalter, 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:28.559 And at verse 57. 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:29.839 Singing to a tune, 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:30.440 Belmont, 00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:33.940 And we'll sing that section down to verse 64. 00:18:34.620 --> 00:18:36.960 Thou my sure portion art alone, 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:39.240 Which I did choose, O Lord. 00:18:39.900 --> 00:18:41.319 I have resolved and said, 00:18:41.420 --> 00:18:43.079 That I would keep Thy holy word. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:44.839 With my whole heart, 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:47.319 I did entreat Thy face and favor free. 00:18:47.980 --> 00:18:49.799 According to Thy gracious word, 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:52.399 Be merciful to me. 00:18:53.179 --> 00:18:55.199 I thought upon my former ways, 00:18:55.679 --> 00:18:57.559 And did my life well try, 00:18:58.259 --> 00:19:00.099 And to Thy testimonies pure, 00:19:00.639 --> 00:19:03.259 My feet then turned I. 00:19:03.639 --> 00:19:04.179 And so on, 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:05.240 To the end of the section, 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:06.639 To the tune, Belmont, 00:19:06.740 --> 00:19:09.259 Thou my sure portion art alone. 00:19:09.259 --> 00:19:23.779 Am I sure portion art alone, 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:32.240 Which I did choose, O Lord. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:39.920 I have resolved and said, 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:50.119 That I would keep Thy holy word. 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:56.039 With my whole heart, 00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:00.819 I didn't treat, 00:20:00.819 --> 00:20:08.219 I placed the favor free. 00:20:08.219 --> 00:20:19.159 According to Thy gracious word, 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:26.160 Inheritable to me. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:38.279 I thought upon my former ways, 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:46.460 And did my life well try, 00:20:46.460 --> 00:20:56.299 And to Thy testimonies pure, 00:20:56.299 --> 00:21:04.799 My feet then turned it high. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:10.460 I did not stay, 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:14.460 Nor linger long, 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:23.579 As those that slothful are, 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:32.460 But hastily I lost to Thee, 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:40.460 Myself I did repay. 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:45.579 Bands of hell, 00:21:45.579 --> 00:21:51.460 And hereof yet high, 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:59.460 Thy peace that stayed was my, 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:00.460 Thy light, 00:22:00.460 --> 00:22:04.460 Thy light that made, 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:09.460 Thy feet to raise, 00:22:09.460 --> 00:22:14.460 In for Thy touchless pride. 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:21.460 I am companion to all those, 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:25.460 Who hear and lay, O they. 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:29.460 O Lord, Thy mercy fills me, 00:22:29.460 --> 00:22:30.460 The earth, 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:31.460 O Lord, 00:22:31.460 --> 00:22:44.460 Thy mercy fills me, 00:22:44.460 --> 00:22:45.460 The earth, 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:46.460 O Lord, 00:22:46.460 --> 00:22:47.460 And hereof, 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:51.460 Each day in Thy laws, 00:22:51.460 --> 00:22:53.460 I pray. 00:22:53.460 --> 00:23:00.460 Please turn with me now to John chapter 1, 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:02.579 And tonight we are going to briefly consider 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:05.460 Verses 11 to 13. 00:23:05.460 --> 00:23:07.460 He came to His own, 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:08.460 He came to His own, 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:10.579 And His own people did not receive Him. 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:12.579 But to all who did receive Him, 00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:14.579 Who believed in His name, 00:23:14.579 --> 00:23:17.579 He gave the right to become children of God, 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:19.460 Who were born not of blood, 00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:20.579 Nor of the will of the flesh, 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:22.579 Nor of the will of man, 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:27.579 But of God. 00:23:27.579 --> 00:23:35.579 Surely this is the most profound prologue to any book that has ever been written. 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:41.579 Because as you go here from verse 1 through to verse 18, which forms the prologue, 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:45.579 You can see how profound the teaching is, 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:48.579 And the amazing thing, or one of the amazing things is, 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:52.579 That John here, and indeed throughout his gospel, 00:23:52.579 --> 00:23:58.579 Put so much profound teaching into such very simple concepts, 00:23:58.579 --> 00:24:00.579 With which we are all familiar. 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:03.579 Darkness, light, and so on. 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:06.579 And what he is doing really, 00:24:06.579 --> 00:24:08.579 Through the rest of the gospel, 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:11.579 Is unpacking, as it is commonly called, 00:24:11.579 --> 00:24:16.579 The meaning of what he is saying here in regard to the word, 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:19.579 Which you'll see as a capital W. 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:21.579 The word, as you reach verse 18, 00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:23.579 And then follow on from that, 00:24:23.579 --> 00:24:26.579 It becomes obvious to you reading it then, 00:24:26.579 --> 00:24:29.579 That the one who is meant by the word, 00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:31.579 Is in fact Jesus Christ. 00:24:31.579 --> 00:24:34.579 He is the one who, as the word, 00:24:34.579 --> 00:24:38.579 Just as we use words to communicate what's on our minds, 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:41.579 In order that others may understand us, 00:24:41.579 --> 00:24:44.579 As we use words to communicate, 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:47.579 In that whatever language we're using, 00:24:47.579 --> 00:24:50.579 Words communicate from the mind, 00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:53.579 Towards the person you're speaking to. 00:24:53.579 --> 00:24:56.579 And what John is doing is saying that, 00:24:56.579 --> 00:24:59.579 Jesus is the communication from the mind, 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:02.579 From the will, from the heart of God, 00:25:02.579 --> 00:25:05.579 In order that we should understand something, 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:08.579 Of the will of God for our salvation. 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:11.579 So he is the word, 00:25:11.579 --> 00:25:14.579 And the word which was with God, 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:15.579 And then it says, 00:25:15.579 --> 00:25:17.579 The word was God. 00:25:17.579 --> 00:25:19.579 So what you find here, 00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:20.579 And throughout John's gospel, 00:25:20.579 --> 00:25:23.579 Is the unpacking of that great concept, 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:26.579 That Jesus Christ, as the word, 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:30.579 Is the one who has come to reveal to us, 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:33.579 And you can see it down in verse 18 especially, 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:36.579 No one has ever seen God, 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:37.579 The only God, 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:38.579 Or the only begotten, 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:40.579 You could translate that as well, 00:25:40.579 --> 00:25:43.579 Who is at the Father's side. 00:25:43.579 --> 00:25:45.579 The old translation has, 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:47.579 Who is in the Father's bosom. 00:25:47.579 --> 00:25:49.579 He has made him known. 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:54.579 And if you think of what it means to clasp something to your bosom, 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:57.579 To your heart, with affection, 00:25:57.579 --> 00:26:00.579 What you find really in Jesus Christ, 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.579 Is that God has taken what was on his heart, 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:05.579 The salvation of his people, 00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:09.579 And he has actually communicated that through Jesus Christ. 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:12.579 In Christ you find the heart of God, 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:16.579 Actually brought to us so that we can see something of it, 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:21.579 And that in the way in which that's revealed to us in Christ, 00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:23.579 And in the written word, 00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:26.579 We then come to find this is God speaking to us, 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:28.579 And here is what he's saying to us, 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:31.579 And it's summed up in the person of Christ, 00:26:31.579 --> 00:26:36.579 And all that he has done and continues to do for his people. 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:39.579 So that's what's presented to us, 00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:43.579 And we're just confining ourselves tonight to these verses 11 to 13, 00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:45.579 He came to his own, 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:47.579 And his own people did not receive him, 00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:49.579 But to all who did receive him, 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:50.579 Who believed in his name, 00:26:50.579 --> 00:26:53.579 He gave the right to become children of God. 00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:56.579 And three things emerge from these verses 00:26:56.579 --> 00:26:58.579 That we can briefly look at in turn. 00:26:58.579 --> 00:27:02.579 First of all, it speaks about Jesus rejected. 00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:07.579 And secondly, it speaks about Jesus received. 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:12.579 And thirdly, it speaks about the children of God, 00:27:12.579 --> 00:27:18.579 As a consequence of what it mentions there about believing in his name, 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:20.579 And receiving him. 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:22.579 And consequence of that, 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:27.579 He gave them the right to become the children of God. 00:27:27.579 --> 00:27:31.579 These are the three things that these few verses bring out for us. 00:27:31.579 --> 00:27:33.579 Jesus rejected, Jesus received, 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:36.579 And the children of God. 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:41.579 That connects with Jesus being received and believed in. 00:27:41.579 --> 00:27:43.579 Well, Jesus first of all rejected, 00:27:43.579 --> 00:27:44.579 As you see in verse 11, 00:27:44.579 --> 00:27:45.579 He came to his own, 00:27:45.579 --> 00:27:48.579 And his own people did not receive him. 00:27:48.579 --> 00:27:51.579 Now in the original language of the New Testament, 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:53.579 The text really is literally, 00:27:53.579 --> 00:27:54.579 He came to his own, 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:56.579 And his own did not receive him. 00:27:56.579 --> 00:28:01.579 And there's a slight difference in nuance between the first his own, 00:28:01.579 --> 00:28:03.579 And the second his own. 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:04.579 He came to his own, 00:28:04.579 --> 00:28:05.579 And the second reference to it, 00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:09.579 And the second reference to it, 00:28:09.579 --> 00:28:10.579 Which is rightly, 00:28:10.579 --> 00:28:11.579 Here translated, 00:28:11.579 --> 00:28:12.579 His own people. 00:28:12.579 --> 00:28:13.579 His own people, 00:28:13.579 --> 00:28:15.579 That is, the Jewish people, 00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:17.579 The people that he came from, 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:19.579 By virtue of his birth into the world. 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:22.579 And what we see is that, 00:28:22.579 --> 00:28:23.579 First of all, 00:28:23.579 --> 00:28:24.579 As he's rejected, 00:28:24.579 --> 00:28:26.579 He came to his own in the wider sense. 00:28:26.579 --> 00:28:31.579 And you'll know that this is set in the context of God's creation. 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:32.579 This passage, I mean, 00:28:32.579 --> 00:28:34.579 It's talking about the creation. 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:37.579 It talks about that all things were made through him, 00:28:37.579 --> 00:28:38.579 Through this word, 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:39.579 This person. 00:28:39.579 --> 00:28:43.579 Without him was not anything that was made that was made. 00:28:43.579 --> 00:28:44.579 And so, 00:28:44.579 --> 00:28:47.579 It goes into verse 10, 00:28:47.579 --> 00:28:48.579 He was in the world, 00:28:48.579 --> 00:28:50.579 The world was made through him, 00:28:50.579 --> 00:28:52.579 Yet the world did not know him. 00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:53.579 In other words, 00:28:53.579 --> 00:28:54.579 He's telling us here, 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:57.579 This is teaching us something really precious, 00:28:57.579 --> 00:28:59.579 That Jesus, the Son of God, 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:00.579 Came into this world, 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:03.579 And became human, 00:29:03.579 --> 00:29:04.579 By taking our nature, 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:06.579 As you find in verse 14, 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:08.579 The word was made or became flesh, 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:10.579 And he dwelt among us. 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:15.579 But as he came to the creation, 00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:16.579 He came, if you like, 00:29:16.579 --> 00:29:17.579 To, 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:20.579 He entered into the created order, 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:21.579 That he himself created. 00:29:21.579 --> 00:29:24.579 He became part of that created order, 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:27.579 Without in any way losing what he had from the beginning, 00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:30.579 From all eternity, 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:31.579 In the nature of God. 00:29:31.579 --> 00:29:33.579 He came to his own, 00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:35.579 He came to the world that he had created. 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:36.579 He came into this world, 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:38.579 And the world rejected him, 00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:40.579 Which is the next point as well, 00:29:40.579 --> 00:29:41.579 His own did not receive him. 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:44.579 But it's reminding us that there's more here, 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:47.579 Than that Jesus just came to a certain people, 00:29:47.579 --> 00:29:49.579 From which he was born naturally, 00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:51.579 And saying to us, 00:29:51.579 --> 00:29:53.579 He came into the world he created. 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:57.579 He became part of that world, amazingly. 00:29:57.579 --> 00:30:01.579 God himself came in the person of his Son, 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:04.579 To take part of this to himself, 00:30:04.579 --> 00:30:05.579 To become human. 00:30:05.579 --> 00:30:09.579 To have something created for him, 00:30:09.579 --> 00:30:11.579 That he then took to himself, 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:13.579 In our human nature. 00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:15.579 He came to his own, 00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:17.579 But then secondly, 00:30:17.579 --> 00:30:19.579 His own people, 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:21.579 Did not receive him. 00:30:21.579 --> 00:30:22.579 And by that, 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:26.579 It's narrowing the focus down to certain people. 00:30:26.579 --> 00:30:28.579 He came into the world, 00:30:28.579 --> 00:30:30.579 Born through Jewish, 00:30:30.579 --> 00:30:33.579 Into the Jewish people. 00:30:33.579 --> 00:30:35.579 Born of a Jewish mother, 00:30:35.579 --> 00:30:39.579 Begotten by the Holy Spirit. 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:40.579 But he came, 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:42.579 And took to himself, 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:43.579 Human nature, 00:30:43.579 --> 00:30:46.579 By becoming a Jew. 00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:48.579 By coming to be raised, 00:30:48.579 --> 00:30:51.579 As a Jewish boy and man, 00:30:51.579 --> 00:30:54.579 And developed in that way as humans do. 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:57.579 And he came to his own people. 00:30:57.579 --> 00:30:59.579 But his own, 00:30:59.579 --> 00:31:02.579 Did not receive him. 00:31:02.579 --> 00:31:04.579 He was rejected, 00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:06.579 By and large, 00:31:06.579 --> 00:31:08.579 By these people of his day. 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:09.579 That he walked amongst, 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:11.579 That saw his miracles, 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:12.579 That heard him preach, 00:31:12.579 --> 00:31:15.579 That he called so often to come to him. 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:17.579 And in John's Gospel, 00:31:17.579 --> 00:31:19.579 You find that so frequently set out. 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:22.579 Isaiah 53, for example, 00:31:22.579 --> 00:31:23.579 As you know, 00:31:23.579 --> 00:31:25.579 Is a passage that deals with 00:31:25.579 --> 00:31:28.579 This wonderful person, 00:31:28.579 --> 00:31:30.579 In such a detailed way. 00:31:30.579 --> 00:31:32.579 It's virtually equivalent to 00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:34.579 Many New Testament passages. 00:31:34.579 --> 00:31:37.579 Although it happened many hundreds of years before 00:31:37.579 --> 00:31:38.579 Jesus came. 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:40.579 And you remember yourselves how, 00:31:40.579 --> 00:31:42.579 As Isaiah 53 puts it, 00:31:42.579 --> 00:31:47.579 He was despised and rejected by men, 00:31:47.579 --> 00:31:51.579 A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:54.579 He was despised and we esteemed him. 00:31:54.579 --> 00:32:03.579 He was rejected by the people he came to be part of. 00:32:03.579 --> 00:32:08.579 And you can see the climax to that really in John's Gospel itself. 00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:12.579 If you go forward to chapter 19 for a moment, 00:32:12.579 --> 00:32:15.579 And look at verses 14 to 16. 00:32:15.579 --> 00:32:19.579 Chapter 19 and at verse 14. 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:30.579 Now it was the day of the preparation of the Passover. 00:32:30.579 --> 00:32:32.579 It was about the sixth hour. 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:34.579 He said to the Jews, 00:32:34.579 --> 00:32:36.579 This is Pontius Pilate speaking, 00:32:36.579 --> 00:32:37.579 The Roman governor. 00:32:37.579 --> 00:32:50.579 The chief priests, 00:32:50.579 --> 00:32:51.579 These are the religious leaders. 00:32:51.579 --> 00:32:52.579 They answered, 00:32:52.579 --> 00:32:56.579 We have no king but Caesar. 00:32:56.579 --> 00:32:59.579 We have no king but the Roman emperor. 00:32:59.579 --> 00:33:02.579 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. 00:33:02.579 --> 00:33:04.579 You see, he came to his own people. 00:33:04.579 --> 00:33:06.579 And as all did not receive him, 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:07.579 Not only did they not receive him, 00:33:07.579 --> 00:33:09.579 They rejected him. 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:10.579 They said, 00:33:10.579 --> 00:33:12.579 We don't have any king but Caesar. 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:15.579 Our only king is the emperor. 00:33:15.579 --> 00:33:19.579 What darkness had come to envelop their minds. 00:33:19.579 --> 00:33:22.579 These people who had the Old Testament. 00:33:22.579 --> 00:33:23.579 These chief priests, 00:33:23.579 --> 00:33:26.579 These scribes who knew the Old Testament scriptures. 00:33:26.579 --> 00:33:28.579 Who actually knew them so well. 00:33:28.579 --> 00:33:33.579 And yet they could not fit together the prophecies of the Old Testament 00:33:33.579 --> 00:33:35.579 With their fulfillment in the person of Jesus. 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:39.579 Even though Jesus clearly himself indicated that that's who he was. 00:33:39.579 --> 00:33:44.579 His own did not receive him. 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:46.579 What about yourself? 00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:51.579 He's come to you too in the gospel. 00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:53.579 He's coming to you tonight in the gospel. 00:33:53.579 --> 00:33:57.579 The gospel is always about Jesus presenting himself. 00:33:57.579 --> 00:34:02.579 And if we're not focusing on that as a core element of the gospel, 00:34:02.579 --> 00:34:04.579 We're not doing our job properly. 00:34:04.579 --> 00:34:05.579 Because this is not about us. 00:34:05.579 --> 00:34:08.579 This is not about anything to do with us as preachers. 00:34:08.579 --> 00:34:12.579 Nothing to do with ability or inability or anything like that. 00:34:12.579 --> 00:34:14.579 Because that will vary so much anyway. 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:15.579 This is about him. 00:34:15.579 --> 00:34:17.579 This is about the one who came to his own people. 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:19.579 And his own people did not receive him. 00:34:19.579 --> 00:34:22.579 This is about the Jesus who's coming to you and to me tonight. 00:34:22.579 --> 00:34:23.579 And saying, 00:34:23.579 --> 00:34:25.579 Have you received me? 00:34:25.579 --> 00:34:26.579 Have you taken me? 00:34:26.579 --> 00:34:28.579 Have you welcomed me into your heart? 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:32.579 Because that's what the gospel is really about. 00:34:32.579 --> 00:34:37.579 And that's why we want to bring this gospel to those people around us. 00:34:37.579 --> 00:34:40.579 As much as every opportunity we have to do that. 00:34:40.579 --> 00:34:43.579 We hope we'll take all of these opportunities as God gives them. 00:34:43.579 --> 00:34:44.579 As God enables us. 00:34:44.579 --> 00:34:48.579 Because the burden of our hearts tonight as a Christian congregation 00:34:48.579 --> 00:34:54.579 Is that we communicate this great message of the gospel to those around us. 00:34:54.579 --> 00:34:57.579 That Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners. 00:34:57.579 --> 00:35:00.579 That this man receives sinners and eats with them. 00:35:00.579 --> 00:35:04.579 That he is pleased to bring us into fellowship with himself. 00:35:04.579 --> 00:35:06.579 That that's the purpose. 00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:07.579 Why he came into the world. 00:35:07.579 --> 00:35:12.579 Why he came to his created order and became part of that. 00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:18.579 And why he came to his own though they did not welcome or receive him. 00:35:18.579 --> 00:35:24.579 So here's for me and here's for you a very important question tonight. 00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:25.579 Have I? 00:35:25.579 --> 00:35:28.579 Have I personally received him? 00:35:28.579 --> 00:35:33.579 Have I personally come to take him to myself? 00:35:33.579 --> 00:35:36.579 That really takes us to Jesus received our second point. 00:35:36.579 --> 00:35:38.579 But to as many as received him. 00:35:38.579 --> 00:35:40.579 Or to all who did receive him. 00:35:40.579 --> 00:35:42.579 Who believed in his name. 00:35:42.579 --> 00:35:46.579 He gave the right to become children of God. 00:35:46.579 --> 00:35:48.579 All who did receive him. 00:35:48.579 --> 00:35:49.579 Who believed in his name. 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:51.579 And you can see there's an equivalence there. 00:35:51.579 --> 00:35:55.579 The same thing is meant by receiving him. 00:35:55.579 --> 00:35:57.579 And believing in his name. 00:35:57.579 --> 00:35:58.579 I mean they're different. 00:35:58.579 --> 00:36:02.579 In a sense they're different of course in the type of activity that it is. 00:36:02.579 --> 00:36:06.579 But they're so closely bound together that it comes pretty much to the same thing. 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:09.579 If you've received Jesus then you come to believe in him. 00:36:09.579 --> 00:36:13.579 If you come to believe in Jesus then you've come to receive him. 00:36:13.579 --> 00:36:16.579 You can't separate the two things apart. 00:36:16.579 --> 00:36:18.579 But you know when it says here. 00:36:18.579 --> 00:36:21.579 He to all who did receive him. 00:36:21.579 --> 00:36:23.579 That presupposes. 00:36:23.579 --> 00:36:26.579 I mentioned this previously a few minutes ago. 00:36:26.579 --> 00:36:29.579 It presupposes that he has come to offer himself. 00:36:29.579 --> 00:36:31.579 Or be offered to us in the gospel. 00:36:31.579 --> 00:36:34.579 You receive something that's offered to you. 00:36:34.579 --> 00:36:37.579 You receive something that's made over to you as a gift. 00:36:37.579 --> 00:36:40.579 And you receive it. 00:36:40.579 --> 00:36:43.579 Sometimes you just receive it matter of fact. 00:36:43.579 --> 00:36:47.579 Sometimes you receive it with much thankfulness. 00:36:47.579 --> 00:36:49.579 But this is the gift of God. 00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:51.579 The gift of a savior. 00:36:51.579 --> 00:36:52.579 The gift of salvation. 00:36:52.579 --> 00:36:56.579 In his son that has come to us in the word that was made flesh. 00:36:56.579 --> 00:36:58.579 In the person of Jesus. 00:36:58.579 --> 00:37:04.579 Have you opened that gift? 00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:07.579 In other words. 00:37:07.579 --> 00:37:09.579 Have you said to the Lord. 00:37:09.579 --> 00:37:12.579 Lord this is exactly what I needed. 00:37:12.579 --> 00:37:15.579 This is what I need every day on an ongoing basis. 00:37:15.579 --> 00:37:17.579 This gift of eternal life. 00:37:17.579 --> 00:37:19.579 This gift of your son. 00:37:19.579 --> 00:37:21.579 This gift of a savior. 00:37:21.579 --> 00:37:24.579 So that as you open that gift. 00:37:24.579 --> 00:37:26.579 By receiving Jesus. 00:37:26.579 --> 00:37:28.579 By taking him to yourself. 00:37:28.579 --> 00:37:30.579 You then come into the possession. 00:37:30.579 --> 00:37:34.579 Of what he came to achieve for you. 00:37:34.579 --> 00:37:37.579 As many as received him. 00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:40.579 Not just to an elite group of people. 00:37:40.579 --> 00:37:42.579 From amongst the whole mass of humanity. 00:37:42.579 --> 00:37:43.579 These disciples. 00:37:43.579 --> 00:37:44.579 Including John. 00:37:44.579 --> 00:37:46.579 Were not an elite type of people. 00:37:46.579 --> 00:37:49.579 They were mostly very ordinary lifestyles. 00:37:49.579 --> 00:37:50.579 Mostly ordinary occupations. 00:37:50.579 --> 00:37:51.579 Fishermen. 00:37:51.579 --> 00:37:52.579 Doctors. 00:37:52.579 --> 00:37:53.579 People like that. 00:37:53.579 --> 00:37:56.579 Who are just going about their business in this world. 00:37:56.579 --> 00:37:58.579 They weren't kings or princes. 00:37:58.579 --> 00:38:00.579 Not that they're excluded. 00:38:00.579 --> 00:38:05.579 But this is what the gospel really is saying to us. 00:38:05.579 --> 00:38:06.579 And the word. 00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:08.579 The word really. 00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:10.579 This word received. 00:38:10.579 --> 00:38:14.579 Has an additional element to it. 00:38:14.579 --> 00:38:15.579 I think that. 00:38:15.579 --> 00:38:17.579 That's important for us also to realize. 00:38:17.579 --> 00:38:20.579 It's not just that you receive him. 00:38:20.579 --> 00:38:24.579 In the sense of a formal reception given to him. 00:38:24.579 --> 00:38:27.579 The word actually carries with it. 00:38:27.579 --> 00:38:29.579 You take it to yourself. 00:38:29.579 --> 00:38:30.579 Personally. 00:38:30.579 --> 00:38:32.579 You make it personal. 00:38:32.579 --> 00:38:33.579 And actually. 00:38:33.579 --> 00:38:35.579 When you think about a gift. 00:38:35.579 --> 00:38:38.579 It becomes a gift to you. 00:38:38.579 --> 00:38:40.579 In the full sense of the word. 00:38:40.579 --> 00:38:42.579 Only when you have received it. 00:38:42.579 --> 00:38:44.579 And brought it to yourself. 00:38:44.579 --> 00:38:47.579 If somebody gifts you something for your birthday. 00:38:47.579 --> 00:38:48.579 Or at Christmas. 00:38:48.579 --> 00:38:49.579 Or any other time. 00:38:49.579 --> 00:38:52.579 And you actually open that gift. 00:38:52.579 --> 00:38:55.579 It then becomes a gift when you receive it. 00:38:55.579 --> 00:38:56.579 And say thank you. 00:38:56.579 --> 00:38:58.579 It's a gift to you. 00:38:58.579 --> 00:39:00.579 It's a gift that you've received. 00:39:00.579 --> 00:39:02.579 If we don't receive it. 00:39:02.579 --> 00:39:04.579 It remains a gift from God's side. 00:39:04.579 --> 00:39:06.579 It's still offered to us. 00:39:06.579 --> 00:39:09.579 But it's lying there unopened. 00:39:09.579 --> 00:39:12.579 Or certainly unaccepted. 00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:16.579 As many as received him. 00:39:16.579 --> 00:39:19.579 To take to oneself. 00:39:19.579 --> 00:39:21.579 As a friend or companion. 00:39:21.579 --> 00:39:22.579 You could say. 00:39:22.579 --> 00:39:24.579 Is the meaning built into. 00:39:24.579 --> 00:39:26.579 That aspect of the word. 00:39:26.579 --> 00:39:29.579 As many as received him. 00:39:29.579 --> 00:39:31.579 You receive him. 00:39:31.579 --> 00:39:32.579 Welcome him. 00:39:32.579 --> 00:39:36.579 Say thank you to God for him. 00:39:36.579 --> 00:39:37.579 You receive him. 00:39:37.579 --> 00:39:39.579 You take him to yourself. 00:39:39.579 --> 00:39:41.579 Take him to be your friend. 00:39:41.579 --> 00:39:42.579 Your companion. 00:39:42.579 --> 00:39:44.579 Your savior. 00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:46.579 Your Lord. 00:39:46.579 --> 00:39:49.579 That's how you respond. 00:39:49.579 --> 00:39:50.579 Or ought to respond. 00:39:50.579 --> 00:39:51.579 And I with you. 00:39:51.579 --> 00:39:53.579 To the gift of God. 00:39:53.579 --> 00:39:55.579 In the person of his son. 00:39:55.579 --> 00:39:57.579 So he came. 00:39:57.579 --> 00:39:58.579 To his own. 00:39:58.579 --> 00:39:59.579 They did not receive him. 00:39:59.579 --> 00:40:00.579 But he. 00:40:00.579 --> 00:40:02.579 Those who did receive him. 00:40:02.579 --> 00:40:03.579 They took him. 00:40:03.579 --> 00:40:04.579 To themselves. 00:40:04.579 --> 00:40:06.579 They came to trust in him. 00:40:06.579 --> 00:40:07.579 And that's where. 00:40:07.579 --> 00:40:08.579 This next phrase. 00:40:08.579 --> 00:40:09.579 Tied on to that. 00:40:09.579 --> 00:40:10.579 Who believed. 00:40:10.579 --> 00:40:11.579 In his name. 00:40:11.579 --> 00:40:13.579 All who did receive him. 00:40:13.579 --> 00:40:15.579 Who believed in his name. 00:40:15.579 --> 00:40:17.579 Now that's another angle on it. 00:40:17.579 --> 00:40:19.579 It's very closely connected to. 00:40:19.579 --> 00:40:21.579 Receiving him. 00:40:21.579 --> 00:40:23.579 But believing in his name. 00:40:23.579 --> 00:40:24.579 Is something that just gives you. 00:40:24.579 --> 00:40:25.579 Another angle. 00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:26.579 As to what it means. 00:40:26.579 --> 00:40:28.579 To be related properly. 00:40:28.579 --> 00:40:30.579 Savingly to Jesus Christ. 00:40:30.579 --> 00:40:31.579 And. 00:40:31.579 --> 00:40:32.579 The name. 00:40:32.579 --> 00:40:35.579 That's mentioned here. 00:40:35.579 --> 00:40:36.579 Who believed. 00:40:36.579 --> 00:40:37.579 In his name. 00:40:37.579 --> 00:40:39.579 What does that mean? 00:40:39.579 --> 00:40:42.579 Why is that set there. 00:40:42.579 --> 00:40:43.579 As well. 00:40:43.579 --> 00:40:44.579 As the other details. 00:40:44.579 --> 00:40:45.579 Well you go back. 00:40:45.579 --> 00:40:46.579 To the Old Testament. 00:40:46.579 --> 00:40:47.579 Especially. 00:40:47.579 --> 00:40:48.579 And you reflect on the fact. 00:40:48.579 --> 00:40:49.579 That. 00:40:49.579 --> 00:40:50.579 God revealed himself. 00:40:50.579 --> 00:40:51.579 In so many ways. 00:40:51.579 --> 00:40:52.579 To them. 00:40:52.579 --> 00:40:53.579 And so often. 00:40:53.579 --> 00:40:55.579 You find in the Old Testament. 00:40:55.579 --> 00:40:57.579 That the name. 00:40:57.579 --> 00:40:58.579 Of God. 00:40:58.579 --> 00:40:59.579 Is just. 00:40:59.579 --> 00:41:00.579 The name. 00:41:00.579 --> 00:41:01.579 Believing. 00:41:01.579 --> 00:41:02.579 In the name of God. 00:41:02.579 --> 00:41:03.579 What does the name mean? 00:41:03.579 --> 00:41:04.579 Well it means briefly. 00:41:04.579 --> 00:41:05.579 It's. 00:41:05.579 --> 00:41:07.579 The sum total. 00:41:07.579 --> 00:41:09.579 Of all his attributes. 00:41:09.579 --> 00:41:11.579 The sum total. 00:41:11.579 --> 00:41:13.579 Of all the attributes. 00:41:13.579 --> 00:41:14.579 All the characteristics. 00:41:14.579 --> 00:41:15.579 That are revealed. 00:41:15.579 --> 00:41:16.579 That belong to God. 00:41:16.579 --> 00:41:17.579 That is revealed to us. 00:41:17.579 --> 00:41:19.579 The name represents. 00:41:19.579 --> 00:41:20.579 Or stands for. 00:41:20.579 --> 00:41:21.579 The whole sum. 00:41:21.579 --> 00:41:23.579 Of those attributes. 00:41:23.579 --> 00:41:24.579 And that's applied to Jesus. 00:41:24.579 --> 00:41:25.579 And of course. 00:41:25.579 --> 00:41:26.579 That carries with it. 00:41:26.579 --> 00:41:27.579 Another point. 00:41:27.579 --> 00:41:28.579 Which. 00:41:28.579 --> 00:41:29.579 Is. 00:41:29.579 --> 00:41:30.579 By the way. 00:41:30.579 --> 00:41:31.579 Just now. 00:41:31.579 --> 00:41:32.579 But it's important. 00:41:32.579 --> 00:41:33.579 And that is. 00:41:33.579 --> 00:41:34.579 That he. 00:41:34.579 --> 00:41:35.579 Obviously. 00:41:35.579 --> 00:41:36.579 Is God. 00:41:36.579 --> 00:41:37.579 As well as human. 00:41:37.579 --> 00:41:38.579 Otherwise. 00:41:38.579 --> 00:41:39.579 He would not have this. 00:41:39.579 --> 00:41:40.579 Said about him. 00:41:40.579 --> 00:41:41.579 That the name. 00:41:41.579 --> 00:41:42.579 Belongs to him. 00:41:42.579 --> 00:41:43.579 The name. 00:41:43.579 --> 00:41:44.579 Of God. 00:41:44.579 --> 00:41:45.579 They believed. 00:41:45.579 --> 00:41:47.579 In his name. 00:41:47.579 --> 00:41:49.579 So they trusted. 00:41:49.579 --> 00:41:51.579 They recognized him. 00:41:51.579 --> 00:41:52.579 Who he was. 00:41:52.579 --> 00:41:53.579 They trusted in him. 00:41:53.579 --> 00:41:54.579 And they hoped. 00:41:54.579 --> 00:41:55.579 And placed their hope. 00:41:55.579 --> 00:41:56.579 And placed their hope. 00:41:56.579 --> 00:41:57.579 In him. 00:41:57.579 --> 00:41:58.579 Now. 00:41:58.579 --> 00:41:59.579 John. 00:41:59.579 --> 00:42:00.579 Actually. 00:42:00.579 --> 00:42:01.579 Tells us. 00:42:01.579 --> 00:42:02.579 In chapter 20. 00:42:02.579 --> 00:42:03.579 Why he actually. 00:42:03.579 --> 00:42:04.579 Wrote this gospel. 00:42:04.579 --> 00:42:05.579 This book. 00:42:05.579 --> 00:42:06.579 And it's interesting. 00:42:06.579 --> 00:42:07.579 How he. 00:42:07.579 --> 00:42:08.579 How he. 00:42:08.579 --> 00:42:09.579 Puts that. 00:42:09.579 --> 00:42:10.579 In the summary. 00:42:10.579 --> 00:42:11.579 You have there. 00:42:11.579 --> 00:42:12.579 In chapter 20. 00:42:12.579 --> 00:42:13.579 And verses 30. 00:42:13.579 --> 00:42:14.579 And 31. 00:42:14.579 --> 00:42:15.579 That's dynamic. 00:42:15.579 --> 00:42:16.579 In its message. 00:42:16.579 --> 00:42:17.579 In its. 00:42:17.579 --> 00:42:18.579 In its. 00:42:18.579 --> 00:42:19.579 Power. 00:42:19.579 --> 00:42:20.579 In its. 00:42:20.579 --> 00:42:21.579 In its importance. 00:42:21.579 --> 00:42:22.579 Because it says this. 00:42:22.579 --> 00:42:23.579 Now. 00:42:23.579 --> 00:42:24.579 Jesus. 00:42:24.579 --> 00:42:25.579 Did many. 00:42:25.579 --> 00:42:26.579 In the presence. 00:42:26.579 --> 00:42:27.579 In the disciples. 00:42:27.579 --> 00:42:28.579 Which are not written. 00:42:28.579 --> 00:42:29.579 In this book. 00:42:29.579 --> 00:42:30.579 You may believe. 00:42:30.579 --> 00:42:31.579 That Jesus. 00:42:31.579 --> 00:42:32.579 Is the Christ. 00:42:32.579 --> 00:42:33.579 The son of God. 00:42:33.579 --> 00:42:34.579 And that believe. 00:42:34.579 --> 00:42:35.579 By believing. 00:42:35.579 --> 00:42:36.579 You may have life. 00:42:36.579 --> 00:42:38.579 In his name. 00:42:38.579 --> 00:42:40.579 You may have life. 00:42:40.579 --> 00:42:41.579 In his name. 00:42:41.579 --> 00:42:42.579 Because. 00:42:42.579 --> 00:42:43.579 His name. 00:42:43.579 --> 00:42:44.579 Is. 00:42:44.579 --> 00:42:45.579 All that. 00:42:45.579 --> 00:42:46.579 Is true of God. 00:42:46.579 --> 00:42:47.579 In terms of his attributes. 00:42:47.579 --> 00:42:48.579 As God. 00:42:48.579 --> 00:42:49.579 That's what's come into the world. 00:42:49.579 --> 00:42:51.579 These are the properties of the word. 00:42:51.579 --> 00:42:54.579 These are the properties that remain the properties of the word. 00:42:54.579 --> 00:42:55.579 Made flesh. 00:42:55.579 --> 00:42:58.579 And as many as received him. 00:42:58.579 --> 00:43:00.579 Those who believed. 00:43:00.579 --> 00:43:01.579 In his name. 00:43:01.579 --> 00:43:04.579 I came across this. 00:43:04.579 --> 00:43:08.579 In one of these books that we find useful in preparing sermons. 00:43:08.579 --> 00:43:09.579 It's called. 00:43:09.579 --> 00:43:11.579 Vines Word Studies. 00:43:11.579 --> 00:43:12.579 Which is. 00:43:12.579 --> 00:43:15.579 A study really of different words throughout the Bible. 00:43:15.579 --> 00:43:17.579 And bringing out some of the meanings of the word. 00:43:17.579 --> 00:43:19.579 Some of the meanings of these words. 00:43:19.579 --> 00:43:20.579 And this is what it says. 00:43:20.579 --> 00:43:22.579 With regard to believing in. 00:43:22.579 --> 00:43:23.579 Or believing on. 00:43:23.579 --> 00:43:24.579 Jesus. 00:43:24.579 --> 00:43:26.579 Which is what you have here. 00:43:26.579 --> 00:43:28.579 Those who believed in his name. 00:43:28.579 --> 00:43:30.579 Sometimes it's believing on. 00:43:30.579 --> 00:43:32.579 This is what it says. 00:43:32.579 --> 00:43:33.579 To believe in. 00:43:33.579 --> 00:43:34.579 Or on. 00:43:34.579 --> 00:43:37.579 Is more than mere acceptance. 00:43:37.579 --> 00:43:38.579 Of a statement. 00:43:38.579 --> 00:43:41.579 It is so to accept a statement. 00:43:41.579 --> 00:43:42.579 Or a person. 00:43:42.579 --> 00:43:44.579 As to rest upon them. 00:43:44.579 --> 00:43:46.579 To trust them practically. 00:43:46.579 --> 00:43:49.579 To draw upon. 00:43:49.579 --> 00:43:50.579 And avail oneself. 00:43:50.579 --> 00:43:52.579 Of all that is offered. 00:43:52.579 --> 00:43:54.579 In him to them. 00:43:54.579 --> 00:43:55.579 Hence. 00:43:55.579 --> 00:43:57.579 To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:43:57.579 --> 00:43:59.579 Is not merely to believe. 00:43:59.579 --> 00:44:01.579 The facts of his historic life. 00:44:01.579 --> 00:44:03.579 Or of his saving energy. 00:44:03.579 --> 00:44:04.579 As facts. 00:44:04.579 --> 00:44:06.579 But to accept him. 00:44:06.579 --> 00:44:07.579 As savior. 00:44:07.579 --> 00:44:08.579 Teacher. 00:44:08.579 --> 00:44:09.579 Sympathizer. 00:44:09.579 --> 00:44:10.579 Judge. 00:44:10.579 --> 00:44:12.579 To rest the soul upon him. 00:44:12.579 --> 00:44:15.579 For present and future salvation. 00:44:15.579 --> 00:44:16.579 And to accept. 00:44:16.579 --> 00:44:18.579 And adopt his precepts. 00:44:18.579 --> 00:44:19.579 And example. 00:44:19.579 --> 00:44:21.579 As binding upon the life. 00:44:21.579 --> 00:44:24.579 That's a fairly longish paragraph. 00:44:24.579 --> 00:44:25.579 But I thought it was. 00:44:25.579 --> 00:44:27.579 A really excellent summary. 00:44:27.579 --> 00:44:28.579 Of what it means. 00:44:28.579 --> 00:44:29.579 To believe in. 00:44:29.579 --> 00:44:31.579 Or to believe on Christ. 00:44:31.579 --> 00:44:33.579 That's not just a formality. 00:44:33.579 --> 00:44:35.579 Of believing certain things. 00:44:35.579 --> 00:44:36.579 To have been true about him. 00:44:36.579 --> 00:44:38.579 Or to be true about him. 00:44:38.579 --> 00:44:39.579 Now. 00:44:39.579 --> 00:44:40.579 You do have that. 00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:41.579 But to believe on him. 00:44:41.579 --> 00:44:42.579 Means. 00:44:42.579 --> 00:44:45.579 To rest your very soul upon him. 00:44:46.579 --> 00:44:48.579 To trust in such a way. 00:44:48.579 --> 00:44:50.579 As sees him as your refuge. 00:44:50.579 --> 00:44:53.579 And you leave yourself. 00:44:53.579 --> 00:44:55.579 Trustingly in his care. 00:44:55.579 --> 00:44:57.579 You come to him. 00:44:57.579 --> 00:44:58.579 So that. 00:44:58.579 --> 00:45:00.579 He as he's presented in the Bible. 00:45:00.579 --> 00:45:01.579 Becomes your savior. 00:45:01.579 --> 00:45:02.579 And therefore. 00:45:02.579 --> 00:45:03.579 He is the one. 00:45:03.579 --> 00:45:04.579 In whom. 00:45:04.579 --> 00:45:06.579 You are acceptable before God. 00:45:06.579 --> 00:45:09.579 Totally acceptable before God. 00:45:09.579 --> 00:45:12.579 Because everything that he has done. 00:45:12.579 --> 00:45:13.579 Is to that end. 00:45:13.579 --> 00:45:14.579 To that purpose. 00:45:14.579 --> 00:45:15.579 For his people. 00:45:15.579 --> 00:45:17.579 But there's something else. 00:45:17.579 --> 00:45:19.579 About the word believing as well. 00:45:19.579 --> 00:45:21.579 To all who did receive him. 00:45:21.579 --> 00:45:22.579 Who believed in his name. 00:45:22.579 --> 00:45:24.579 Although it seems like a past tense. 00:45:24.579 --> 00:45:25.579 It's actually. 00:45:25.579 --> 00:45:27.579 In a continuing sense. 00:45:27.579 --> 00:45:28.579 That it's used. 00:45:28.579 --> 00:45:30.579 To all who continue. 00:45:30.579 --> 00:45:31.579 To believe. 00:45:31.579 --> 00:45:32.579 In Jesus. 00:45:32.579 --> 00:45:33.579 And that too. 00:45:33.579 --> 00:45:34.579 Is a crucial distinction. 00:45:36.579 --> 00:45:37.579 Because. 00:45:37.579 --> 00:45:39.579 When it's an issue of trust. 00:45:39.579 --> 00:45:40.579 An issue of. 00:45:40.579 --> 00:45:42.579 Believing in the sense of. 00:45:42.579 --> 00:45:43.579 Laying out your life. 00:45:43.579 --> 00:45:45.579 And your soul upon him. 00:45:45.579 --> 00:45:46.579 It's not just. 00:45:46.579 --> 00:45:47.579 A once for all thing. 00:45:47.579 --> 00:45:48.579 That then. 00:45:48.579 --> 00:45:50.579 You leave behind you. 00:45:50.579 --> 00:45:53.579 It's something that goes on. 00:45:53.579 --> 00:45:54.579 Day by day. 00:45:54.579 --> 00:45:55.579 Hour by hour. 00:45:55.579 --> 00:45:56.579 Week by week. 00:45:56.579 --> 00:45:57.579 Month by month. 00:45:57.579 --> 00:45:58.579 Year by year. 00:45:58.579 --> 00:45:59.579 You go on. 00:45:59.579 --> 00:46:00.579 Believing. 00:46:00.579 --> 00:46:01.579 In him. 00:46:01.579 --> 00:46:03.579 You go on. 00:46:03.579 --> 00:46:04.579 Trusting and resting. 00:46:04.579 --> 00:46:05.579 Upon him. 00:46:05.579 --> 00:46:08.579 That's what's meant. 00:46:08.579 --> 00:46:10.579 That's what's required. 00:46:10.579 --> 00:46:12.579 That's what it means. 00:46:12.579 --> 00:46:13.579 To be a believer. 00:46:13.579 --> 00:46:14.579 Be a believer. 00:46:14.579 --> 00:46:15.579 Be a believer. 00:46:15.579 --> 00:46:16.579 In this sense. 00:46:16.579 --> 00:46:17.579 In which John is using it. 00:46:17.579 --> 00:46:19.579 To all who received him. 00:46:19.579 --> 00:46:20.579 Who believed. 00:46:20.579 --> 00:46:21.579 To continue to believe. 00:46:21.579 --> 00:46:22.579 In his name. 00:46:22.579 --> 00:46:24.579 These are the people. 00:46:24.579 --> 00:46:25.579 That are in contrast. 00:46:25.579 --> 00:46:26.579 With those who rejected him. 00:46:26.579 --> 00:46:31.579 Where is the ground. 00:46:31.579 --> 00:46:33.579 Of my own trust. 00:46:33.579 --> 00:46:34.579 Tonight. 00:46:34.579 --> 00:46:37.579 As I think about my relationship to God. 00:46:37.579 --> 00:46:40.579 To eternity. 00:46:40.579 --> 00:46:44.579 Where is the ground of my trust. 00:46:44.579 --> 00:46:45.579 What is foundational. 00:46:45.579 --> 00:46:47.579 As I look forwards. 00:46:47.579 --> 00:46:48.579 As far as possible. 00:46:48.579 --> 00:46:49.579 To the future. 00:46:49.579 --> 00:46:51.579 And certainly to the future judgment. 00:46:51.579 --> 00:46:53.579 Which I know will come. 00:46:53.579 --> 00:46:55.579 What is the ground of my trust. 00:46:55.579 --> 00:46:57.579 On what am I resting. 00:46:57.579 --> 00:46:59.579 Is it my own ability. 00:46:59.579 --> 00:47:04.579 Is it any gifts that God has given me. 00:47:04.579 --> 00:47:08.579 Is it the achievements that I've had in life. 00:47:08.579 --> 00:47:10.579 All through life. 00:47:10.579 --> 00:47:12.579 No. 00:47:12.579 --> 00:47:14.579 It's none of these things. 00:47:14.579 --> 00:47:17.579 Because however good and necessary. 00:47:17.579 --> 00:47:18.579 These may be. 00:47:18.579 --> 00:47:20.579 They cannot be foundational. 00:47:20.579 --> 00:47:22.579 To my acceptance with God. 00:47:22.579 --> 00:47:23.579 Or yours. 00:47:23.579 --> 00:47:25.579 But he is. 00:47:25.579 --> 00:47:28.579 To as many as believed. 00:47:28.579 --> 00:47:29.579 In him. 00:47:29.579 --> 00:47:30.579 Or on him. 00:47:30.579 --> 00:47:31.579 You see that's. 00:47:31.579 --> 00:47:33.579 Laying yourself on a foundation. 00:47:33.579 --> 00:47:35.579 And when Jesus is your foundation. 00:47:35.579 --> 00:47:37.579 It's never going to move. 00:47:37.579 --> 00:47:39.579 And when God comes. 00:47:39.579 --> 00:47:40.579 In his final judgment. 00:47:40.579 --> 00:47:41.579 As he will. 00:47:41.579 --> 00:47:43.579 When all of us must appear. 00:47:43.579 --> 00:47:45.579 As 2nd Corinthians 5 puts it. 00:47:45.579 --> 00:47:47.579 To appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 00:47:47.579 --> 00:47:49.579 That we may receive the things done. 00:47:49.579 --> 00:47:50.579 In this body. 00:47:50.579 --> 00:47:51.579 In this life. 00:47:51.579 --> 00:47:52.579 Whether these be good. 00:47:52.579 --> 00:47:53.579 Or evil. 00:47:53.579 --> 00:47:56.579 We will receive them accordingly. 00:47:56.579 --> 00:47:58.579 Our judgment will be accordingly. 00:47:58.579 --> 00:48:01.579 What am I carrying towards. 00:48:01.579 --> 00:48:03.579 That judgment seat of Christ tonight. 00:48:03.579 --> 00:48:04.579 As I find it. 00:48:04.579 --> 00:48:07.579 If I were to go through these doors tonight. 00:48:07.579 --> 00:48:08.579 And all of a sudden. 00:48:08.579 --> 00:48:09.579 There in front of me. 00:48:09.579 --> 00:48:11.579 Is the judgment seat of Christ. 00:48:11.579 --> 00:48:12.579 And Jesus sitting on the throne. 00:48:12.579 --> 00:48:13.579 For his judgment. 00:48:13.579 --> 00:48:15.579 What am I carrying towards that. 00:48:15.579 --> 00:48:16.579 To try and ensure. 00:48:16.579 --> 00:48:18.579 That he will accept me. 00:48:18.579 --> 00:48:20.579 Well himself. 00:48:20.579 --> 00:48:21.579 Surely. 00:48:21.579 --> 00:48:24.579 Because he alone is the ground. 00:48:24.579 --> 00:48:25.579 Of my acceptance. 00:48:25.579 --> 00:48:26.579 And yours. 00:48:26.579 --> 00:48:29.579 To as many as received him. 00:48:29.579 --> 00:48:32.579 To as many as believed. 00:48:32.579 --> 00:48:34.579 In or on his name. 00:48:34.579 --> 00:48:36.579 These are the ones to whom. 00:48:36.579 --> 00:48:39.579 Now it's speaking of them being. 00:48:39.579 --> 00:48:41.579 He gave the right to become. 00:48:41.579 --> 00:48:42.579 The children of God. 00:48:42.579 --> 00:48:44.579 Jesus rejected. 00:48:44.579 --> 00:48:46.579 Jesus received. 00:48:46.579 --> 00:48:47.579 And now briefly. 00:48:47.579 --> 00:48:49.579 The children of God. 00:48:49.579 --> 00:48:51.579 Not sons of God. 00:48:51.579 --> 00:48:52.579 In John's writings. 00:48:52.579 --> 00:48:53.579 That's. 00:48:53.579 --> 00:48:55.579 The angle that Paul gives us. 00:48:55.579 --> 00:48:56.579 In his writings. 00:48:56.579 --> 00:48:58.579 Because Paul is dealing with. 00:48:58.579 --> 00:48:59.579 Children of God. 00:48:59.579 --> 00:49:00.579 Or sons of God. 00:49:00.579 --> 00:49:01.579 Is the word he uses. 00:49:01.579 --> 00:49:02.579 Which means. 00:49:02.579 --> 00:49:03.579 Of course. 00:49:03.579 --> 00:49:04.579 Females as well. 00:49:04.579 --> 00:49:05.579 Incorporated into that. 00:49:05.579 --> 00:49:06.579 But it means. 00:49:06.579 --> 00:49:07.579 How we come by virtue. 00:49:07.579 --> 00:49:09.579 Of God's act of adoption. 00:49:10.579 --> 00:49:11.579 Which itself. 00:49:11.579 --> 00:49:12.579 Is actually. 00:49:12.579 --> 00:49:13.579 A benefit that Christ. 00:49:13.579 --> 00:49:14.579 Has achieved. 00:49:14.579 --> 00:49:15.579 By his death on the cross. 00:49:15.579 --> 00:49:16.579 But Paul is looking at it. 00:49:16.579 --> 00:49:17.579 More from. 00:49:17.579 --> 00:49:18.579 The so-called. 00:49:18.579 --> 00:49:19.579 Legal side. 00:49:19.579 --> 00:49:20.579 If you like. 00:49:20.579 --> 00:49:21.579 We come to be. 00:49:21.579 --> 00:49:23.579 Formally adopted. 00:49:23.579 --> 00:49:24.579 Into the number of. 00:49:24.579 --> 00:49:25.579 God's family. 00:49:25.579 --> 00:49:26.579 God's children. 00:49:26.579 --> 00:49:27.579 Omn. 00:49:27.579 --> 00:49:28.579 Very first. 00:49:28.579 --> 00:49:29.579 But he is approaching. 00:49:29.579 --> 00:49:30.579 In the beginning. 00:49:30.579 --> 00:49:31.579 No. 00:49:31.579 --> 00:49:32.579 From it from a different. 00:49:32.579 --> 00:49:33.579 It. 00:49:33.579 --> 00:49:34.579 Not from. 00:49:34.579 --> 00:49:35.579 A formal. 00:49:35.579 --> 00:49:36.579 Legal adoption side. 00:49:36.579 --> 00:49:38.579 But from the time. 00:49:38.579 --> 00:49:39.579 From. 00:49:39.579 --> 00:49:40.579 From the. 00:49:40.579 --> 00:49:41.579 Whole idea of. 00:49:41.579 --> 00:49:42.579 Being born. 00:49:42.579 --> 00:49:43.579 Into that. 00:49:43.579 --> 00:49:44.579 Privilege. 00:49:44.579 --> 00:49:45.579 You know. 00:49:45.579 --> 00:49:46.579 That John's gospel. 00:49:46.579 --> 00:49:47.579 And John's writings. 00:49:47.579 --> 00:49:48.579 Especially. 00:49:48.579 --> 00:49:49.579 Are the writings. 00:49:49.579 --> 00:49:50.579 That speak. 00:49:50.579 --> 00:49:51.579 About being. 00:49:51.579 --> 00:49:53.579 Born again. 00:49:53.579 --> 00:49:54.579 And becoming. 00:49:54.579 --> 00:49:55.579 Children of God. 00:49:55.579 --> 00:49:56.579 By virtue. 00:49:56.579 --> 00:50:04.019 adoption side that Paul uses and the birth privilege that John gives, they really, again, 00:50:04.139 --> 00:50:09.000 are so intimately connected and belong together. They're just different aspects, if you like, 00:50:09.019 --> 00:50:16.819 of the same thing, to be children of God, to be the family of God. But here is John saying, 00:50:17.559 --> 00:50:25.519 to as many as received him who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 00:50:25.519 --> 00:50:32.539 And that's what he wants to emphasize. He doesn't just say he gave them to be children of God. He 00:50:32.539 --> 00:50:37.199 brought them to be children of God. That's true, but it doesn't go far enough for John. He gave the 00:50:37.199 --> 00:50:45.099 right to be and to become the children of God. As they are children of God, as they are born again 00:50:45.099 --> 00:50:51.039 of the Holy Spirit of God, as they bear the likeness in that rebirth of their father, 00:50:51.039 --> 00:50:57.800 so they come to have these privileges. And this is the privilege John is focusing on. 00:50:58.320 --> 00:51:03.039 They have been given the right to become children of God. 00:51:03.039 --> 00:51:10.800 And you know, that's one of the things that the devil will attack you on. 00:51:12.300 --> 00:51:20.039 What right have you to see yourself as a child of God? What right have you to think that you 00:51:20.039 --> 00:51:29.179 actually properly belong to the children of God? Who are you to think that that really should ever be 00:51:29.179 --> 00:51:35.019 your status and your privilege? How do you respond to that as a Christian? How do you say in response 00:51:35.019 --> 00:51:40.980 to the devil's temptation and his attempt to shake you and discomfort you and remove your assurance 00:51:40.980 --> 00:51:49.460 from you, how do you respond to that? You say, I read in God's Word that not only am I as born again, 00:51:49.960 --> 00:51:55.940 made a child of God and belong to the children of God, I have the right to it. 00:51:55.940 --> 00:52:02.659 And the devil will say to you, but how can you have the right to it when you say also in your prayers 00:52:02.659 --> 00:52:08.159 that you really actually, by virtue of what you are naturally, you don't have a right to any of the 00:52:08.159 --> 00:52:14.700 privileges or the blessings of God? How can you claim to have a right when you know that you're a 00:52:14.700 --> 00:52:20.179 miserable sinner who deserves the wrath of God and the condemnation of God for what you are in 00:52:20.179 --> 00:52:30.539 yourself naturally? What do you say then into that in response to that? Well, you say, that's absolutely 00:52:30.539 --> 00:52:41.639 true as I am in myself naturally. I have no right in myself to any of the privileges that belong to God's 00:52:41.639 --> 00:52:48.920 children. But I have every right to them if I'm in Christ. I have every right to them if I'm born 00:52:48.920 --> 00:52:56.039 again. I have every right to them if the Lord has taken me and taken my life and changed me and given 00:52:56.039 --> 00:53:02.579 me new life and brought me from my spiritual death and set me right with himself and being born again. 00:53:02.579 --> 00:53:07.579 I have every right to them. I have every right, I have every right, a Christ-given right, a right given by this 00:53:07.579 --> 00:53:21.960 word that became flesh to become children of God. That's as a result of what we are as newborn, as brought 00:53:21.960 --> 00:53:31.940 to know the reality of new birth by the power and the blessing of God's Spirit. So it's a result of receiving 00:53:31.940 --> 00:53:39.179 and believing and believing. It's not because of that. It's by virtue or because of the rebirth that God 00:53:39.179 --> 00:53:47.420 himself has brought about. We are born into this privilege, spiritually born, into this privilege of 00:53:47.420 --> 00:53:54.700 having the right to be the children of God. You know, just like in a sense you could illustrate it, I'm sure, 00:53:54.699 --> 00:54:04.439 by thinking of the royal family. How do you come to belong to the royal family? Well, of course, 00:54:04.839 --> 00:54:10.319 if you marry into the royal family, you are made a member of the family by virtue of that marriage. 00:54:11.460 --> 00:54:17.639 But apart from that, and in the strictest sense, you're a member of the royal family when you're born 00:54:17.639 --> 00:54:25.940 into it. When you're born of one existing as a member of the royal family, then you become royal 00:54:25.940 --> 00:54:32.460 by virtue of that. You belong to that family. And here is God's royal family. Here are God's 00:54:32.460 --> 00:54:37.819 children. Here is the family of God. How do I come to have a part in that? How do I come to be a member 00:54:37.819 --> 00:54:45.699 of that? How do I come to be one of this royal family of God? By being born again. By coming to be born, 00:54:45.699 --> 00:54:52.099 as it says here, not of blood or of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 00:54:53.159 --> 00:54:59.119 It's by virtue of your connection to Jesus, especially, that you have this conferred upon you. 00:54:59.839 --> 00:55:06.579 As you are born again, you are born into this family of God, and you're related to Christ Himself 00:55:06.579 --> 00:55:15.639 in such a way that everything that He has achieved becomes yours. That's why He died and rose again. 00:55:15.699 --> 00:55:28.739 And it's interesting that we have to emphasize here that He gave them the right to become children 00:55:28.739 --> 00:55:38.179 of God. And that's in the plural. It's children of God in that sense of being grouped together as a 00:55:38.179 --> 00:55:48.239 family. There is no way in which you can think of being a child of God if you're detached from the rest 00:55:48.239 --> 00:55:54.199 of the family. You're a child of God, then you belong to this family who are children of God. 00:55:55.019 --> 00:56:03.819 And He gave them the right to become children of God, plural. And you cannot separate the worthiness of 00:56:03.820 --> 00:56:14.840 Jesus Himself from that reality. And you come before God and say, Lord, I am not worthy that I should 00:56:14.840 --> 00:56:22.360 receive any gift or any blessing from You. But you can say, nevertheless, as someone who is born again 00:56:22.360 --> 00:56:29.860 and trusting in Jesus, Lord, I am not worthy of anything from You, but I know my Savior is worthy 00:56:29.860 --> 00:56:39.079 of everything You can give me as the fruit of His sufferings. That's why You receive them. That's why He 00:56:39.079 --> 00:56:47.860 gives us the right to become the children of God. And you know, in a sense, that's why, and we're just 00:56:47.860 --> 00:56:54.720 finishing with this, in John's writings, you find in his first epistle that he writes in chapter 3 of 00:56:54.720 --> 00:57:02.320 his first letter. And it's almost certainly, and it is certainly with a sense of wonder that John wrote 00:57:02.320 --> 00:57:12.660 it, where there he began by saying, Beloved, see what kind of love the Father has given to us 00:57:12.659 --> 00:57:19.579 that we should be called children of God. See what he's saying? He's got a sense of wonder as he writes 00:57:19.579 --> 00:57:27.500 this. Look at this, he says, the caliber of love, the kind of love that God the Father has shown to us, 00:57:27.519 --> 00:57:34.059 has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And then what he says, and so we are. 00:57:34.059 --> 00:57:47.099 We are indeed, when we are born into the family of God. Beloved, we are God's children. Now is what 00:57:47.099 --> 00:57:53.920 he's saying. And it fits in with what we see there in chapter 1 as we've looked at it briefly tonight. 00:57:53.920 --> 00:58:00.240 So, there is what you take, those of you who are intending going to the Lord's table, 00:58:01.880 --> 00:58:08.000 either having been before or even as the first time, and I know there are some here 00:58:08.000 --> 00:58:16.440 who know the Lord, who are members of God's family, as far as we can tell, but who have not yet come to 00:58:16.440 --> 00:58:24.260 take communion. Well, bring this teaching with you. Think about it between now and the next Lord's Day, 00:58:24.320 --> 00:58:29.619 or between now and tomorrow even. We don't know what a day may bring forth, but think about it. 00:58:30.380 --> 00:58:35.400 Think about what it's saying about who God's children are, how they've come to be God's children, 00:58:35.519 --> 00:58:39.740 how it's not about your own achievement, it's not about your own qualities of life, 00:58:39.739 --> 00:58:45.819 it's not about what you do or don't do, it's primarily about your relationship to Jesus, 00:58:47.339 --> 00:58:54.819 and how he has come to be for you, the one in whom God has said, I am bound to accept you 00:58:54.819 --> 00:59:04.039 when you have received him and come to believe in him or upon him. That's the promise. And if that's 00:59:04.039 --> 00:59:11.099 the case with you, then you take that with you to the Lord's table. Because remember, 00:59:11.900 --> 00:59:21.739 who is the Lord's table for? Who is the communion for? Which people does God invite to come to take 00:59:21.739 --> 00:59:32.500 and eat of the bread and drink of the cup? The children of God. The children of God. 00:59:32.500 --> 00:59:41.519 It is their supper. It is their meal. It is their privilege as God's children. 00:59:42.159 --> 00:59:48.000 May God bless these thoughts to us tonight. Let's conclude now. And we're going to conclude tonight 00:59:48.000 --> 00:59:57.940 by singing to God's praise in Psalm 25. Psalm 25, and this is from the Sing Psalms, on page 29. 00:59:57.940 --> 01:00:05.340 Singing from verse 8 down as far as verse 15, the tune is Finart. 01:00:05.340 --> 01:00:13.539 Because the Lord is just and good, he shows his paths to all who stray. He guides the meek in what is right 01:00:13.539 --> 01:00:19.760 and teaches them his holy way. To those who keep his covenant laws, he shows his love consistently. 01:00:20.620 --> 01:00:27.300 For your name's sake, O Lord, my God, forgive my great iniquity. Who then are those who fear the Lord? 01:00:27.780 --> 01:00:34.079 He'll teach to them the chosen way, that they may prosper all their life, their children in the land will stay. 01:00:34.079 --> 01:00:40.579 God's friends are those who fear his name. With them his covenant he will share. 01:00:41.279 --> 01:00:46.719 My eyes are always on the Lord. He'll free my feet from every snare. 01:00:46.799 --> 01:00:49.400 These verses then to conclude to God's praise. 01:00:49.400 --> 01:01:11.720 Because the Lord is just and good, he shows his path to all who stray. 01:01:11.719 --> 01:01:30.779 He has the meek in what is right and teaches them his holy way. 01:01:30.780 --> 01:01:47.780 To those who give his path and lot, he shows his love consistently. 01:01:47.780 --> 01:01:53.780 He's the meek in what is right and teaches them his holy way. 01:01:53.780 --> 01:01:54.780 To those who give his path and lot, he shows his love consistently. 01:01:54.780 --> 01:02:01.780 He's the meek in what is right and he shows his love consistently. 01:02:01.780 --> 01:02:07.780 He's the meek in what is right and lot, he shows his love consistently. 01:02:07.780 --> 01:02:08.780 He's the meek in what is right and he shows his love perfectly. 01:02:08.780 --> 01:02:15.780 Who then are those who fear the Lord? 01:02:15.780 --> 01:02:22.780 He'll teach to them the chosen way, that they may prosper all their life, 01:02:22.780 --> 01:02:43.780 Their children in the land will stay. 01:02:43.780 --> 01:02:52.780 God's friends are those who fear his name. 01:02:52.780 --> 01:03:01.780 With them his love and he will share. 01:03:01.780 --> 01:03:11.780 Thy eyes are always on the Lord. 01:03:11.780 --> 01:03:15.780 He'll free my feet. 01:03:15.780 --> 01:03:16.780 Amen. 01:03:16.780 --> 01:03:21.780 He's near. 01:03:21.780 --> 01:03:24.780 Tonight, after the benediction, I'll go to the door to my right here. 01:03:24.780 --> 01:03:29.780 Now, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, 01:03:29.780 --> 01:03:33.780 and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore. 01:03:33.780 --> 01:03:34.780 Amen. 01:03:34.780 --> 01:03:35.780 Amen. 01:03:35.780 --> 01:03:36.780 Amen. 01:03:36.780 --> 01:03:37.780 Amen. 01:03:37.780 --> 01:03:38.780 Amen. 01:03:38.780 --> 01:03:39.780 Amen. 01:03:39.780 --> 01:03:40.780 Amen. 01:03:40.780 --> 01:03:41.780 Amen. 01:03:41.780 --> 01:03:42.780 Amen. 01:03:42.780 --> 01:03:43.780 Amen. 01:03:43.780 --> 01:03:44.780 Amen. 01:03:44.780 --> 01:03:45.780 Amen. 01:03:45.780 --> 01:03:46.780 Amen. 01:03:46.780 --> 01:03:47.780 Amen. 01:03:47.780 --> 01:03:48.780 Amen. 01:03:48.780 --> 01:03:49.780 Amen. 01:03:49.780 --> 01:03:50.780 Amen. 01:03:50.780 --> 01:03:51.780 Amen. 01:03:51.780 --> 01:03:52.780 Amen. 01:03:52.780 --> 01:03:53.780 Amen. 01:03:53.780 --> 01:03:54.780 Amen. 01:03:54.780 --> 01:03:55.780 Amen.