WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.120
 Well, let us worship God by singing to his praise in Psalm 27, page 236 in the Blue Psalm Books, reading from the beginning of the psalm.

00:00:13.259 --> 00:00:21.679
 The Lord's my light and saving health, who shall make me dismayed? My life's strength is the Lord, of whom then shall I be afraid?

00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:29.879
 When, as mine enemies and foes, most wicked persons all, to eat my flesh against me rose, they stumbled and did fall.

00:00:30.560 --> 00:00:38.719
 Against me the one host encamp, my heart yet fearless is. Though war against me rise, I will be confident in this.

00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:46.980
 One thing I of the Lord desired and will seek to obtain, that all days of my life I may within God's house remain.

00:00:46.979 --> 00:00:55.359
 That I the beauty of the Lord behold may and admire, and that I in his holy place may reverently inquire.

00:00:56.199 --> 00:01:04.539
 For he in his pavilion shall me hide in evil days, in secret of his tent me hide, and on a rock me raise.

00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:09.219
 Psalm 27, verses 1 to 5, to God's praise.

00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:13.920
 The Lord's my light and saving health, who shall make me dismayed?

00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:30.980
 The Lord's my light and saving health, who shall make me dismayed?

00:01:30.980 --> 00:01:44.500
 My life's strength is the Lord, of whom then shall I be afraid?

00:01:44.500 --> 00:02:14.479
 When, as mine enemies and foes, most wicked persons all, to eat my flesh against me rose, they stumbled and did fall.

00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:29.339
 Against me, though a ghost encamp, my heart yet fearless is.

00:02:29.339 --> 00:02:43.679
 Though war against me rise, I will be confident in this.

00:02:43.680 --> 00:03:11.680
 One thing I of the Lord desired and will seek to obtain, that all days of my life I may within God's house remain.

00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:40.680
 That I the beauty of the Lord behold may and admire, and that I in his holy place may reverently inquire.

00:03:40.680 --> 00:04:09.680
 For he in his pavilion shall me hide in evil days, in secret of his tent me hide, and on a rock me raise.

00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:10.680
 Amen.

00:04:14.480 --> 00:04:17.060
 Well, let us now call upon the name of God in prayer.

00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:17.720
 Let us pray.

00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:31.020
 Gracious and ever-blessed God, we give thanks that we can come into the presence of the Almighty this evening,

00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:36.859
 and that we can say, and that we can say, and that we can say, and that we can say, and that we can do so with the words of the psalmist, saying with him,

00:04:36.859 --> 00:04:46.060
 one thing I of the Lord desired and will seek to obtain, that all days of my life I may within God's house remain.

00:04:46.060 --> 00:05:02.480
 And it is our great privilege, Lord, to be gathered together in the Lord's house, where the people of God have assembled in order to worship and to lift up the name of the King of Kings,

00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:09.379
 and to give thee the honor and to give thee the praise and the glory, which is due to God alone.

00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:21.439
 And we come, Lord, seeking to receive a glimpse of the glory of the God whom we worship, saying with the psalmist again,

00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:31.100
 that I, the beauty of the Lord, behold, may and admire, and that I may in his holy place may reverently inquire,

00:05:31.699 --> 00:05:41.720
 or that we might see something this evening of the beauty of Christ, of his splendor and of his majesty and of his glory.

00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:50.959
 That is our great hope and that is our great aspiration in worship, that we might meet with the triune God.

00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:53.839
 That Christ might be in our midst.

00:05:54.660 --> 00:06:01.360
 We would plead the promise of Jesus to us, that where two or three are gathered together in my name,

00:06:02.219 --> 00:06:04.360
 that I will be there in the midst.

00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:13.579
 And we seek not to presume upon that promise, but we do seek to plead it and to say with another,

00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:14.819
 Come, Lord Jesus.

00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.839
 Come into our midst and speak to our hearts.

00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:20.560
 Speak to our conscience.

00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:22.480
 Teach us.

00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:26.279
 Say to us, as was said to the prophet of old,

00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:27.719
 This is the way.

00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:29.439
 Walk ye in it.

00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:31.980
 Direct us and guide us, Lord.

00:06:32.139 --> 00:06:33.240
 Give us wisdom.

00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:37.220
 Give us an understanding of the truth.

00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:45.100
 Give us not to corrupt it or not to deviate from it in any way,

00:06:45.100 --> 00:06:52.580
 but rather that it might be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path,

00:06:52.580 --> 00:06:58.280
 that it might be more valuable to us than silver and gold,

00:06:58.840 --> 00:07:04.200
 and that it might be sweeter to our taste than honey, even honey from the comb.

00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:10.439
 And so, Lord, we pray that our worship this evening would be acceptable in thy sight.

00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:17.819
 As we read the word and as we sing the word, and as we seek to meditate upon it,

00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:23.279
 as it is broken down to us, grant that it would not be handled deceitfully,

00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.680
 but that it might be rightly divided.

00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:30.840
 And we pray that it might come to us with power.

00:07:31.900 --> 00:07:37.160
 For thy word tells us that the word is quick and powerful,

00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:40.840
 and that it is sharper than any two-edged sword,

00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:45.420
 that it is the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.

00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:48.580
 And so we pray, Lord, this evening,

00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:53.600
 that thy word would be powerful in our own experience,

00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:57.240
 that it might be life-changing in our experience,

00:07:58.140 --> 00:08:04.439
 that the God of the word would speak to us individually and corporately

00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:06.180
 through the word of God.

00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:09.120
 And so, Lord, meet with us, we pray.

00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.740
 Bless us in the midst of our own individual needs.

00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:16.120
 We give thanks that the psalmist could say,

00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:17.460
 and that we can say with him,

00:08:17.960 --> 00:08:20.300
 O Lord, thou hast me searched and known.

00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:24.460
 Thou knowest my sitting down and rising up.

00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:27.780
 Yea, all my thoughts afar are known to thee.

00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.259
 And if our very thoughts are known to thee,

00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:33.840
 then surely our every circumstance,

00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:36.980
 or every trial, or every anxiety,

00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:38.399
 or every sorrow.

00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:43.199
 And we give thanks that the God who knows these things

00:08:43.199 --> 00:08:45.799
 is the Father of mercies,

00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:48.079
 and the God of all comfort.

00:08:48.939 --> 00:08:51.019
 The God who has loved his people,

00:08:51.579 --> 00:08:53.419
 and given his Son for them.

00:08:54.319 --> 00:08:56.199
 The God who has ears to hear,

00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:59.379
 who is the hearer and the answerer of prayer.

00:09:00.199 --> 00:09:03.159
 The God who knows even the cry of the heart,

00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:06.220
 and who hears the very groanings of prayer.

00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:08.740
 We give thanks, Lord,

00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:10.540
 for the spirit of adoption

00:09:10.540 --> 00:09:13.279
 that the people of God have received,

00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:15.060
 whereby they cry,

00:09:15.660 --> 00:09:16.259
 Abba, Father.

00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:19.300
 And we give thanks for that spirit

00:09:19.300 --> 00:09:21.540
 which bears witness to our spirit

00:09:21.540 --> 00:09:23.759
 that we are the children of God.

00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:25.980
 And if children, then heirs,

00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:26.980
 heirs of God,

00:09:27.060 --> 00:09:28.960
 and joint heirs with Christ.

00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:31.420
 We thank thee for the inheritance

00:09:31.420 --> 00:09:34.440
 that is incorruptible and undefiled,

00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:36.320
 and that fades not away,

00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:40.040
 and that is reserved for every believer in heaven.

00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:43.120
 For when the chief shepherd shall appear,

00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:45.180
 he shall give to his own,

00:09:45.560 --> 00:09:46.780
 to all that love him,

00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:48.620
 a crown of righteousness,

00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:50.620
 which shall not fade away.

00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:54.100
 And we pray that in the midst of the afflictions

00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:55.840
 and the troubles of this life,

00:09:56.139 --> 00:09:57.620
 that we would have grace

00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:01.200
 to set our affection on the things that are above,

00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:04.220
 where Christ is seated at the right hand

00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:06.139
 of God on high,

00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:08.899
 that we would be mindful day by day

00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:11.379
 that here we have no continuing city,

00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.680
 but that we must look to a city that is to come,

00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:17.779
 that this country is not our long home,

00:10:18.419 --> 00:10:20.819
 but that we must be seeking a better country,

00:10:21.359 --> 00:10:22.599
 even a heavenly country.

00:10:23.139 --> 00:10:25.379
 And so lift our eyes and lift our hearts,

00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:26.299
 even this evening,

00:10:27.079 --> 00:10:29.759
 to the one who is the creator

00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:31.659
 of the heavens and the earth,

00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:34.659
 the God who has taken to do with his people,

00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:37.279
 the God who has made exceeding great

00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.059
 and precious promises to them,

00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:42.079
 and the God who has promised never to leave them

00:10:42.079 --> 00:10:43.679
 nor to forsake them.

00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:46.000
 And so bless, we pray thee,

00:10:46.479 --> 00:10:47.739
 the sick and the suffering,

00:10:48.479 --> 00:10:50.719
 those who are laid aside with troubles

00:10:50.719 --> 00:10:53.859
 and with illness of body and of mind.

00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:56.799
 We pray with those who are struggling with addiction

00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:59.699
 and for their families and for their friends.

00:11:00.359 --> 00:11:02.679
 Bless those in hospitals and upon sick beds

00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:04.699
 and those caring for them

00:11:04.699 --> 00:11:06.120
 and those near and dear to them.

00:11:06.859 --> 00:11:08.139
 We pray thy blessing too,

00:11:08.219 --> 00:11:09.839
 to be upon those who mourn,

00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:11.799
 those who mourn afresh

00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:13.500
 and those who have been mourning

00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:14.860
 over months and years.

00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:16.720
 We commit their case

00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.220
 to the God who is able to bless those who mourn

00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:22.100
 by giving comfort to them.

00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:24.759
 We even commit their case

00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:27.620
 to the one who in all of our afflictions

00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:29.539
 was himself afflicted,

00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:32.799
 giving thanks that we do not have a high priest

00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:38.319
 that has not been touched with the feeling of our infirmities,

00:11:38.319 --> 00:11:41.939
 but has been tempted and tested in all points,

00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:43.359
 like as we have,

00:11:44.019 --> 00:11:45.059
 and yet without sin.

00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.120
 And so one who is able to minister to us,

00:11:48.479 --> 00:11:50.599
 to speak comfort to us,

00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.279
 and to build us up.

00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:56.799
 One who is able to make continual intercession for us,

00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.579
 naming our names before the great throne in heaven,

00:12:02.019 --> 00:12:05.579
 and ensuring that where the good work has begun,

00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:08.439
 that it might be performed and completed,

00:12:08.959 --> 00:12:10.879
 even until the day of Jesus Christ,

00:12:11.579 --> 00:12:13.519
 when he shall return with his angels

00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:16.199
 and with a cloud of glory,

00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:18.899
 and when all of his jewels shall be made up,

00:12:18.959 --> 00:12:21.359
 and all the sheep shall be gathered into the fold,

00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.279
 and not one shall be left.

00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:25.300
 And so, Lord, we pray

00:12:25.300 --> 00:12:28.580
 that we might live in light of that great hope

00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:30.180
 that is set before us.

00:12:30.580 --> 00:12:31.580
 Bless us this evening.

00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:33.840
 Go before us and do us good,

00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.580
 and forgive us graciously for all of our sin.

00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:38.340
 For Christ's sake. Amen.

00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:45.580
 Well, let us again sing to God's praise,

00:12:45.680 --> 00:12:47.440
 this time in Psalm 112.

00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:50.120
 In the Sing Psalms version of the psalm,

00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:54.179
 you'll find that on page 151.

00:12:56.360 --> 00:12:58.340
 We're singing from, again,

00:12:58.440 --> 00:12:59.700
 from the beginning of the psalm.

00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:04.220
 We're singing three stanzas.

00:13:05.179 --> 00:13:06.299
 Praise God.

00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:09.560
 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord

00:13:09.560 --> 00:13:12.120
 and finds delight in following his word.

00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:15.120
 His children will be mighty in the land.

00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:18.860
 His line will know the blessing of God's hand.

00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:22.039
 Riches and wealth within his house are found.

00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:24.919
 His righteousness forever will abound.

00:13:25.680 --> 00:13:28.919
 The man who stands for mercy, truth, and right

00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:32.399
 will find the darkness turned to morning light.

00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:35.860
 Good is the man who gives and freely lends

00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:38.820
 to his affairs with justice he attends.

00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:42.740
 Surely a righteous man will stand secure.

00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:46.980
 His memory forever will endure.

00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:50.039
 We're going to sing these three stanzas of Psalm 112,

00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:51.960
 singing together to God's praise.

00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:53.120
 Praise God.

00:13:53.220 --> 00:13:55.039
 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord

00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:58.379
 and finds delight in following his word.

00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:03.439
 His children will be mighty in the Lord.

00:14:03.439 --> 00:14:04.100
 Praise God.

00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:09.439
 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord

00:14:09.439 --> 00:14:21.320
 and finds delight in following his word.

00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:30.379
 His children will be mighty in the Lord.

00:14:30.379 --> 00:14:40.560
 His life will know the blessing of God's hand.

00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:50.619
 Riches and wealth within his paths are found.

00:14:50.619 --> 00:15:00.559
 His righteousness forever will abound.

00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:30.539
 His children will be mighty in the Lord.

00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:39.199
 Through his affairs with justice he attends.

00:15:39.199 --> 00:15:48.619
 Surely a righteous man will stand secure.

00:15:48.619 --> 00:15:57.459
 His memory forever will endure.

00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:04.739
 Let us now read God's word as we find it

00:16:04.739 --> 00:16:07.739
 in Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians.

00:16:08.479 --> 00:16:12.619
 Second Corinthians and from chapter four.

00:16:15.459 --> 00:16:18.039
 We're going to read the whole chapter together.

00:16:19.319 --> 00:16:21.599
 Second Corinthians chapter four,

00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:24.099
 reading from the beginning of the chapter.

00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:30.139
 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,

00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:32.159
 we do not lose heart,

00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:36.539
 but we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.

00:16:37.199 --> 00:16:39.359
 We refuse to practice cunning

00:16:39.359 --> 00:16:41.859
 or to tamper with God's word.

00:16:42.359 --> 00:16:44.879
 But by the open statement of the truth,

00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.739
 we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience

00:16:47.739 --> 00:16:49.279
 in the sight of God.

00:16:50.099 --> 00:16:52.159
 And even if our gospel is veiled,

00:16:52.339 --> 00:16:54.339
 it is veiled only to those who are perishing.

00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:59.840
 In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers

00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:04.680
 to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,

00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:06.620
 who is the image of God.

00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.319
 For what we proclaim is not ourselves,

00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:13.579
 but Jesus Christ as Lord,

00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:17.880
 with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:20.160
 We shall shine out of darkness,

00:17:20.560 --> 00:17:24.880
 that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:28.460
 So death is at once we have the same spirit of faith,

00:17:28.520 --> 00:17:30.120
 according to what has been written.

00:17:30.800 --> 00:17:32.480
 I believed, and so I spoke.

00:17:33.060 --> 00:17:36.300
 We also believe, and so we also speak,

00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:39.380
 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus

00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:42.140
 will raise us also with Jesus

00:17:42.140 --> 00:17:45.120
 and bring us with you into his presence.

00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:48.080
 For it is all for your sake,

00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.759
 so that as grace extends to more and more people,

00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:55.280
 it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:57.980
 So we do not lose heart,

00:17:58.560 --> 00:18:00.980
 though our outer nature is wasting away,

00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:04.120
 our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

00:18:05.120 --> 00:18:07.640
 For this slight momentary affliction

00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:09.140
 is preparing for us

00:18:09.140 --> 00:18:13.280
 an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:16.280
 as we look not to the things that are seen,

00:18:16.840 --> 00:18:18.540
 but to the things that are unseen.

00:18:19.320 --> 00:18:21.580
 For the things that are seen are transient,

00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:25.020
 but the things that are unseen are eternal.

00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:26.420
 Amen.

00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:29.840
 We pray that the Lord would bless his own word to us,

00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:32.840
 and to his name be all the praise and all the glory.

00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:35.320
 Well, let us sing again,

00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:37.240
 this time in Psalm 33.

00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.900
 Psalm 33 on page 245.

00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:42.960
 We're reading from verse 3.

00:18:44.120 --> 00:18:46.559
 And these are verses which speak to us

00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.019
 about the power of God,

00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:51.319
 particularly in the creation of the world.

00:18:54.819 --> 00:18:58.819
 Psalm 33 and from verse 5.

00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:00.059
 Sorry, from verse 5.

00:19:00.059 --> 00:19:13.379
 That is that there is evidence of the covenant mercy,

00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:17.139
 the loving kindness of the Lord throughout all of the earth.

00:19:17.140 --> 00:19:21.480
 The heavens by the word of God did their beginning take,

00:19:21.800 --> 00:19:25.759
 and by the breathing of his mouth he all their hosts did make.

00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:29.620
 The waters of the seas he brings together as an heap,

00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:32.020
 and in storehouses, as it were,

00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:33.860
 he lays up the deep.

00:19:34.740 --> 00:19:39.500
 Let earth and all that live therein with reverence fear the Lord.

00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:44.359
 Let all the world's inhabitants dread him with one accord.

00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:48.480
 And that word dread isn't speaking of a slavish fear,

00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:51.900
 but rather a reverence and a godly fear.

00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:54.440
 For he did speak the word,

00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:57.180
 and done it was without delay.

00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:00.079
 Established it firmly stood,

00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:02.339
 whatever he did say.

00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:08.319
 A psalm which speaks to us about the enormous power and might of God,

00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:10.939
 and how we, in response to that,

00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:13.379
 should come to him with reverence,

00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:15.619
 with godly fear, with humility.

00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:19.980
 Let us do so as we sing Psalm 33, verses 5 to 9,

00:20:20.439 --> 00:20:23.059
 to God's praise, to judgment and to righteousness,

00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:25.139
 a love he bareth still.

00:20:25.139 --> 00:20:25.279
 Amen.

00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:36.759
 To judgment and to righteousness,

00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:44.059
 a love he bareth still,

00:20:44.059 --> 00:20:52.420
 the lovely kindness of the Lord,

00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:59.539
 the earth through arms of him.

00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:08.380
 The heavens by the word of God

00:21:08.380 --> 00:21:15.200
 in their beginning day,

00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:23.860
 and by the breathing of his mind,

00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:31.039
 the other hosted may.

00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:40.200
 The waters of the seas he brings

00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:47.160
 together as can be,

00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:52.920
 and in storm and stings

00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:55.960
 as it were,

00:21:56.440 --> 00:22:00.380
 he may have a face.

00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:03.980
 For God who said,

00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:06.380
 let light shine out of darkness,

00:22:06.380 --> 00:22:08.660
 has shone in our hearts

00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:10.200
 to give the light of the knowledge

00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:11.500
 of the glory of God

00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:14.080
 in the face of Jesus Christ.

00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:19.100
 One of the Apostle Paul's

00:22:19.100 --> 00:22:21.280
 recurring themes throughout his letters

00:22:21.280 --> 00:22:24.440
 is to explain to the Lord's people

00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:27.500
 what it is that's happened to them,

00:22:28.060 --> 00:22:30.280
 the change that's taken place in their lives.

00:22:30.280 --> 00:22:31.320
 And so time and again,

00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:32.040
 not just here,

00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:34.220
 but elsewhere throughout his letters,

00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:36.259
 we find him explaining to us

00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:38.700
 what we were when we were out of Christ,

00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:41.120
 before we were Christians,

00:22:42.120 --> 00:22:44.100
 what animated us,

00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.519
 what was it that kept us going,

00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:52.480
 what were our aims and objectives in life,

00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:53.759
 who was controlling us,

00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:55.319
 who was influencing us.

00:22:55.819 --> 00:22:57.559
 And then he speaks also about

00:22:57.559 --> 00:22:59.980
 what we are in Christ,

00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:02.680
 the great change that has come upon us,

00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:04.980
 that we are new creatures,

00:23:05.320 --> 00:23:07.200
 what it means to be a new creation

00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:08.740
 in Christ Jesus.

00:23:09.340 --> 00:23:09.820
 Outstanding.

00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:12.580
 So much of the Apostle Paul's letters

00:23:12.580 --> 00:23:13.580
 is just this,

00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:15.200
 him explaining to the Christian

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.900
 what a Christian actually is

00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:19.560
 and what you actually are.

00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:21.880
 And the other thing that he explains to us

00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:24.700
 is how that has come to pass.

00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:27.779
 How did you go from this to this?

00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:31.279
 How did you go from death to life,

00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:34.480
 from being out of Christ to in Christ?

00:23:34.639 --> 00:23:36.099
 Or in the language of our text,

00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.079
 how did you go from darkness to light?

00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:41.579
 What you were,

00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:43.960
 what you are.

00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:45.059
 And of course,

00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:48.500
 it's important for us to understand ourselves.

00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:52.660
 The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates

00:23:52.660 --> 00:23:54.779
 spent a great deal of time

00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:57.119
 explaining that phrase,

00:23:57.700 --> 00:23:58.779
 know thyself,

00:23:59.399 --> 00:24:00.279
 know thyself.

00:24:00.379 --> 00:24:00.779
 He said,

00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:03.579
 central to all understanding,

00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:06.039
 to all knowledge in this life

00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:08.019
 is a knowledge of yourself.

00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:11.019
 And Socrates wasn't inspired

00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:13.000
 by any stretch of the imagination,

00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:14.700
 but what he said there was true.

00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:16.619
 How important for us,

00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:18.200
 in any walk of life,

00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:19.859
 to understand ourselves,

00:24:20.059 --> 00:24:21.899
 to understand who we are,

00:24:22.139 --> 00:24:23.200
 perhaps what we were,

00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:25.680
 the changes that have come upon us.

00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:27.759
 It's essential.

00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:30.600
 And if it's essential in other walks of life,

00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:31.960
 then it's certainly essential.

00:24:32.080 --> 00:24:34.360
 Indeed, it's vital in the Christian life

00:24:34.360 --> 00:24:36.200
 and for the Christian life

00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:38.360
 to know what you were,

00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:40.299
 to know what the Lord has done,

00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:43.039
 and to know what you are as a Christian,

00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:44.840
 to know what a Christian is,

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:47.700
 to further discover what you are

00:24:47.700 --> 00:24:50.400
 and what God has done for you.

00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:52.440
 So what I want us to do this evening

00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:53.759
 in the short time that we have

00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:56.200
 is just to consider two things,

00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:59.840
 what we were out of Christ

00:24:59.840 --> 00:25:02.540
 and what we are in Christ.

00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:05.340
 Or if you're not a Christian here tonight,

00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.340
 what we're considering,

00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:07.019
 first of all,

00:25:07.080 --> 00:25:08.700
 is what you currently are.

00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:11.440
 And then we'll consider afterwards

00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:13.300
 what you could be

00:25:13.300 --> 00:25:16.360
 if you yield your life to Jesus Christ.

00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:18.259
 So these two things.

00:25:18.399 --> 00:25:20.679
 Firstly, what we were.

00:25:20.879 --> 00:25:23.079
 Now, the first thing I think

00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:24.159
 we have to understand here

00:25:24.159 --> 00:25:25.559
 is the context

00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:28.159
 into which the Apostle Paul was writing.

00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:29.439
 He was writing, of course,

00:25:29.479 --> 00:25:30.199
 to the Corinthians,

00:25:30.979 --> 00:25:32.579
 to the church in Corinth.

00:25:33.179 --> 00:25:34.619
 And Corinth was, at the time,

00:25:34.719 --> 00:25:36.839
 really the main city in Greece.

00:25:37.539 --> 00:25:39.059
 Now, you think today,

00:25:39.199 --> 00:25:39.859
 boys and girls,

00:25:39.979 --> 00:25:40.319
 you think,

00:25:40.399 --> 00:25:41.819
 well, what's the capital of Greece?

00:25:41.899 --> 00:25:42.939
 And it's not Corinth,

00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:43.519
 it's Athens.

00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:44.599
 You think, well,

00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:46.420
 surely the main city in Greece is Athens.

00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:47.639
 And in many ways it is.

00:25:48.119 --> 00:25:49.539
 But I suppose Athens was,

00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:51.839
 in that day,

00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:53.519
 what Edinburgh was to Scotland.

00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:54.980
 It was, as it were,

00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:56.740
 the cultural capital

00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:58.519
 and the historic capital.

00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:01.139
 But Corinth was more like

00:26:01.139 --> 00:26:02.740
 the Glasgow of Greece.

00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:05.700
 This was the city of trade.

00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:07.940
 This is where the boats came in

00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:08.660
 from the west

00:26:08.660 --> 00:26:09.960
 and they traded

00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:11.700
 and they carried these goods

00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:12.960
 a few miles to the east.

00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:14.700
 And then there was another port there.

00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:16.259
 And so it was the gateway

00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:17.100
 to the east.

00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:19.000
 And this was a buzzing city.

00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:20.940
 It was a metropolitan city,

00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:23.220
 full of different cultures,

00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:24.500
 ethnicities,

00:26:25.100 --> 00:26:26.380
 different people groups,

00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:28.539
 and different religions as well.

00:26:28.980 --> 00:26:30.900
 It was a place of great opportunity

00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:32.900
 for a man who wanted to make money.

00:26:33.579 --> 00:26:34.980
 It was a place of great opportunity

00:26:34.980 --> 00:26:36.259
 for the gospel as well.

00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:37.819
 And the Apostle Paul,

00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:39.180
 as he went to other cities,

00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:41.079
 so he came to Corinth.

00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:44.899
 And we find him preaching in Corinth.

00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:47.439
 We find people being converted in Corinth.

00:26:47.439 --> 00:26:51.539
 And we find a church beginning to grow in Corinth.

00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:53.359
 And yet,

00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:56.379
 the context really for much of these letters

00:26:56.379 --> 00:26:57.119
 to the Corinthians

00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:00.720
 is that of problems within the church.

00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:02.579
 And there were numerous problems

00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:03.439
 within the church.

00:27:03.819 --> 00:27:05.259
 Problems with regards to discipline.

00:27:05.899 --> 00:27:06.939
 Problems with regards to,

00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:07.339
 actually,

00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:08.939
 some of the core elements of the faith.

00:27:09.659 --> 00:27:11.599
 Problems with regards to the Lord's Supper.

00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:14.059
 But one of the other problems

00:27:14.059 --> 00:27:16.379
 was a more personal problem

00:27:16.379 --> 00:27:17.519
 for the Apostle Paul.

00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:19.699
 And that's that he himself

00:27:19.699 --> 00:27:21.959
 was coming under criticism.

00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:25.079
 Criticism we know from false teachers.

00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:27.079
 From people who were trying to gain

00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:28.519
 a following for themselves.

00:27:29.139 --> 00:27:30.939
 And he was criticized for many things.

00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:32.599
 He was criticized for being immoral.

00:27:32.959 --> 00:27:33.599
 Now, he wasn't.

00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:34.639
 He showed that he wasn't.

00:27:35.159 --> 00:27:37.399
 But they leveled that criticism against him.

00:27:37.959 --> 00:27:38.639
 He was criticized

00:27:38.639 --> 00:27:40.159
 for not telling the whole truth.

00:27:40.339 --> 00:27:41.399
 For being deceitful.

00:27:41.579 --> 00:27:43.399
 For being weak in himself.

00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:45.619
 Criticized for having given up

00:27:45.619 --> 00:27:46.799
 and having left the people.

00:27:47.579 --> 00:27:48.839
 But one of the criticisms,

00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:50.939
 which is particularly relevant here,

00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:52.419
 is that he was criticized

00:27:52.419 --> 00:27:54.099
 for being ineffective.

00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:56.679
 Ineffective in Corinth.

00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:58.059
 People saying,

00:27:58.259 --> 00:27:58.659
 well, Paul,

00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:00.599
 if you preached differently,

00:28:00.959 --> 00:28:02.219
 if you acted differently,

00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:03.779
 if you spoke differently,

00:28:04.059 --> 00:28:05.279
 if you spoke a little bit more

00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:06.059
 into the culture,

00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:08.620
 then you'd be far more effective.

00:28:09.120 --> 00:28:10.480
 And there would be far more converts.

00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:12.700
 And the church would be far bigger.

00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:14.660
 And some of these criticisms

00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:15.539
 were very personal.

00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:17.440
 We read, is it in chapter 10

00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:18.220
 of this letter,

00:28:18.360 --> 00:28:19.019
 in verse 10,

00:28:19.539 --> 00:28:20.839
 they said about him

00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:23.039
 that his bodily presence is weak.

00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:24.400
 He's a small man.

00:28:24.819 --> 00:28:25.980
 He doesn't look like much.

00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:28.240
 And his speech is contemptible.

00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:30.000
 They look down upon his speech.

00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:30.579
 And of course,

00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.200
 Greece was the center of rhetoric.

00:28:34.779 --> 00:28:35.920
 The way to speak.

00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:37.980
 The way to speak eloquently.

00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:40.220
 The way to put an argument together.

00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:41.000
 And of course,

00:28:41.099 --> 00:28:41.779
 the Apostle Paul,

00:28:41.859 --> 00:28:42.319
 in many ways,

00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:43.839
 just disregarded all of that.

00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:46.000
 He thought that much of it,

00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:46.559
 not all of it,

00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:47.160
 but much of it,

00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:48.559
 was a nonsense.

00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:50.180
 He didn't take them on.

00:28:50.819 --> 00:28:51.359
 And for that,

00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:53.140
 he was criticized.

00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:55.039
 For that,

00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:56.700
 he was called ineffective.

00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:58.940
 You would have so many more converts,

00:28:59.120 --> 00:28:59.259
 Paul,

00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:00.440
 if you spoke differently,

00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:02.580
 if you acted differently.

00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:04.779
 And you would certainly have more converts,

00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:05.180
 Paul,

00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:07.500
 if you spoke about different things.

00:29:07.620 --> 00:29:09.059
 And you know

00:29:09.059 --> 00:29:10.740
 that the preaching of the cross

00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:12.360
 is foolishness to the Greeks.

00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:14.420
 So why do you keep on

00:29:14.420 --> 00:29:15.779
 banging on about it?

00:29:16.059 --> 00:29:17.019
 About this cross?

00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:18.380
 About this crucifixion?

00:29:18.539 --> 00:29:19.799
 You know that the Greek people

00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:21.059
 aren't going to accept that.

00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:22.700
 That it's going to be folly to them.

00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:23.539
 Yes, okay,

00:29:23.539 --> 00:29:24.759
 it's in the Christian system,

00:29:24.899 --> 00:29:27.180
 but put that to one side.

00:29:27.259 --> 00:29:28.500
 Or certainly don't mention it

00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:30.339
 as often as you are.

00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:31.759
 And all this talk

00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:32.700
 of the resurrection,

00:29:33.859 --> 00:29:35.720
 of Christ rising from the dead,

00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:37.200
 of one day ourselves

00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:38.259
 rising from the dead

00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:40.059
 to stand at the judgment seat,

00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:41.240
 you know that the people

00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:42.220
 don't want to hear that.

00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:43.200
 You know that they'll

00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:44.819
 laugh you off the stage for that.

00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:46.440
 They're not going to accept it.

00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:47.759
 And Paul,

00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:49.159
 all this talk about sin,

00:29:49.899 --> 00:29:51.460
 about our sexual immorality,

00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:53.019
 all this talk about

00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:54.160
 needing to repent,

00:29:54.460 --> 00:29:54.860
 you know,

00:29:55.240 --> 00:29:56.980
 you could have so many more people,

00:29:57.100 --> 00:29:58.160
 so many more Christians

00:29:58.160 --> 00:29:58.680
 in Corinth,

00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:00.340
 so many more followers,

00:30:01.340 --> 00:30:03.539
 if you just toned it down

00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:04.200
 a little bit.

00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:06.220
 That is essentially

00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:07.360
 the criticism

00:30:07.360 --> 00:30:08.900
 that is being leveled

00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:09.440
 against him.

00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:11.100
 And I suppose

00:30:11.100 --> 00:30:12.640
 it's a criticism

00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:13.559
 that is leveled

00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:14.559
 against the faithful church

00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:15.220
 in every day.

00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:16.799
 In every day.

00:30:16.920 --> 00:30:18.160
 And the Apostle Paul's

00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:18.900
 answer to that

00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:19.920
 is an answer

00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:22.140
 that we want to hear

00:30:22.140 --> 00:30:22.800
 and to listen to

00:30:22.800 --> 00:30:23.440
 very carefully.

00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:25.160
 He says in verse 2

00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:26.340
 of this chapter,

00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:27.500
 in defense of himself

00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:29.000
 and of those like him

00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:30.120
 and of his gospel,

00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:30.640
 he says,

00:30:31.340 --> 00:30:32.340
 but we have renounced

00:30:32.340 --> 00:30:33.500
 disgraceful,

00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:35.200
 underhanded ways.

00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:37.180
 We refuse to practice

00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:37.800
 cunning

00:30:37.800 --> 00:30:39.259
 or deceit

00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:40.640
 or to tamper

00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:41.759
 with God's word.

00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:43.840
 That's what we refuse to do.

00:30:44.060 --> 00:30:44.680
 That's essentially

00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:46.000
 what you're telling us to do.

00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:48.099
 But rather,

00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:49.680
 by the open statement

00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:50.839
 or the declaration

00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:52.579
 or the manifestation

00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:53.720
 of the truth,

00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:55.119
 that is the truth

00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:56.019
 of God's word,

00:30:56.460 --> 00:30:57.759
 we would commend ourselves

00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:59.319
 to everyone's conscience

00:30:59.319 --> 00:31:00.700
 in the sight of God.

00:31:01.220 --> 00:31:02.599
 Then he says in verse 5,

00:31:02.859 --> 00:31:03.740
 for what we proclaim

00:31:03.740 --> 00:31:04.619
 is not ourselves,

00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:06.200
 we preach not ourselves,

00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:07.160
 we don't preach

00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:08.000
 about ourselves,

00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:08.920
 we don't seek

00:31:08.920 --> 00:31:09.660
 to be central

00:31:09.660 --> 00:31:10.900
 in our own preaching

00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:11.759
 so that people

00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:12.480
 see the preacher

00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:13.779
 and not hear the message.

00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:15.399
 but rather,

00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:16.839
 we preach Jesus Christ

00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:17.460
 as Lord

00:31:17.460 --> 00:31:18.460
 with ourselves

00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:19.559
 as your servants

00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:21.639
 for Jesus' sake.

00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:23.180
 You know,

00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:24.279
 the apostle Paul

00:31:24.279 --> 00:31:25.500
 believed in becoming

00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:26.519
 a Jew to the Jews

00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:27.700
 and a Greek

00:31:27.700 --> 00:31:28.440
 to the Greeks.

00:31:29.059 --> 00:31:30.000
 But that didn't mean

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:30.500
 that he was going

00:31:30.500 --> 00:31:31.039
 to resort

00:31:31.039 --> 00:31:32.319
 to their methods.

00:31:33.339 --> 00:31:34.139
 That didn't mean

00:31:34.139 --> 00:31:34.639
 that he was going

00:31:34.639 --> 00:31:35.519
 to speak in the way

00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:36.559
 that they spoke.

00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:37.700
 That didn't mean

00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:38.460
 that he was going

00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:40.139
 to muddy the waters

00:31:40.139 --> 00:31:41.519
 with Greek philosophy.

00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:43.200
 It didn't mean

00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:43.879
 that he was going

00:31:43.879 --> 00:31:45.180
 to tamper

00:31:45.180 --> 00:31:46.519
 with the word of God.

00:31:48.379 --> 00:31:49.299
 That's what he says

00:31:49.299 --> 00:31:49.940
 there, isn't it?

00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:51.460
 We didn't practice

00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:51.940
 cunning

00:31:51.940 --> 00:31:53.160
 or tamper

00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:54.019
 with God's word.

00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:55.099
 That word tamper

00:31:55.099 --> 00:31:55.619
 is the word

00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:56.139
 that was used

00:31:56.139 --> 00:31:57.440
 for diluting wine,

00:31:59.240 --> 00:31:59.799
 diluting it

00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.420
 with water.

00:32:01.059 --> 00:32:01.500
 And he was saying,

00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:02.279
 we're not going

00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:03.000
 to do that

00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:03.660
 in our preaching.

00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:04.639
 We're not going

00:32:04.639 --> 00:32:05.119
 to pretend

00:32:05.119 --> 00:32:06.059
 that the word of God

00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:06.660
 says things

00:32:06.660 --> 00:32:07.639
 that it doesn't say

00:32:07.639 --> 00:32:08.500
 in order to make

00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:09.339
 the people feel

00:32:09.339 --> 00:32:10.480
 better about themselves.

00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:31.519
 neither are we voy

00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:31.519


00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:31.519


00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:32.799
 about the resurrection

00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:33.519
 and the fact

00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:34.640
 that one day

00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:35.259
 we shall all

00:32:35.259 --> 00:32:36.000
 stand before

00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:36.559
 the judgment

00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:37.460
 seat of Christ.

00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:38.319
 We're not voy

00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:38.319


00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:38.319


00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:46.759
 there a heaven to be gained, but that there is a hell to be shunned. You see, this is the thing.

00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:53.819
 The apostle's aim wasn't to fill a church. It wasn't to have more members in the church in

00:32:53.819 --> 00:32:59.400
 Corinth. It wasn't to have more people to profess faith. It wasn't to have more people say, well,

00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:05.000
 I was converted under the preaching of the apostle Paul. His aim wasn't to have more people

00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:11.079
 saying that they were Christians. His aim certainly wasn't to gain a following for himself.

00:33:11.539 --> 00:33:17.799
 Rather, his aim was to see the name of Christ glorified in Corinth. His aim was to be faithful

00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:27.099
 to his calling. Woe is me if I preach not the gospel. I have met with Jesus Christ. I have seen

00:33:27.099 --> 00:33:32.819
 his glory on the road to Damascus, he could say. I'm not going to preach myself. What am I? I am

00:33:32.819 --> 00:33:40.799
 an earthen vessel, he says in verse 7. A jar of clay. I am nothing. Why would I preach myself? I'm not

00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:47.519
 going to be a showman and try to attract people to me. I will preach Christ and him crucified. I will

00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:54.599
 show his beauty, his glory. I will preach his truth. That's what I will do. And to some it shall be a

00:33:54.599 --> 00:34:01.720
 savor or a fragrance of death unto death. But to others it shall be a fragrance of life unto life.

00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:08.619
 But we preach Christ crucified, he said in his first letter. To the Jews it's a stumbling block. And to

00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:16.440
 the Greeks it's foolishness. But to them that are called, it is Christ, the power of God, and the

00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:23.400
 wisdom of God. To them that are called, to them that the Holy Spirit applies it to, it is salvation.

00:34:23.400 --> 00:34:34.000
 It is forgiveness. It is heaven. And that is what he saw as his own work. Not success, not numbers, but to

00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:42.900
 be faithful to the Lord. And as he said to Timothy, preach the word. Be instant in season and out of

00:34:42.900 --> 00:34:51.519
 season. And yet we might say, well Paul, if this is true, then why are there so few who believe in the

00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:56.320
 city of Corinth? Why actually, yes, there's a church that's grown up here and that's a wonderful thing

00:34:56.320 --> 00:35:02.420
 in itself. But look out with the walls of the church. Not saying that the church then met as it

00:35:02.420 --> 00:35:10.000
 met today, but you understand the figure. How few there are here in all of the tens of thousands in

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:15.880
 the city of Corinth. And you know, we might say the same ourselves. How few there are worshipping in all

00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:20.980
 of the churches in Stornoway combined this evening? There's a good chance that they would all fit in

00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:27.880
 this building. There's a good chance. How few there are. And why is that? Is it that all of the

00:35:27.880 --> 00:35:33.860
 ministers in Stornoway haven't been doing their job properly? Is that what it is? Is it that they

00:35:33.860 --> 00:35:37.940
 haven't been preaching as they ought to have been preaching? Is it that they haven't been speaking

00:35:37.940 --> 00:35:44.140
 into the culture as they ought to have speaking into the culture? As they ought to have been. Or to put it

00:35:44.139 --> 00:35:52.119
 another way, what about yourself? Now, many of you here are Christians. Some of you perhaps can't

00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:57.559
 remember a time when you didn't love the Lord. But many of you, you remember a time when you didn't.

00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:04.199
 And you remember a time when you rejected the gospel. And then there came a day in your life when

00:36:04.199 --> 00:36:10.739
 you ceased to reject it. Now, what changed? Or to put it another way, why did you remain in

00:36:10.739 --> 00:36:16.799
 unbelief so long? Why did you remain in unbelief? Well, the apostle explains that. He says in verse

00:36:16.799 --> 00:36:23.559
 three, and even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.

00:36:25.259 --> 00:36:31.839
 You see, he's been accused of veiling the gospel by preaching all of these doctrines,

00:36:32.019 --> 00:36:35.779
 by actually muddying the waters. And you could make it simple. You know, the Greek people,

00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:42.120
 as most people do today, they love to hear about morality. They love to hear about how to live,

00:36:42.400 --> 00:36:47.180
 to be content, to be happy. Preach about these things. Preach about the good life. That's what

00:36:47.180 --> 00:36:53.019
 people like Socrates and Plato did, wasn't it? They love to hear preaching on community,

00:36:53.960 --> 00:36:58.960
 and how the church can be together, and who look after each other, and love one another. Just focus

00:36:58.960 --> 00:37:04.780
 on that kind of stuff. Surely that will attract people. You're just veiling the gospel. You're

00:37:04.780 --> 00:37:12.420
 veiling the truth by focusing on all that other stuff. And what he says is this. He says, well,

00:37:12.700 --> 00:37:16.500
 if the gospel is veiled, it's only veiled to those who are perishing. In other words,

00:37:16.860 --> 00:37:22.700
 the veil isn't on the side of the message. The veil isn't on the side of the gospel. Rather, it's on

00:37:22.700 --> 00:37:29.519
 your side. The veil is on your heart. That's where the veil is. You remember what he says to the

00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:35.860
 Ephesians. Ephesians 4, verse 18. He speaks of those who have their understanding darkened,

00:37:36.400 --> 00:37:42.000
 being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness

00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:48.820
 of their heart. Why is it that you don't see the glory of this message? Why is it that there are

00:37:48.820 --> 00:37:55.980
 people who don't receive it and accept it? Well, the message of Scripture is this. It is because of the

00:37:55.980 --> 00:38:00.780
 blindness of the heart. Now, don't get me wrong. There are many churches even throughout their own

00:38:00.780 --> 00:38:05.920
 land, and people sit like you sit tonight, and they're not hearing a gospel. They're not hearing

00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:12.219
 the message properly to repent and to believe in a crucified Savior. They're not hearing it,

00:38:12.260 --> 00:38:16.920
 so they're not believing it. But that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about those

00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:23.800
 who do hear it, who hear the truth, and yet who continue to reject it. And what the apostle is

00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:30.200
 saying here is that they reject it because they are blind, because they have a veil over their soul,

00:38:30.700 --> 00:38:36.539
 over their spiritual eyes, over their heart. And you know, friend, even the brightness of the

00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:43.980
 midday sun, the brightness of the sun, even as we saw today, even that is hidden from a blind man

00:38:43.980 --> 00:38:50.380
 or a blind woman. They can't see that. They can't see, even though it's so bright to our eyes that

00:38:50.380 --> 00:38:58.300
 we can hardly look at it. To them, they can't see it because they are blind. And so it is with us,

00:38:58.900 --> 00:39:05.220
 friends, by nature. As we come into this world, the carnal mind is enmity against the Lord. We are the

00:39:05.220 --> 00:39:11.140
 enemies of God by nature. We say, as we mentioned this morning, we will not have this man to reign over

00:39:11.139 --> 00:39:17.519
 us because I want to reign over my own life. I want to do things my own way. I want to be essentially

00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:27.839
 my own boss. And so it is that many of us sat in churches and we heard the gospel and we saw others

00:39:27.839 --> 00:39:34.059
 round about us being converted and witnessing to us. And we had parents who prayed to us and who spoke to

00:39:34.059 --> 00:39:41.980
 us. Our grandparents, brothers, sisters, sat in week by week under the truth and yet were unmoved by it.

00:39:42.199 --> 00:39:49.779
 Or perhaps moved sometimes, but it didn't really change us. We were, as it were, basking in gospel

00:39:49.779 --> 00:39:58.840
 sunshine and yet it didn't affect us. And we didn't see it. We didn't believe. Why? Well, because our eyes

00:39:58.840 --> 00:40:06.960
 were shut to it. Our ears were blocked so that we couldn't see, we couldn't hear. We were in darkness.

00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:13.980
 In fact, the apostle says in another place, not only were we in darkness, but you were darkness.

00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:20.440
 You were darkness. And that explains the veil that is upon your heart so that you cannot receive the

00:40:20.440 --> 00:40:27.059
 truth because you were darkness. And that doesn't mean that you don't know the Bible or the stories

00:40:27.059 --> 00:40:31.840
 that the Bible tells. It doesn't even mean that you don't know theology and the gospel. It doesn't

00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:36.199
 mean that you don't know these things. But what it does mean is this, that these things haven't

00:40:36.199 --> 00:40:41.099
 touched you. They haven't moved you. They haven't changed you. You don't really see the relevance of

00:40:41.099 --> 00:40:47.539
 them to the here and to the now. You don't really see the urgency of them because of the fact that

00:40:47.539 --> 00:40:53.059
 tomorrow is not promised. You hear these things, but they don't come to you with power,

00:40:53.059 --> 00:40:58.460
 with life-changing power. And you might see those around you in the pews in front of you and behind

00:40:58.460 --> 00:41:03.219
 you and beside you, people in your family, people in your friend's circle, people who you were in

00:41:03.219 --> 00:41:10.099
 school with and they're converted. And you're not. It is the power of God unto salvation in their life,

00:41:10.199 --> 00:41:16.599
 but not in your life. You see those around you who love the Lord, but you don't love the Lord.

00:41:16.599 --> 00:41:24.059
 And many of you remember being there, being there under the truth, hearing the gospel, but being unchanged.

00:41:24.639 --> 00:41:32.839
 Why? Well, as we read, because the gospel was veiled to you. But let us dig a little deeper. The apostle

00:41:32.839 --> 00:41:41.119
 takes us a little deeper. Why were we blind? Well, in verse 4 we read, in their case, that is those who are

00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:47.940
 perishing. The God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing

00:41:47.940 --> 00:41:58.480
 the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The God of this age or the

00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:07.079
 God of this world is the one who blinds. You know, the word teaches us that this world, the world system,

00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:14.139
 society at large, it moves to the sway of the prince of this world. That is of Satan.

00:42:16.039 --> 00:42:21.480
 You remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees. He said to them, and you know, you talk about being

00:42:21.480 --> 00:42:28.840
 seeker sensitive. One thing that Jesus was not. He loved people and he came to their level, but he

00:42:28.840 --> 00:42:33.480
 always spoke the truth to them. And you remember what he said to the Pharisees when they rejected him

00:42:33.480 --> 00:42:39.240
 in his message. He said to them, you are of your father, the devil. Your father is not Abraham,

00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:46.659
 and your father is certainly not God. Your father is the devil. And that is, of course, true of all

00:42:46.659 --> 00:42:53.599
 those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. God is not your father. That is evident by your works, by your

00:42:53.599 --> 00:42:59.800
 life, by your rejection of his son. You are of your father, the devil. In other words, you move to his

00:42:59.800 --> 00:43:05.820
 sway. You are more under his influence than the influence of God. And what is the greatest work

00:43:05.820 --> 00:43:10.500
 of the devil? Boys and girls, I wonder what you think the greatest work of the devil is.

00:43:11.420 --> 00:43:18.180
 Well, we might think to cause wars, or to cause people to commit murders,

00:43:19.180 --> 00:43:26.940
 to cheat, to steal, to corrupt. Well, we can be sure that the devil is in many of these things,

00:43:26.940 --> 00:43:34.639
 and indeed in all of them. But really, the greatest work of the devil is to blind men's hearts from the

00:43:34.639 --> 00:43:43.059
 truth, to keep the gospel out of your ears. And if the gospel gets into your ears, to keep it out of

00:43:43.059 --> 00:43:50.460
 your heart. That is his great work, to persuade you otherwise, to persuade you not to, as we thought

00:43:50.460 --> 00:43:55.380
 this morning, to deny yourself and to take up your cross and to follow him, but rather to persuade you to

00:43:55.380 --> 00:44:00.800
 serve the world, and to love the world and the things that are in the world, really to serve him.

00:44:01.099 --> 00:44:05.680
 Now, that's valid. He doesn't tell you that, but that's essentially what he's doing.

00:44:06.320 --> 00:44:12.500
 And you know what Satan's great dread is? You know, we all have worries and anxieties, and there are

00:44:12.500 --> 00:44:18.780
 things that we dread happening. Well, do you know what Satan's great dread is? It is this, that he might

00:44:18.780 --> 00:44:24.680
 lose you and that you might serve another master, that he might lose you and that you might serve

00:44:24.680 --> 00:44:31.580
 Jesus Christ. That is his great dread, that he might lose you to the king. That's what our text says,

00:44:31.580 --> 00:44:39.300
 to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, or lest they see the light of

00:44:39.300 --> 00:44:45.860
 the gospel of the glory of Christ. That's why he blinds your eyes, lest you see it, lest you see Christ,

00:44:45.860 --> 00:44:51.800
 lest you receive him, lest you accept him, lest you give your life to him. You know, friend,

00:44:52.599 --> 00:44:58.440
 I want to ask you, how successful has he been in your life? You know, many of you today are Christians.

00:44:59.039 --> 00:45:04.559
 How successful was he in your own life before the Holy Spirit came with a resistible grace?

00:45:05.760 --> 00:45:11.880
 And you might be here tonight, and you're still not a Christian. How successful has the devil been

00:45:11.880 --> 00:45:18.579
 in your life in persuading you otherwise, in keeping you away from Christ, in deceiving you?

00:45:19.400 --> 00:45:23.260
 And you know, friends, there have perhaps been many times when you've heard the gospel,

00:45:23.599 --> 00:45:27.200
 and when you've heard the need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to be saved,

00:45:27.200 --> 00:45:33.579
 and when you've heard that it must be done now, that now is the accepted time, that now is today's

00:45:33.579 --> 00:45:40.300
 day of salvation, and you've heard that, and you've felt the reality of it, and the power of it,

00:45:40.300 --> 00:45:45.160
 and the urgency of it, and you've felt it speaking to you personally, and that you need to give your

00:45:45.160 --> 00:45:50.019
 life to Christ. And if you die out of Christ tonight, that you're on a way to a lost eternity,

00:45:50.280 --> 00:45:56.600
 and you've known that, and you've felt it. And then all of a sudden, well, another little voice

00:45:56.600 --> 00:46:02.500
 comes into your mind and says, well, you're only young. There's plenty time for that yet.

00:46:03.160 --> 00:46:07.620
 There's a life to be lived. There's things to do. You don't want to bog yourself down with that,

00:46:07.619 --> 00:46:14.519
 do you? Or perhaps it's more, well, are you really sure? Are you really persuaded that this is true?

00:46:14.619 --> 00:46:19.299
 You know, this is a big sacrifice that you're making here. Should you not think about it? Make

00:46:19.299 --> 00:46:26.119
 sure that you're not being rash about this? Should you not give it time? You know, friends, it's a

00:46:26.119 --> 00:46:34.219
 privilege to see young people in our midst tonight, to see teenagers in our midst. It's not so long since

00:46:34.219 --> 00:46:39.919
 I sat in this church as a teenager, going back 20 years. I remember seeing the galleries full of

00:46:39.919 --> 00:46:47.579
 other teenagers, and many of them had become Christians. Many of them perhaps were like you,

00:46:48.059 --> 00:46:54.079
 and they were thinking about becoming Christians. And they sat attentively listening to the Word,

00:46:54.500 --> 00:46:59.919
 and they gave these things serious thought. But you know, friends, sadly, many of them didn't act

00:46:59.920 --> 00:47:05.200
 upon it. They didn't act upon it. They said, well, I'll leave it. I'll give it a few years. I'll give

00:47:05.200 --> 00:47:11.260
 it some time. And you know, friends, it came to nothing. And for all we know, it might never come

00:47:11.260 --> 00:47:19.099
 to anything. Perhaps for them, the opportunity is past. God's Spirit will not always strive with man.

00:47:19.579 --> 00:47:25.260
 You know, it's a solemn thing if there is light all around you, and people who are converted all around

00:47:25.260 --> 00:47:33.280
 you, and yet you are still yourself blind to it all. Well, I'm seeing that the time is passing quicker

00:47:33.280 --> 00:47:38.960
 than I would like it to. So let us move on to our second point, and we won't give as much time to this.

00:47:39.560 --> 00:47:44.560
 We've seen what we wear. What about what we are? Because the next question, I suppose, is, well,

00:47:44.960 --> 00:47:52.380
 if this is how we are by nature, why did you stop rejecting the Lord? What changed? And you know,

00:47:52.380 --> 00:47:57.680
 we often considered conversion subjectively. So you think, well, what changed? I'll tell you what

00:47:57.680 --> 00:48:04.240
 changed. I began to develop an interest in spiritual things. I began to see Christians a wee bit

00:48:04.240 --> 00:48:09.400
 differently, and they weren't all doom and gloom, and actually they were in some ways people like

00:48:09.400 --> 00:48:14.300
 myself, and yet they had something that I didn't have. They had a peace. They had a joy. They had an

00:48:14.300 --> 00:48:20.660
 assurance that I didn't have. I began to come to church. Maybe a new minister came, and I felt that I

00:48:20.659 --> 00:48:26.420
 could listen to him, and that I could understand him. And then I began to read the Word more, and I

00:48:26.420 --> 00:48:30.799
 began to pray as I read it. And instead of just going to church on a Sunday morning or on a Sunday

00:48:30.799 --> 00:48:36.779
 night, I began to go both ends. Before I knew it, I wanted to go to a prayer meeting. And then I found

00:48:36.779 --> 00:48:43.299
 myself praying to the Lord, well, Lord, come into my life. I yield everything to you. And then I professed

00:48:43.299 --> 00:48:49.199
 faith, and I became a Christian. And you know, for many of us, that is true. That's the way that it is.

00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:58.399
 But it's subjective, isn't it? That is, it's a thing from our perspective. But what the Apostle Paul

00:48:58.399 --> 00:49:03.879
 is doing here, and it's important that we follow him in it, is that he's treating our conversion,

00:49:04.799 --> 00:49:13.159
 our salvation, objectively. Not from our perspective, as it were, but from the perspective of God himself.

00:49:13.159 --> 00:49:20.039
 Where he says, for God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give

00:49:20.039 --> 00:49:24.940
 the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Why are you a Christian?

00:49:24.940 --> 00:49:35.039
 Why are you not blind anymore? Well, this is why. For God. For God has done it. He has shone in our

00:49:35.039 --> 00:49:40.460
 hearts to give the light of the knowledge of glory, of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.

00:49:40.900 --> 00:49:47.639
 What he's focusing on is what's happening behind the scenes. And not the way that you see it, or not the

00:49:47.639 --> 00:49:54.659
 way that you trace the narrative. Although that has its own importance. But what God is doing to save.

00:49:54.879 --> 00:50:02.699
 And what he's focusing on isn't our strength to save ourselves, but the strength of God to save us.

00:50:03.099 --> 00:50:09.759
 The fact that it is not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. What he focuses on is

00:50:09.760 --> 00:50:16.160
 is the fact that when we were yet without strength, that in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

00:50:16.840 --> 00:50:24.180
 He focuses on the fact that, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the

00:50:24.180 --> 00:50:30.040
 propitiation for our sins, to bear the wrath of God in our place. He focuses not on our works,

00:50:30.040 --> 00:50:34.000
 but on the grace of God. Not on what we have earned, because we've earned nothing,

00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:41.880
 but on the free gift of God in giving us salvation in his son. That's what he focuses on. God's work.

00:50:42.300 --> 00:50:47.480
 That's what we ought to focus on. We never forget the subjective. We never forget the way that the

00:50:47.480 --> 00:50:53.619
 Lord led us in our conversion and the change that came in upon us. But all the glory isn't to the one

00:50:53.619 --> 00:50:58.760
 who made a decision to go to a prayer meeting, or to profess faith, or to pray to the Lord to come

00:50:58.760 --> 00:51:03.920
 into our lives. The glory goes to the one who has worked in us, who has sent his son,

00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:10.480
 who has given his spirit. To him be all the glory. And that's what the apostle is doing here. And

00:51:10.480 --> 00:51:18.000
 that's what we ought to do. That's what we ought to do, to give God all the glory in our salvation.

00:51:18.659 --> 00:51:26.800
 And he highlights this because only God can open the eyes of the blind. Only God can do it. And that's

00:51:26.800 --> 00:51:33.659
 how blind you were, and how blind I was. And that's how spiritually dead we were. You know,

00:51:33.659 --> 00:51:40.639
 we can't give ourselves spiritual sight. We can't open our own spiritual eyes. We can't give ourselves

00:51:40.639 --> 00:51:47.460
 spiritual life any more than a dead man can resurrect himself from the dead. We cannot take out the heart

00:51:47.460 --> 00:51:56.659
 of stone and put in a heart of flesh. We can't do that. It needs supernatural power, friends, to make a

00:51:56.659 --> 00:52:05.179
 Christian. It needed supernatural power in your life to loosen Satan's grip upon you, and to loosen your

00:52:05.179 --> 00:52:12.239
 grip upon this world. It needed the power of God himself. Nothing else could do it. You know, you may

00:52:12.239 --> 00:52:19.219
 be not a Christian here tonight, and I could gather a hundred Christians, and we could sit you around,

00:52:19.219 --> 00:52:25.699
 and we could talk to you one by one, and try to persuade you into Christ. Well, we can't do it. We don't have the

00:52:25.699 --> 00:52:32.679
 power. The flesh, as it were, profits nothing. We can't make Christians. Paul cannot plant. Apollos can water.

00:52:33.579 --> 00:52:41.399
 But it is God alone that gives the increase. And the reference here is actually to the creation.

00:52:41.400 --> 00:52:50.260
 For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts. The reference is to one of

00:52:50.260 --> 00:52:56.539
 the most famous sentences, not only in all of Scripture, but in all of the English language,

00:52:57.220 --> 00:53:06.079
 where in Genesis 1, and as it's verse 3, God speaks, and he says, let there be light. And there was light.

00:53:06.079 --> 00:53:14.259
 Now, before there was light in this creation, we read that the creation, it was without form,

00:53:14.559 --> 00:53:22.840
 and it was void. It was in chaos and in confusion. It hadn't been put together. And that would,

00:53:23.219 --> 00:53:29.340
 the first part of that process was light coming into it. But what the apostle is saying here is,

00:53:29.340 --> 00:53:38.600
 that's what we're like. Spiritually speaking, without form and void or empty. Spiritually in

00:53:38.600 --> 00:53:46.019
 darkness, without light, in chaos and confusion, there is emptiness, there is ignorance, there is

00:53:46.019 --> 00:53:53.079
 unbelief. And what he's saying is that it required the creative power of God to open your eyes.

00:53:53.600 --> 00:53:58.160
 The creative power of God. You know, friends, we're blessed with a wonderful day,

00:53:58.159 --> 00:54:03.739
 and we could see something of that creative power. I could see it as I drove from Lough's to Stornoway,

00:54:04.259 --> 00:54:12.399
 as I could view the hills and all of their splendor, the Lough's, the Heather. As you drove into

00:54:12.399 --> 00:54:17.319
 Stornoway, you see something of the castle grounds. As you look unto the sky, see something of the

00:54:17.319 --> 00:54:24.859
 beauty, the glory of the midday sun. And you think to yourself, what power, what wisdom on the part of

00:54:24.860 --> 00:54:45.900
 God, the glory of the sky, the έ voyque, the έ

00:54:46.539 --> 00:54:47.740
 That kind of power.

00:54:48.119 --> 00:54:50.860
 It was the God who called the light to shine out of darkness.

00:54:51.420 --> 00:54:55.460
 He was the God who shone his light into the darkness of your heart.

00:54:55.860 --> 00:54:57.740
 It is the creator that gives light.

00:54:57.740 --> 00:54:59.840
 It is the creator that gives life.

00:55:00.920 --> 00:55:04.240
 Light that breaks through the darkness of your unbelief.

00:55:04.539 --> 00:55:07.880
 That shatters the resistance of your unbelief.

00:55:08.400 --> 00:55:11.539
 You know, many of us knew what it was to resist Christ.

00:55:12.440 --> 00:55:16.739
 Many of us knew what it was to put him off and to say, not now.

00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:25.279
 And yet, if you're Christians today, it is because the Lord in his power, by his spirit, shattered that resistance.

00:55:25.779 --> 00:55:28.699
 And he made you to be a new creation.

00:55:29.519 --> 00:55:35.119
 As the apostle says elsewhere, he called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

00:55:35.380 --> 00:55:37.779
 The light of his knowledge, of his truth.

00:55:38.179 --> 00:55:40.400
 The light of his grace and of his peace.

00:55:40.400 --> 00:55:41.800
 The light of his son.

00:55:43.119 --> 00:55:46.619
 We mentioned earlier, the apostle says, you were once darkness.

00:55:47.480 --> 00:55:48.360
 But what are you now?

00:55:49.440 --> 00:55:53.579
 You're not only in the light, but you are light in the Lord.

00:55:54.139 --> 00:55:55.160
 That is what you are.

00:55:56.099 --> 00:55:58.980
 And you know, friend, you're here and perhaps you're still not a Christian.

00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:02.039
 And maybe you're praying to be a Christian.

00:56:02.200 --> 00:56:04.000
 Maybe you want to be a Christian.

00:56:04.000 --> 00:56:10.380
 And the message that you're hearing here is that it is utterly impossible in and of ourselves to do it.

00:56:10.639 --> 00:56:14.980
 Although we will be held responsible for every one of our actions and for our inaction.

00:56:15.719 --> 00:56:17.960
 But what I want to encourage you with is this.

00:56:18.440 --> 00:56:20.440
 That okay, maybe you can't do it.

00:56:20.780 --> 00:56:22.099
 But the Lord can do it.

00:56:22.099 --> 00:56:24.519
 The Lord is in the business of doing it.

00:56:24.799 --> 00:56:26.980
 He is the God who created the heavens and the earth.

00:56:27.380 --> 00:56:30.719
 He is God, the God who fearfully and wonderfully made you.

00:56:31.139 --> 00:56:35.480
 He is the God who has converted men and women, boys and girls round about you.

00:56:35.619 --> 00:56:37.900
 And he is the God who can convert you.

00:56:38.259 --> 00:56:40.119
 Yes, impossible with man.

00:56:40.380 --> 00:56:41.900
 But it is possible with God.

00:56:41.900 --> 00:56:46.740
 And he calls you to come on your knees and to plead with him and to pray with him and to say,

00:56:47.079 --> 00:56:48.200
 Lord, I believe.

00:56:48.700 --> 00:56:50.039
 Help thou mine unbelief.

00:56:50.480 --> 00:56:52.360
 Lord, I can do nothing in and of myself.

00:56:52.480 --> 00:56:54.820
 I look within and I see nothing but darkness.

00:56:56.320 --> 00:56:58.059
 But take me into the light.

00:56:59.220 --> 00:57:00.619
 Work faith in my heart.

00:57:01.000 --> 00:57:02.619
 Bring me into your kingdom.

00:57:03.980 --> 00:57:08.400
 That I might know and be united to the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:57:08.740 --> 00:57:09.840
 Friend, he can do it.

00:57:09.840 --> 00:57:11.860
 And how does he do it?

00:57:11.920 --> 00:57:14.100
 And this is the final thing.

00:57:14.680 --> 00:57:15.880
 We read in verse 6,

00:57:16.400 --> 00:57:18.980
 He gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.

00:57:19.039 --> 00:57:19.260
 How?

00:57:19.620 --> 00:57:22.180
 In the face of Jesus Christ.

00:57:24.039 --> 00:57:25.220
 He gives light.

00:57:25.760 --> 00:57:26.900
 He shows you his glory.

00:57:27.780 --> 00:57:31.539
 And gives you his blessing through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

00:57:31.900 --> 00:57:33.880
 Where do we see the glory of God?

00:57:33.980 --> 00:57:37.559
 Well, we've mentioned that the heavens declare God's glory.

00:57:37.559 --> 00:57:43.079
 And the skies, they proclaim and they preach his handiwork.

00:57:43.480 --> 00:57:45.719
 And you see the glory of God in creation.

00:57:45.719 --> 00:57:54.779
 But nowhere do you see it as plainly, as clearly, as glorious as it is in Jesus Christ himself.

00:57:55.179 --> 00:57:59.559
 Who the writer to the Hebrews calls the brightness of God's glory.

00:58:00.059 --> 00:58:02.199
 And the express image of his person.

00:58:02.500 --> 00:58:05.239
 Yes, you can see the glory of God in creation.

00:58:05.399 --> 00:58:07.259
 But if you want to see it in all of its brightness.

00:58:07.260 --> 00:58:10.700
 Then look into the face of Jesus Christ.

00:58:11.480 --> 00:58:17.360
 I was reading recently the late Douglas MacMillan's book, Wrestling with God.

00:58:18.160 --> 00:58:22.740
 And he mentioned in that book that when he was a student in the Free Church College.

00:58:23.160 --> 00:58:26.700
 And he was sitting under the teaching of Professor R.A. Finlayson.

00:58:27.260 --> 00:58:30.080
 That Professor Finlayson said to them one day.

00:58:30.340 --> 00:58:32.160
 When he was teaching on the incarnation.

00:58:32.159 --> 00:58:41.219
 He said, gentlemen, let us never forget that when the Son of God veiled his glory in his human nature.

00:58:41.699 --> 00:58:45.559
 He veiled it not in order to conceal his deity.

00:58:46.319 --> 00:58:49.920
 But in order to reveal his deity.

00:58:51.119 --> 00:58:54.159
 In other words, when God became man.

00:58:54.599 --> 00:58:57.960
 When God was made manifest in the flesh.

00:58:57.960 --> 00:59:01.220
 Yes, he had to veil his glory.

00:59:02.159 --> 00:59:06.699
 And yet, nowhere do we see the deity of God so clear.

00:59:06.800 --> 00:59:09.559
 Nowhere do we see the Godness of God.

00:59:09.720 --> 00:59:10.760
 What he is like.

00:59:11.000 --> 00:59:12.420
 What his characteristics are.

00:59:12.679 --> 00:59:16.619
 Nowhere do we see it as clearly as we see it in Jesus Christ.

00:59:17.039 --> 00:59:19.519
 That's why the Son of God comes into the world.

00:59:20.179 --> 00:59:21.320
 To show us God.

00:59:21.559 --> 00:59:22.940
 To reveal God to us.

00:59:23.000 --> 00:59:24.019
 You remember what he said.

00:59:24.019 --> 00:59:28.000
 He that has seen me has seen the Father.

00:59:28.880 --> 00:59:31.460
 Because he is the brightness of the Father's glory.

00:59:32.159 --> 00:59:33.519
 And what God does is this.

00:59:33.759 --> 00:59:35.900
 He opens your eyes to see what?

00:59:36.639 --> 00:59:38.079
 To see his glory.

00:59:38.960 --> 00:59:42.900
 And to receive his blessing in the face of Jesus Christ.

00:59:44.000 --> 00:59:45.079
 In his face.

00:59:45.179 --> 00:59:47.259
 You know there's something in that as well, isn't there?

00:59:47.780 --> 00:59:50.559
 In the very face of Jesus Christ.

00:59:50.559 --> 00:59:56.320
 That face which mourned over sin in this life.

00:59:56.900 --> 01:00:00.199
 That face which shed tears at the grave of Lazarus.

01:00:00.940 --> 01:00:05.219
 The face of he who was the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

01:00:05.779 --> 01:00:09.199
 The face of him who was despised and rejected of men.

01:00:09.699 --> 01:00:13.759
 The face of him who came unto his own and his own received him not.

01:00:13.760 --> 01:00:19.240
 The face which knew the agony of the garden of Gethsemane.

01:00:19.860 --> 01:00:23.680
 That bloodied and bruised face on Calvary.

01:00:23.680 --> 01:00:29.840
 That face that was so marred that it was beyond resemblance.

01:00:30.680 --> 01:00:34.860
 That face which loved his own and even loved them to the end.

01:00:35.160 --> 01:00:38.440
 That face which called out in the midst of the agony of the cross.

01:00:39.040 --> 01:00:42.440
 Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

01:00:43.760 --> 01:00:44.740
 The loving face.

01:00:44.860 --> 01:00:46.000
 The gracious face.

01:00:46.740 --> 01:00:49.380
 The forgiving face of Christ.

01:00:49.820 --> 01:00:52.520
 That is where we see the glory of God.

01:00:52.520 --> 01:00:55.600
 That is where we receive the blessing of God.

01:00:56.100 --> 01:00:59.720
 You remember what John said at the start of his gospel.

01:01:00.600 --> 01:01:01.260
 He said,

01:01:01.260 --> 01:01:14.100
 Let me ask you friend,

01:01:14.360 --> 01:01:17.240
 Have you beheld the glory of Jesus Christ?

01:01:18.240 --> 01:01:19.640
 Have your eyes been opened?

01:01:20.040 --> 01:01:21.640
 Has your heart been softened?

01:01:21.639 --> 01:01:24.199
 In order to look into the face of Jesus.

01:01:24.900 --> 01:01:28.900
 And to find their salvation full and free.

01:01:29.339 --> 01:01:32.119
 Has he lit an unquenchable flame in your heart?

01:01:32.319 --> 01:01:34.379
 That heart which was once in darkness.

01:01:34.779 --> 01:01:37.319
 Will if he has, see that you praise God.

01:01:37.759 --> 01:01:39.799
 That you render to him all thanks.

01:01:40.199 --> 01:01:42.839
 And all worship for what he has done for you.

01:01:42.840 --> 01:01:46.860
 Or are you still here tonight and you are still in darkness.

01:01:47.680 --> 01:01:49.860
 And these things are still hidden from you.

01:01:50.320 --> 01:01:53.440
 And your heart is still veiled to these things.

01:01:53.960 --> 01:01:56.800
 Oh friend, consider these things.

01:01:57.780 --> 01:01:58.800
 Consider Christ.

01:01:59.620 --> 01:02:00.680
 Consider eternity.

01:02:01.420 --> 01:02:03.480
 Consider life and consider death.

01:02:04.300 --> 01:02:06.380
 Make your calling and your election sure.

01:02:07.300 --> 01:02:09.120
 Seek the Lord while you may be found.

01:02:09.119 --> 01:02:12.299
 And call upon him while he is near.

01:02:12.719 --> 01:02:17.599
 Make sure friend that you don't leave this church tonight in darkness.

01:02:18.359 --> 01:02:21.500
 But that you leave it as we are reading together.

01:02:22.799 --> 01:02:25.819
 The Lord having shone in your heart.

01:02:26.039 --> 01:02:29.159
 To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.

01:02:29.519 --> 01:02:32.119
 In the face of Christ Jesus.

01:02:32.880 --> 01:02:33.179
 Amen.

01:02:33.359 --> 01:02:33.920
 Let us pray.

01:02:33.920 --> 01:02:40.980
 Gracious and ever-blessed God.

01:02:41.159 --> 01:02:44.780
 We give thanks that we come to one.

01:02:45.559 --> 01:02:47.320
 Who is in the business of.

01:02:48.380 --> 01:02:49.019
 Taking.

01:02:50.019 --> 01:02:50.760
 Sinners and.

01:02:51.680 --> 01:02:52.820
 Making them into saints.

01:02:54.260 --> 01:02:54.760
 And.

01:02:56.220 --> 01:02:59.240
 Quickening those who are dead in trespasses and sins.

01:02:59.860 --> 01:03:01.440
 As we all are by nature.

01:03:01.440 --> 01:03:02.000
 And.

01:03:03.340 --> 01:03:04.039
 But God.

01:03:05.559 --> 01:03:08.639
 Who has loved his people with an everlasting love.

01:03:09.559 --> 01:03:12.519
 Is the one who draws them to himself with loving kindness.

01:03:12.659 --> 01:03:15.079
 And Lord we give thanks and praise for these things.

01:03:15.519 --> 01:03:16.820
 Bless thy truth to us.

01:03:17.280 --> 01:03:18.539
 And forgive us for our sin.

01:03:18.679 --> 01:03:19.539
 For Christ's sake.

01:03:19.599 --> 01:03:19.920
 Amen.

01:03:21.820 --> 01:03:23.619
 Well let us conclude our worship.

01:03:23.619 --> 01:03:27.079
 We sing to God's praise.

01:03:27.659 --> 01:03:28.880
 From Psalm 18.

01:03:29.940 --> 01:03:30.940
 On page.

01:03:31.900 --> 01:03:33.019
 221.

01:03:41.339 --> 01:03:42.739
 And verse 28.

01:03:42.859 --> 01:03:43.779
 From verse 28.

01:03:44.059 --> 01:03:46.099
 The Lord will light my candle so.

01:03:46.259 --> 01:03:47.920
 That it shall shine full bright.

01:03:48.579 --> 01:03:51.819
 The Lord my God will also make my darkness.

01:03:52.119 --> 01:03:52.819
 To be light.

01:03:52.820 --> 01:03:55.900
 By thee through troops of men I break.

01:03:55.960 --> 01:03:57.340
 And them discomfit all.

01:03:57.740 --> 01:04:00.420
 And by my God assisting me I overleap a wall.

01:04:01.100 --> 01:04:03.140
 As for God perfect is his way.

01:04:03.640 --> 01:04:05.300
 The Lord his word is tried.

01:04:06.000 --> 01:04:09.160
 He is a buckler to all those who do in him confide.

01:04:09.980 --> 01:04:11.300
 Who but the Lord is God.

01:04:11.380 --> 01:04:13.059
 But he who is a rock and stay.

01:04:13.740 --> 01:04:15.820
 Tis God that girdeth me with strength.

01:04:15.940 --> 01:04:17.980
 And perfect makes my way.

01:04:17.980 --> 01:04:18.800
 These verses.

01:04:18.800 --> 01:04:20.400
 Verses 28 to 32.

01:04:21.059 --> 01:04:21.719
 Of Psalm 18.

01:04:21.840 --> 01:04:22.659
 To God's praise.

01:04:22.800 --> 01:04:24.539
 The Lord will light my candle so.

01:04:24.840 --> 01:04:26.820
 That it shall shine full bright.

01:04:26.820 --> 01:04:39.980
 The Lord will light my candle so.

01:04:39.980 --> 01:04:50.219
 The Lord my God will light my candle so.

01:04:50.219 --> 01:05:04.280
 The Lord my God will also make my darkness to the eye.

01:05:04.280 --> 01:05:21.380
 By thee through truths of men I pray, and then this comfort all.

01:05:21.380 --> 01:05:37.559
 And by my heart, does this in thee, I over thee alone.

01:05:37.559 --> 01:05:55.559
 As for the death that gives his way, the Lord his word is tried.

01:05:55.559 --> 01:06:11.559
 He is a honor to all those who do in him confide.

01:06:11.559 --> 01:06:28.559
 Who found the Lord his property, who is a broken stake.

01:06:28.559 --> 01:06:45.799
 Tis God that girdeth me with strength, and perfect makes my way.

01:06:47.259 --> 01:06:54.539
 Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

01:06:58.559 --> 01:07:00.559
 Amen.