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A Confession which Defines a Christian Life · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

• 0:00
  Well, please turn with me now to Acts 24, and we'll read again from verse 14.
• 0:11
  But this I confess to you, that according to the way which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the just and the just.
• 0:30
  So I always take pains to have a clear conscience towards both God and man.
• 0:41
  One of the wonderful things about the Bible is that because it is indeed reliable in all that it says, reliable in its account of events such as this, as you read a passage like this, you're really being transported effectively back to that occasion.
• 1:00
  And today we're just standing, as it were, in this courtroom, listening to these proceedings.
• 1:07
  Paul making his defense, Tertullus, this professional lawyer type of figure, laying out the charges against him.
• 1:16
  The charges were threefold, that Paul was a troublemaker, that he was a ringleader of this sect, that he was a profaner of the temple.
• 1:24
  Tertullus was hired particularly for this purpose.
• 1:29
  This would be his occupation.
• 1:32
  He was a kind of lawyer, a professional man, somebody who was skilled in presenting the likes of these charges against Paul in a courtroom setting.
• 1:42
  And then Paul was given, as we've read, the opportunity of defending himself.
• 1:51
  He had the charges that all laid out.
• 1:53
  Tertullus has spoken.
• 1:55
  And now the governor nods to Paul, gives him the signal.
• 1:59
  Now it's up to you.
• 2:00
  And so Paul makes his confession.
• 2:05
  But he doesn't confess any guilt to the charges that are laid against him.
• 2:11
  He makes a confession of his faith.
• 2:16
  He makes a confession that really has four very important elements to it, and they're all joined together.
• 2:22
  A confession in which he comes, not to express any guilt at all, but to just set out his way of life.
• 2:31
  It's a very personal confession.
• 2:34
  It's a very personal presentation of his case.
• 2:38
  The word I appears in it four times, but not in any way that's presumptuous or proud of himself.
• 2:47
  And the four things he confesses that form what you might call the basis of this definition of a Christian life,
• 2:57
  are themselves today important for you and for me and for all of us together.
• 3:03
  First of all, he's saying, I confess, I worship.
• 3:08
  I worship this God.
• 3:10
  I worship the God of our fathers according to the way which they call a sect.
• 3:18
  That's the first confession.
• 3:20
  First part of the confession, I worship.
• 3:23
  The second one is, I believe.
• 3:26
  In fact, we'll see that the two are connected significantly.
• 3:29
  I worship believing.
• 3:31
  He says, I believe everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets.
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  Thirdly, I have a hope in God.
• 3:43
  I'm a hoper.
• 3:45
  I hope in God.
• 3:48
  And I hope in relation to the resurrection of the dead.
• 3:53
  That's where my hope reaches forward to.
• 3:57
  And fourthly, I take pains.
• 4:01
  We'll see that that means I strive.
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  I take pains.
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  I strive always to have a clear conscience towards both God and man.
• 4:15
  Four elements all closely tied together, all forming a definition of a Christian life or a Christian way of life.
• 4:25
  I worship.
• 4:27
  Now, he says, according to the way.
• 4:28
  I confess to you that according to the way which they call a sect, I worship.
• 4:34
  The way, as you find it here in the ESVs, is good because in this sense, at least, it gives you this word, the way, with a capital W.
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  Because that's what those who are observing the church of these early times, they called them the people of the way.
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  The way of following their leader.
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  The way of faith.
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  The way of faith in Christ.
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  The way of believing all of those things that Paul was going to mention that he believed in.
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  In other words, Paul is saying, I have a certain path to my life.
• 5:09
  I have a certain way by which I follow my leader, my savior.
• 5:14
  I worship according to the way.
• 5:18
  I worship according to what's specified of that way of life, of that way of pleasing God, which he himself has specified in his word.
• 5:27
  And that means that for Paul, life is not just about a loose collection of principles or things which you might regard as important points.
• 5:38
  For Paul, the way means an affirmation of absolutes.
• 5:45
  And for Paul, truth is not about something that's true today and then not tomorrow.
• 5:50
  Truth is not something that may be suitable for today, but then you have to leave it and take up something else tomorrow.
• 5:56
  No, as the world advances, as technology advances, as human thinking advances.
• 6:01
  No, for Paul, the worship is a worship according to the way.
• 6:05
  According to what God himself has specified and laid down and what his forefathers as Christians, as believers, have followed before him.
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  This, he says, is my confession to you.
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  This is what I'm happy to confess.
• 6:19
  That I, according to the way which they call a sect, I worship God.
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  That's why we're here today.
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  Because we're following in the line of the apostle and those who are before him, all the way through the pages of history.
• 6:37
  People who've worshipped the way, the way that God himself has specified.
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  People who have worshipped knowing that God is true to himself and what he says in the Bible regarding himself and his worthiness to be worshipped.
• 6:50
  And the benefits we have of worshipping him.
• 6:55
  Now, we're not going to go into any aspects of worship and what it entails as such.
• 7:01
  But, just again to emphasize that our presence here is an important aspect of worship.
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  Because we worship physically as well as spiritually.
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  We come together physically.
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  We come together in such a way that really appreciates the gathering together that God enables us by his providence to engage in.
• 7:25
  Yes, we have live stream.
• 7:27
  We're very thankful to God for live stream.
• 7:29
  It's a brilliant provision for those who simply cannot gather with others as we gather here today.
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  But remember, your physical presence is an aspect of your worship.
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  When you cannot be present physically, it doesn't mean you're not able to worship.
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  But when you are able to come physically together, you are expressing through your very body your appreciation of being together with other people as joined in worship of God.
• 8:03
  This, he says, I confess to you that according to the way I worship.
• 8:10
  And, of course, the worship is a fundamental mark of being a Christian, of being Christians, as we say, together.
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  A life of praise, of adoration, of prayer, of listening to God.
• 8:24
  Of coming to appreciate the revelation that God has given us.
• 8:28
  Of coming to know more of his will for us.
• 8:31
  Of coming to actually appreciate the fact that God has remembered us, to give us the Bible.
• 8:38
  We worship him according to the way.
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  I worship the God, he says, of our fathers.
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  And that worship dominates the whole of a Christian life.
• 8:51
  There's a wonderful verse in Judges chapter 7, verse 15, which makes a very important emphasis for us.
• 9:01
  Remember the story of Gideon.
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  And how Gideon had got down to the camp of the Midianites, their enemies at the time.
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  And he was listening to the interpretation of a dream that one of the Midianites had.
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  And as soon as the dream was about how the people of Israel under Gideon would actually prevail over the Midianites.
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  As soon as Gideon heard the interpretation, he worshipped.
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  He didn't just say, great, let's go to it.
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  He stopped, first of all, to worship.
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  As soon as he heard, he worshipped.
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  In other words, for us, that's a reminder that worship is appropriate at all times.
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  That worship is something that we engage in, even in the spur of a moment, when the situation calls for it.
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  As soon as he heard, he worshipped.
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  Is that my first thought?
• 9:57
  When something clicks in my life, in the providence of God,
• 10:02
  whether it's difficult or whether it's joyous,
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  is that my first reaction?
• 10:07
  Is that my first thought?
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  I have to worship God.
• 10:11
  I remember when some Koreans were visiting the island,
• 10:14
  and were living with us,
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  partly living with us,
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  but especially came to visit us,
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  just as they arrived, having picked them up,
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  taking them back to the mansus was when we were in Garibust.
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  And there were four of them, I remember rightly.
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  And I took them into the sitting room.
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  I turned my back round,
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  and then I started saying how great it was to have them at last here.
• 10:39
  And I turned round, and they weren't listening because they were worshipping.
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  They were giving thanks to God
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  that they had arrived there,
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  that they had come safely to their destination.
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  Is our first thought,
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  when we're going on holiday,
• 10:59
  having asked for God's blessing to accompany us,
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  is our first thought when we get there
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  to worship God,
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  or do we just dive into the swimming pool or whatever?
• 11:08
  As soon as Gideon heard,
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  he worshipped.
• 11:13
  And here is Paul saying,
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  this is my confession to you,
• 11:16
  that according to the way,
• 11:18
  I worship the God of our fathers.
• 11:20
  That's the other thing he mentions.
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  I worship the God of our fathers.
• 11:23
  He's not worshipping a new God.
• 11:25
  He's not worshipping in a new church.
• 11:29
  God has only ever had the one church,
• 11:32
  all the way through the history of the Old Testament
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  into the New Testament,
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  right up to the present day in Stornoway Free Church.
• 11:38
  You belong to the church of the Apostle Paul.
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  The church that worships the God of our fathers.
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  What does he mean, the God of our fathers?
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  The God of promises.
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  The God of truth.
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  The God of revelation.
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  That's who we worship today.
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  And Paul would have recognized our worship
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  as a worship of the God he worshiped,
• 12:01
  the same true and living God.
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  Now different, that is too,
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  to many of the ideas that you find currently
• 12:11
  in people's minds,
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  in the church in the wider sense,
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  where you have to adjust the Bible
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  according to what you think is the needs of the age.
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  Whether it's to do with worship
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  or what you believe,
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  as we'll see in a minute.
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  He says,
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  I worship.
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  I worship according to the way,
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  according to God's revelation.
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  I worship the God of our fathers.
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  In other words, he's saying,
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  the God Abraham worshiped,
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  the God Noah worshiped,
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  the God Abel worshiped,
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  the God Noah worshiped.
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  That's the God I worship.
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  The God of covenant promises.
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  And they stretched down through the years
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  right to the present day.
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  And it will go on like that
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  till the end of the world.
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  The God of our fathers.
• 13:02
  You today as a congregation
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  have a very rich heritage.
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  Not because you're a free church congregation
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  as such,
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  though that itself is precious.
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  But because you worship
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  the God of our fathers.
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  You have learned the importance
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  of covenant theology.
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  The importance of promises
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  given to God,
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  by God to his children
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  and their children after them.
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  I worship the God of our fathers.
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  So that's the first thing I worship.
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  But certainly, I believe.
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  I worship the God of our fathers,
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  believing everything laid down
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  by the law and written in the prophets.
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  In other words,
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  the Old Testament scriptures
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  as Paul had them,
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  that was the writings of the time.
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  Afterwards, through his own writings
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  and other apostles,
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  they came to be added to
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  so that you have a complete Bible
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  now in your possession
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  as the word of God written.
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  But he's saying,
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  I believe everything laid down
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  in the law and the prophets.
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  But you notice how it's believing
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  rather than just saying,
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  I believe.
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  I worship believing.
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  Now that's important, isn't it?
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  I worship believing.
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  My worship today
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  and you worship today
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  or worship together
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  is not just a man-made ritual.
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  That's not something
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  that's been invented by the church.
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  That's not something
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  that's come to us
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  without having
• 14:29
  a proper foundation
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  in God himself.
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  I worship believing.
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  In other words,
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  your worship today
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  is a believing worship.
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  It's a worship
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  in which your mind is active.
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  In which your whole soul
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  is engaged.
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  A worship in which
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  your emotions should be stirred.
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  A worship in which
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  your conscience is engaged.
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  A worship in which
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  your will is engaged.
• 14:59
  As to the serving of God.
• 15:00
  As to what you should be
• 15:01
  in this world
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  and I should be
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  as people in this life.
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  I worship believing.
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  Your love for God
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  is not a thoughtless love.
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  It's not a love
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  just based on something
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  you've read.
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  It's not a love
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  based on something
• 15:23
  someone's told you.
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  It's not a love
• 15:27
  just copying somebody else
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  who confesses to love the Lord.
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  It is a thinking love.
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  It's a love in which
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  your thoughts are engaged
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  when you're saying
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  I love the Lord.
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  Why?
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  Because
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  He has saved me.
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  Because He's worthy
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  of my worship.
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  Because He's God.
• 15:50
  I worship
• 15:51
  believing.
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  What did he say?
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  Believing
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  everything laid down
• 15:56
  by the law
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  and written in the prophets.
• 15:58
  See, Paul is not saying
• 15:59
  I worship
• 16:00
  believing the things
• 16:01
  that seem appropriate
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  to me.
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  I worship
• 16:05
  believing things
• 16:06
  that I would have put
• 16:08
  in my own terms
• 16:09
  other than
• 16:11
  what my fathers
• 16:12
  in the Old Testament.
• 16:13
  I worship,
• 16:14
  He says,
• 16:14
  believing everything
• 16:15
  in the law
• 16:16
  and written in the prophets.
• 16:17
  Paul is not a cut
• 16:21
  and paste Christian.
• 16:26
  Paul doesn't come
• 16:27
  to his Bible
• 16:27
  as he had it
• 16:28
  in those days
• 16:29
  and say,
• 16:29
  now which parts of that
• 16:30
  are no longer relevant
• 16:32
  for the age
• 16:33
  that I'm living in?
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  Whether it's to do
• 16:35
  with human relationships
• 16:37
  or his relationship
• 16:38
  to God
• 16:39
  or the world
• 16:40
  in which he lives
• 16:40
  or the church
• 16:41
  or what the church
• 16:42
  is about,
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  none of that
• 16:44
  as far as the apostle
• 16:45
  is concerned
• 16:46
  is of human invention
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  when he comes
• 16:50
  to read the scriptures
• 16:51
  and therefore I believe
• 16:53
  he says,
• 16:54
  everything.
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  You know,
• 16:56
  the saddest thing
• 16:57
  or one of the saddest thing
• 16:59
  today is,
• 17:02
  again speaking
• 17:03
  of the widest church
• 17:04
  in the wider sense,
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  and this is not
• 17:07
  drawing any attention
• 17:08
  to ourselves
• 17:09
  as denomination
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  so that we can take pride
• 17:11
  in what we are,
• 17:12
  but looking at the church
• 17:15
  in the wider sense,
• 17:17
  when church leaders
• 17:19
  deny fundamental truths
• 17:21
  of the gospel,
• 17:24
  it's one of the great
• 17:25
  tragedies of our age.
• 17:28
  When you find church leaders
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  saying,
• 17:30
  actually,
• 17:31
  Jesus didn't rise physically
• 17:33
  from the dead,
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  that's just a way
• 17:35
  in which the memory
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  of his teaching
• 17:37
  was kept by the apostles
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  and handed on
• 17:39
  to their successors.
• 17:40
  Actually,
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  Paul wouldn't have written
• 17:43
  about human relationships,
• 17:45
  men and women's relationships,
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  if he was living today,
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  he wouldn't have put it
• 17:49
  in the terms
• 17:49
  in which he put it
• 17:50
  in 1 Corinthians
• 17:51
  or wherever.
• 17:54
  Paul is not ultimately
• 17:55
  the author
• 17:56
  of his own letters,
• 17:58
  not as Peter,
• 17:59
  not as John,
• 18:00
  not as Luke
• 18:01
  can write in the book of Acts,
• 18:02
  it's the Holy Spirit
• 18:03
  who led these people,
• 18:05
  as the Bible itself says,
• 18:07
  who led these men
• 18:08
  in order to bring to us
• 18:11
  the message of the gospel
• 18:12
  and God bringing it about
• 18:14
  to be written
• 18:15
  for our benefit.
• 18:18
  And because it's God's word,
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  it doesn't lie.
• 18:23
  And in the strictest sense,
• 18:25
  the Bible doesn't need
• 18:27
  to be made relevant.
• 18:30
  Some people will tell you,
• 18:32
  make the preaching
• 18:33
  of the gospel relevant,
• 18:34
  and yes,
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  I see the point in that.
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  But then say,
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  make the Bible relevant
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  to the age
• 18:40
  in which you're preaching.
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  I don't need to make
• 18:42
  the Bible relevant.
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  It's not my job.
• 18:45
  The Bible is already relevant
• 18:46
  because God has taken account
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  of every single generation
• 18:50
  of human history
• 18:51
  right down to the end
• 18:52
  of the world,
• 18:53
  and he said,
• 18:53
  this word is relevant
• 18:55
  to your needs.
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  That's what it means.
• 19:00
  This word doesn't need
• 19:01
  to be made relevant
• 19:02
  by me or anybody else.
• 19:03
  I seek to bring out
• 19:05
  its relevance
• 19:06
  to myself and to others.
• 19:08
  The already existing
• 19:10
  relevance of the Bible
• 19:11
  to your circumstances today
• 19:12
  and my circumstances,
• 19:14
  to your needs as a congregation,
• 19:16
  the relevance is there.
• 19:18
  We need to seek
• 19:18
  to bring it out
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  and understand it more fully.
• 19:24
  Everything written,
• 19:27
  everything laid down
• 19:28
  by the law
• 19:28
  and written in the prophets.
• 19:30
  So the greatest temptation,
• 19:35
  I think it's right to say,
• 19:36
  of the church today
• 19:37
  is a temptation
• 19:40
  to see flaws in the Bible.
• 19:43
  Flaws in what the Bible
• 19:45
  tells you about
• 19:45
  the history
• 19:46
  of the Old Testament
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  or New Testament.
• 19:51
  And the greatest temptation
• 19:54
  to you as a Christian
• 19:55
  and to me,
• 19:57
  because of the importance
• 19:58
  of the Word of God
• 19:59
  and knowing
• 20:00
  what this Bible
• 20:01
  actually is.
• 20:02
  And of course,
• 20:03
  you always ask,
• 20:04
  not what does the Bible say
• 20:06
  as your first question,
• 20:07
  but what is the Bible?
• 20:10
  What is this book?
• 20:12
  Before you ask,
• 20:13
  what does it say to me?
• 20:14
  You're saying,
• 20:15
  who is its author?
• 20:16
  Who's written it?
• 20:17
  And because it's God's Word,
• 20:19
  then you ask,
• 20:20
  well, what is it saying to me?
• 20:21
  What is God saying to me?
• 20:24
  The greatest temptation
• 20:25
  to you and to me
• 20:26
  as Christians today
• 20:27
  is the very temptation
• 20:29
  with which the devil
• 20:30
  came to Adam
• 20:31
  and Eve
• 20:32
  in the Garden of Eden.
• 20:34
  What is it?
• 20:36
  Has God really said?
• 20:42
  Has God really said that?
• 20:45
  Placing doubt in your mind
• 20:47
  in regard to the reliability
• 20:49
  or the veracity of God
• 20:51
  and trying to deflect you
• 20:54
  from the fact that
• 20:55
  you are dealing with God's truth
• 20:57
  when you're dealing
• 20:59
  with the Scriptures.
• 21:00
  I worship believingly.
• 21:04
  I worship believing
• 21:05
  all the things
• 21:07
  that are written
• 21:08
  in the prophets
• 21:09
  and laid down by the law.
• 21:10
  Thirdly,
• 21:11
  I worship having a hope.
• 21:14
  Having this hope in God
• 21:16
  which these men themselves,
• 21:18
  that's his opponents,
• 21:18
  accept that there will be
• 21:20
  a resurrection
• 21:20
  of both the just
• 21:21
  and the unjust,
• 21:24
  that's what his hope
• 21:25
  involves or entails.
• 21:27
  It's a hope
• 21:28
  connected to
• 21:29
  the resurrection,
• 21:32
  a resurrection
• 21:32
  from the dead.
• 21:35
  Now,
• 21:35
  we haven't got time
• 21:36
  to go into
• 21:36
  that itself
• 21:37
  as a topic,
• 21:39
  but you remember
• 21:39
  how he described
• 21:40
  the Ephesians
• 21:42
  in Ephesians chapter 2
• 21:43
  when Paul wrote to them
• 21:44
  and how he described
• 21:46
  how they once were
• 21:47
  before they came
• 21:48
  to know Christ.
• 21:49
  You where he says,
• 21:50
  without God
• 21:51
  and without hope
• 21:53
  in the world.
• 21:56
  Without God
• 21:57
  and without hope.
• 21:59
  You don't have God,
• 21:59
  you don't have hope.
• 22:01
  The world speaks about hope.
• 22:03
  We might ourselves
• 22:03
  speak about hope
• 22:04
  and there is
• 22:04
  a hope of a kind
• 22:06
  that is really
• 22:08
  no more than
• 22:09
  wishful thinking.
• 22:11
  You hope something
• 22:12
  will work out,
• 22:12
  but you can't guarantee
• 22:14
  that it will work out
• 22:15
  the way you hope
• 22:16
  if you use hope
• 22:17
  in that sense.
• 22:20
  Those of you
• 22:21
  at heart supporters
• 22:22
  are hoping
• 22:22
  they might win the league.
• 22:24
  No guarantee of it.
• 22:26
  Might yet be overtaken.
• 22:29
  But that hope,
• 22:30
  that kind of hope
• 22:32
  exists
• 22:33
  with that
• 22:34
  and many other topics
• 22:36
  as well
• 22:36
  you can think of.
• 22:37
  The Christian hope
• 22:38
  is not
• 22:40
  a hoping for the best,
• 22:42
  wondering if it's
• 22:42
  ever going to come about.
• 22:45
  The Christian hope
• 22:46
  is that positive hope,
• 22:48
  that hope
• 22:48
  that will never be put to shame,
• 22:50
  that will never be denied.
• 22:51
  The hope
• 22:52
  that is connected
• 22:53
  to the resurrection
• 22:54
  of Christ
• 22:54
  and therefore
• 22:55
  to the resurrection
• 22:56
  of his people
• 22:57
  joined to him.
• 22:59
  Having this hope
• 23:00
  in God
• 23:01
  that there will be
• 23:02
  a resurrection
• 23:03
  of both the just
• 23:04
  and the unjust.
• 23:08
  You see,
• 23:08
  our hope
• 23:09
  has to be based
• 23:10
  on something
• 23:11
  absolutely solid.
• 23:13
  A foundation
• 23:14
  that's not going
• 23:15
  to change,
• 23:15
  not going to move
• 23:16
  as the events
• 23:18
  of history
• 23:18
  or the providence
• 23:19
  of your life moves.
• 23:22
  Your hope
• 23:23
  has to be something
• 23:24
  connected firmly
• 23:26
  to an unchanging,
• 23:28
  unchangeable foundation.
• 23:30
  And the Christian hope
• 23:31
  is that.
• 23:32
  Because it's connected with,
• 23:34
  it's based upon
• 23:35
  the reality of Christ.
• 23:37
  the reality of his death,
• 23:39
  the reality of his resurrection
• 23:40
  particularly.
• 23:43
  And through faith in him,
• 23:46
  you believe the Bible
• 23:47
  when it tells you,
• 23:50
  because of your connection
• 23:51
  believingly to him,
• 23:54
  everything
• 23:54
  that God assures you
• 23:56
  will take place yet
• 23:58
  is in fact established already.
• 24:02
  There will be a resurrection,
• 24:03
  Paul says,
• 24:04
  of the just
• 24:05
  and the unjust.
• 24:08
  And all the way
• 24:09
  through Paul's writings
• 24:10
  and did through
• 24:10
  the whole New Testament,
• 24:12
  you find that
• 24:12
  as very central
• 24:14
  to the preaching
• 24:14
  of the apostles.
• 24:16
  The doctrine
• 24:17
  of the resurrection.
• 24:19
  Now we make a lot
• 24:19
  of the doctrine
• 24:20
  of the death of Christ.
• 24:21
  Of course we do.
• 24:23
  Our salvation
• 24:25
  is based upon that.
• 24:27
  But not without
• 24:28
  the resurrection
• 24:29
  equally so.
• 24:31
  if Jesus,
• 24:36
  as Paul put it
• 24:37
  in 1 Corinthians 15,
• 24:38
  I remember going through
• 24:39
  this with you
• 24:39
  during the final part
• 24:41
  of my time here
• 24:42
  with you,
• 24:42
  went through
• 24:43
  1 Corinthians 15,
• 24:44
  that wonderful
• 24:45
  detailed
• 24:47
  exposition
• 24:48
  of the doctrine
• 24:49
  of the resurrection.
• 24:51
  Remember how Paul
• 24:52
  put it there.
• 24:53
  If
• 24:53
  there is no
• 24:55
  resurrection
• 24:56
  of the dead,
• 24:58
  then Christ
• 24:59
  is not risen.
• 24:59
  You discount
• 25:01
  the whole idea
• 25:02
  of resurrection,
• 25:03
  therefore Christ
• 25:04
  is still dead.
• 25:06
  And if Christ
• 25:07
  is not risen,
• 25:09
  we have no hope.
• 25:11
  If Christ
• 25:12
  is not risen,
• 25:13
  we are still,
• 25:14
  he says,
• 25:14
  in our sins.
• 25:16
  Just awaiting
• 25:17
  the judgment
• 25:19
  of God.
• 25:21
  But he says,
• 25:22
  now that Christ
• 25:22
  is risen
• 25:23
  from the dead,
• 25:25
  you have
• 25:25
  a hope
• 25:26
  of eternal life.
• 25:28
  A positive
• 25:29
  affirmation
• 25:31
  and hope
• 25:31
  that that will
• 25:33
  be your portion
• 25:33
  in eternity.
• 25:35
  Is that your
• 25:36
  hope today?
• 25:39
  Don't tell me
• 25:39
  you're here
• 25:40
  just hoping
• 25:40
  for the best
• 25:41
  that somehow
• 25:42
  things will
• 25:43
  work out
• 25:44
  all right.
• 25:45
  That somehow
• 25:46
  at the end
• 25:47
  of your life
• 25:48
  and as you
• 25:49
  come from
• 25:49
  this life
• 25:50
  into eternity,
• 25:52
  somehow,
• 25:53
  maybe you don't
• 25:53
  know how,
• 25:54
  but somehow
• 25:55
  things will
• 25:55
  work out
• 25:56
  positively for you.
• 25:57
  that's not
• 25:59
  hope.
• 26:02
  That's not
• 26:03
  hope.
• 26:06
  That's just
• 26:06
  wishing for
• 26:07
  the best
• 26:07
  and not
• 26:10
  sure if it
• 26:11
  will happen.
• 26:13
  That's just
• 26:14
  taking your
• 26:14
  chances,
• 26:15
  as the world
• 26:15
  would put it.
• 26:17
  That's not
• 26:18
  the hope
• 26:18
  of the gospel.
• 26:20
  Your hope
• 26:21
  is through
• 26:22
  faith in
• 26:23
  Christ,
• 26:24
  based upon
• 26:25
  him,
• 26:25
  based on
• 26:26
  his resurrection
• 26:27
  and looking
• 26:28
  forward to
• 26:29
  being raised
• 26:30
  with him
• 26:31
  from the
• 26:32
  dead.
• 26:33
  Isn't that
• 26:34
  your hope?
• 26:36
  Isn't that
• 26:37
  at the center
• 26:37
  of your
• 26:37
  Christian life
• 26:38
  and thinking
• 26:39
  today?
• 26:40
  What Paul
• 26:40
  is saying,
• 26:41
  this is,
• 26:41
  I worship
• 26:42
  God,
• 26:42
  I worship
• 26:43
  believingly,
• 26:44
  having this
• 26:45
  hope in
• 26:46
  God,
• 26:47
  so I
• 26:48
  always take
• 26:48
  pains.
• 26:49
  The fourth
• 26:49
  thing,
• 26:50
  I always
• 26:50
  take pains
• 26:51
  to have a
• 26:51
  clear conscience
• 26:52
  towards both
• 26:52
  God and
• 26:53
  man.
• 26:53
  man.
• 26:54
  In other
• 26:55
  words,
• 26:55
  in his
• 26:56
  definition of
• 26:56
  a Christian
• 26:57
  life,
• 26:59
  Paul doesn't
• 26:59
  leave out
• 27:00
  his conscience.
• 27:02
  Paul doesn't
• 27:03
  say,
• 27:03
  well,
• 27:04
  I just
• 27:06
  go about
• 27:06
  doing my
• 27:07
  best,
• 27:07
  but I'm
• 27:08
  not too
• 27:08
  concerned
• 27:09
  about it.
• 27:10
  I'm not
• 27:11
  too concerned
• 27:12
  about what
• 27:12
  my conscience
• 27:13
  is saying.
• 27:14
  I'm not
• 27:15
  too concerned
• 27:16
  about distinguishing
• 27:17
  right from
• 27:18
  wrong or being
• 27:18
  too strict
• 27:19
  about those
• 27:20
  things.
• 27:21
  No,
• 27:21
  the language
• 27:22
  Paul is
• 27:22
  using here
• 27:23
  actually,
• 27:23
  it's interesting,
• 27:25
  I always
• 27:25
  take pains.
• 27:27
  It's a
• 27:28
  word connected
• 27:29
  with the
• 27:30
  strivings of
• 27:31
  an athlete,
• 27:32
  either in
• 27:33
  training or
• 27:34
  in the actual
• 27:34
  race or
• 27:35
  activity that
• 27:36
  the athlete
• 27:37
  is involved
• 27:37
  with.
• 27:37
  And Paul
• 27:38
  frequently
• 27:39
  actually took
• 27:40
  some illustrations
• 27:41
  from the
• 27:42
  world of
• 27:43
  athletics.
• 27:44
  And he's
• 27:44
  using this
• 27:44
  word of
• 27:45
  athletes in
• 27:46
  their training
• 27:47
  or in
• 27:47
  their exercise
• 27:48
  or running
• 27:49
  as an
• 27:50
  athlete.
• 27:50
  This he
• 27:51
  says is,
• 27:52
  what I'm
• 27:52
  like spiritually,
• 27:54
  as surely
• 27:55
  as an
• 27:56
  athlete takes
• 27:57
  pains,
• 27:58
  strenuously
• 27:58
  strives on
• 28:00
  day by day
• 28:01
  to improve
• 28:03
  on their
• 28:03
  performance.
• 28:05
  That's how I
• 28:05
  am as a
• 28:06
  Christian.
• 28:08
  I take
• 28:09
  pains with
• 28:10
  what?
• 28:12
  With my
• 28:12
  conscience.
• 28:15
  And it's
• 28:16
  not enough
• 28:16
  for Paul
• 28:17
  to say,
• 28:18
  I take
• 28:18
  pains in
• 28:19
  regard to
• 28:19
  my conscience
• 28:20
  between
• 28:21
  myself and
• 28:22
  God.
• 28:23
  That is
• 28:23
  ultimately
• 28:23
  the case
• 28:24
  for him.
• 28:24
  But he's
• 28:25
  saying I
• 28:25
  take pains
• 28:26
  to have
• 28:27
  a clear
• 28:27
  conscience
• 28:28
  toward
• 28:29
  both
• 28:30
  God
• 28:30
  and
• 28:31
  man.
• 28:34
  He's
• 28:34
  not
• 28:34
  leaving
• 28:34
  out
• 28:35
  his
• 28:35
  relationships
• 28:36
  with his
• 28:36
  fellow
• 28:37
  human
• 28:37
  beings.
• 28:38
  It's
• 28:39
  not enough
• 28:39
  for him
• 28:39
  to say,
• 28:40
  I'm
• 28:40
  persuaded
• 28:41
  my
• 28:41
  conscience
• 28:41
  is clean
• 28:42
  between
• 28:42
  myself
• 28:43
  and
• 28:43
  God
• 28:43
  irrespective
• 28:45
  of how
• 28:45
  I live
• 28:45
  in relation
• 28:46
  to other
• 28:46
  people.
• 28:47
  He said
• 28:49
  I need
• 28:49
  a clear
• 28:49
  conscience
• 28:50
  in all
• 28:51
  my
• 28:52
  relationships
• 28:52
  with my
• 28:53
  fellow
• 28:53
  human
• 28:53
  beings.
• 28:55
  I need
• 28:56
  to make
• 28:56
  sure that
• 28:56
  my
• 28:56
  conscience
• 28:57
  is
• 28:57
  clean.
• 28:58
  I need
• 28:59
  to attend
• 28:59
  to the
• 29:00
  things that
• 29:00
  I know
• 29:01
  are still
• 29:01
  wrong in
• 29:02
  my life.
• 29:03
  I need
• 29:03
  to attend
• 29:04
  to how
• 29:04
  I speak
• 29:05
  to people.
• 29:06
  I need
• 29:06
  to attend
• 29:07
  to how
• 29:07
  I react
• 29:08
  to people,
• 29:08
  how I
• 29:09
  respond
• 29:09
  to people
• 29:10
  because I
• 29:12
  need to
• 29:12
  keep a
• 29:12
  clear
• 29:13
  conscience
• 29:13
  between
• 29:14
  God,
• 29:15
  between
• 29:16
  myself and
• 29:16
  God and
• 29:18
  myself and
• 29:18
  man.
• 29:21
  And we
• 29:22
  need to
• 29:22
  keep both
• 29:24
  of these
• 29:24
  in place.
• 29:26
  Clear
• 29:27
  conscience.
• 29:30
  I
• 29:31
  worship.
• 29:32
  I
• 29:33
  worship
• 29:34
  believingly.
• 29:37
  I have
• 29:38
  a hope
• 29:38
  connected
• 29:39
  to
• 29:39
  resurrection.
• 29:42
  I
• 29:42
  take
• 29:43
  pains.
• 29:43
  I
• 29:44
  strive.
• 29:44
  I
• 29:46
  strive to
• 29:47
  have a
• 29:48
  clear
• 29:48
  conscience
• 29:49
  towards
• 29:50
  both
• 29:51
  God
• 29:51
  and
• 29:51
  man.
• 29:54
  Now
• 29:54
  every one
• 29:54
  of us,
• 29:55
  myself
• 29:55
  included,
• 29:56
  comes
• 29:57
  very far
• 29:57
  short
• 29:58
  in each
• 29:59
  and all
• 29:59
  of these
• 30:00
  four
• 30:00
  concepts.
• 30:03
  Our
• 30:03
  worship is
• 30:03
  never what
• 30:04
  it should
• 30:04
  be.
• 30:05
  It's
• 30:06
  never as
• 30:06
  pure as
• 30:07
  it should
• 30:07
  be,
• 30:07
  personally,
• 30:09
  individually,
• 30:09
  even
• 30:10
  collectively.
• 30:10
  our
• 30:13
  believing is
• 30:14
  never
• 30:14
  without
• 30:14
  some
• 30:16
  doubt
• 30:17
  or other
• 30:17
  creeping
• 30:18
  in,
• 30:19
  not into
• 30:20
  the
• 30:20
  believing
• 30:20
  itself,
• 30:21
  but to
• 30:21
  accompany
• 30:22
  my
• 30:22
  believing.
• 30:24
  And
• 30:25
  sometimes
• 30:25
  we have
• 30:25
  to come
• 30:26
  and ask
• 30:27
  God's
• 30:27
  forgiveness
• 30:28
  for our
• 30:29
  slowness to
• 30:30
  believe what
• 30:30
  he says
• 30:31
  in his
• 30:31
  word.
• 30:33
  And I
• 30:34
  have a
• 30:34
  hope.
• 30:36
  It's not
• 30:36
  a hope
• 30:37
  that's
• 30:37
  undisturbed
• 30:38
  some of
• 30:38
  the time.
• 30:40
  So I
• 30:40
  have
• 30:40
  questions
• 30:41
  and doubts
• 30:41
  creeping in.
• 30:45
  And I
• 30:45
  keep a
• 30:46
  clear
• 30:46
  conscience.
• 30:46
  I
• 30:46
  strive.
• 30:49
  But every
• 30:49
  day I
• 30:49
  need to
• 30:50
  come to
• 30:50
  God and
• 30:50
  say,
• 30:51
  Lord,
• 30:51
  forgive me.
• 30:52
  I have
• 30:53
  not striven
• 30:54
  the way I
• 30:54
  should to
• 30:55
  keep my
• 30:56
  conscience
• 30:56
  clean today.
• 30:59
  But you
• 30:59
  know what?
• 31:01
  Your
• 31:01
  worship,
• 31:02
  your
• 31:03
  believing,
• 31:04
  your
• 31:04
  hope,
• 31:05
  you're
• 31:06
  taking
• 31:06
  pains.
• 31:09
  All the
• 31:09
  things that
• 31:10
  you confess
• 31:10
  are still
• 31:10
  wrong are
• 31:13
  all to be
• 31:13
  brought under
• 31:14
  the provision
• 31:15
  of Jesus
• 31:15
  Christ.
• 31:18
  Because God
• 31:19
  will accept
• 31:21
  you with
• 31:23
  all your
• 31:23
  faults and
• 31:23
  mine when
• 31:25
  Christ is
• 31:26
  your covering,
• 31:28
  when Christ
• 31:29
  is your
• 31:29
  Savior,
• 31:31
  when God
• 31:32
  sees you
• 31:32
  through
• 31:34
  Christ
• 31:35
  himself,
• 31:36
  related to
• 31:38
  him,
• 31:38
  him,
• 31:39
  so you
• 31:40
  stand
• 31:40
  before
• 31:41
  him,
• 31:42
  judicially
• 31:43
  as if
• 31:45
  you've
• 31:45
  never
• 31:45
  sinned,
• 31:47
  and
• 31:47
  actually
• 31:48
  in a
• 31:50
  way that
• 31:50
  still goes
• 31:51
  on being
• 31:51
  sanctified,
• 31:53
  till you
• 31:54
  come to
• 31:54
  be glorified.
• 31:56
  Worship,
• 31:57
  believing,
• 31:59
  having a
• 31:59
  hope,
• 32:01
  and taking
• 32:01
  pains with
• 32:02
  your conscience.
• 32:03
  May God
• 32:04
  bless these
• 32:04
  thoughts on
• 32:05
  his word
• 32:06
  to us
• 32:06
  today.
• 32:07
  We're
• 32:07
  going to
• 32:07
  sing in
• 32:08
  conclusion
• 32:08
  now from
• 32:09
  Psalm 62,
• 32:11
  Psalm
• 32:12
  number 62
• 32:13
  in the
• 32:13
  Scottish
• 32:14
  Psalter,
• 32:15
  to the
• 32:16
  tune Amazing
• 32:16
  Grace,
• 32:17
  verses 5
• 32:18
  to 8.
• 32:19
  Psalm 62
• 32:25
  verses 5
• 32:41
  to 8
• 32:41
  of Psalm
• 32:42
  62,
• 32:43
  my soul
• 32:43
  wait thou
• 32:44
  with
• 32:45
  patience.
• 32:45
  my soul
• 32:53
  wait thou
• 32:54
  with
• 32:57
  patience
• 32:57
  upon
• 33:02
  thy God
• 33:05
  alone
• 33:09
  On Him dependeth all my hope and expectation.
• 33:25
  He only my salvation is, and my strong rock is He.
• 33:45
  He only is my sure defense, I shall not live at He.
• 34:03
  In God my glory place it is, and my salvation sure.
• 34:21
  In God the rock is of my strength, my refuge most secure.
• 34:39
  Ye people, place your confidence in Him continually.
• 34:57
  Before Him pour, be out your heart.
• 35:09
  God is our refuge high.
• 35:18
  Please allow me to get to the main door after the benediction.
• 35:22
  Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father,
• 35:25
  and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore.
• 35:30
  Amen.
• 35:55
  Amen.
• 36:25
  Thank you.
• 36:55
  Thank you.