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Mortification · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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Yes, it's Psalm 27 and verses 1 to 5.
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The Lord's my light, my Savior and my light, who will make me dismayed.
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The Lord's the stronghold of my life, why should I be afraid?
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When evildoers threaten me to take my life away, my adversaries and my foes will stumble
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in that day.
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And so on down to verse 5, for in his dwelling he will keep me safe in troubled days.
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Within his tent he'll shelter me, and on a rock me raise.
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The Lord's my Savior and my light.
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If you could be able to stand, please stand to sing.
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The Lord's my Savior and my light,
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who will make me dismayed.
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The Lord's the stronghold of my life, why should I be afraid?
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When even you are set in me to take my life away,
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my other side is on my foes, will stumble there in the day.
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Although I'm heartily can't see, my heart will feel no dread.
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Though war against me should arise, I will lift up my head.
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One thing I need, O Lord, the Lord.
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Lord, the Lord.
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And bless us seek always,
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that I may come within your sight,
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and dwell there all my days.
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And dwell there all my days.
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That on the beauty of the Lord,
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I constantly make his,
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and in his eyes may see to your direction in his ways.
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For in his way,
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in me will be,
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me save in trouble days.
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When they may stand,
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till shelterly and on a rock be raised.
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Let's once more unite in prayer.
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Let's call upon the Lord in prayer.
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Lord, our gracious God, eternal and ever blessed,
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we give thanks for the wondrous words that we have been singing in your praise.
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Words that teach us of the security that belongs to your people,
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of your own keeping of them,
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of the way that you protect them,
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of the way that they are assured victory ultimately over all their enemies.
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And Lord, we thank you for the encouragement that that gives us,
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in a world in which we know there is much at enmity with the gospel,
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at enmity with your people,
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and with their commitment to your cause,
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and their profession of your ways.
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And we thank you tonight that you have reminded us of these things,
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so that we might praise you,
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that we might seek to bring you further glory in our own lives.
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And Lord, we thank you for all aspects of your word,
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your word that guides us not only into these times of worship,
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but also throughout all the avenues of life.
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We give thanks, Lord, that we can reflect the psalmist's own conviction,
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as he said, that your word was a light to his feet and a lamp to his path.
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We ask, O Lord, that your light will shine upon us each day,
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shine upon our path to give us the guidance that we need.
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Even if we, at times, O Lord, cannot find exact answers to the questions
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that may be in our hearts.
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Yet we thank you, Lord, for the guidance of your word,
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for the light that it brings us,
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for the great principles that you call upon us through it
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to follow and to apply in our own lives.
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We thank you tonight, Lord, for the congregational life that we experience,
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for your promises are directed to us,
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not only as individuals, but also as congregations of your people,
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gatherings of your people,
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your church, Lord, throughout the world,
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as a gathered people of God.
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And we thank you tonight that there are so many benefits for us
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in being gathered together.
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But help us, Lord, to see that it is primarily our great duty and privilege
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to gather before you to give evidence to our own hearts
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and to one another and to the world around us
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that you are God, that you are worthy of being worshipped,
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worthy of being praised, worthy of being followed
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in the way in which we seek to do daily.
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We ask, O Lord, that you would bless to us this time together here under your word.
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We pray that your word once again will be open to us.
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We pray that our minds may be open to receive its teaching.
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We acknowledge, Lord, that there is much in it that challenges us
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as we come to your word and read it and take it at face value as it speaks to us.
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We acknowledge, Lord, that there is much there that causes us to draw breath
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and causes us to reflect deeply on our own relationship to you
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and to sin and to the world in which we live and to one another as your people.
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And we confess, too, O Lord, with thankfulness that these things are brought to us in your word
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so that we might have our lives regulated by it.
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We give thanks, too, for the many promises, for the many ways in which you assure your people
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of your continuing love and of the way in which that follows them into all the circumstances of life
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in which they may find themselves.
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We treasure, Lord, these things for ourselves, too, as a congregation.
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We thank you that as we reflect upon the life of the congregation
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that we can look back over many years of your faithfulness,
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many years where you have shown, O Lord, that you are indeed a God who is faithful and trustworthy,
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one who is always true to his promises, one who does not withhold from his people that good that you intend to do for them,
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that you have always purposed for them.
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For you will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly, as your word tells us.
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And we pray that we may be able with the psalmist also to sing in praise of your goodness,
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how great is the goodness which you keep in store for those who fear you.
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And we give thanks, O Lord, that that reminds us and encourages us that your goodness goes before us
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into each and every day of our lives and on into eternity
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when your people expect to experience yet more of your own goodness in providing for them.
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We pray tonight, Lord, for all who gather in your name elsewhere,
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not only in this town and locality, but throughout our land and throughout the world.
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We thank you for faithful gatherings of your people in days when we know that the number of your people is relatively small
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compared to the population that we are part of.
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O Lord, our God, bless your word, we pray, to your people and make them living witnesses and effective witnesses in this world.
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Help us, Lord, we pray, in all that we seek to do for you.
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And by your grace, Lord, we ask that you would bless our efforts to make the gospel and the principles of the gospel known to our communities.
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Help us as a congregation, O Lord, as we hold forth the word of life in different ways.
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And we ask that you would bless your word to that end, both to those who are adults, those who are in upper years,
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those who are young, those who are children, those who are even in the stage of creche.
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O Lord, we ask that as we know your word in our midst, so we as families and we as a congregation may grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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And we commend ourselves to you, O Lord, as a people.
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We pray that you would grant your blessing to those of our number who are away at this time on holiday.
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Remember them, we pray, and keep them safe.
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Remember those who are ill as well of our number and can't be with us during these days.
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We think, too, of those who are recovering from surgery, those who are experiencing difficulties in regard to that.
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We pray for those, Lord, too, who are anticipating surgery or treatment.
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We pray for them and ask that you would quieten any anxieties they may have about these things.
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Enable them, O Lord, in bringing them before yourself to draw their strength and comfort and assurance from you.
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Remember those who mourn the passing of loved ones.
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Once again, we pray for them.
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O Lord, our God, virtually every week that we meet together here, we know that there have been those who have lost loved ones as the days have gone by.
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And we pray for these families once again as we know them.
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We pray, O Lord, that you would comfort them.
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We pray for any of them who may not know you savingly, that you would use even such difficult providences as these to speak into their hearts.
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And to assure them, O Lord, that they are welcome in your presence if they come in the name of Christ and come to seek your own forgiveness and acceptance as we all must.
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We pray also, O Lord, tonight for those who have the happy experience of children born into their families.
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We pray for them and give thanks for them.
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We pray that you would, Lord, grant your own blessing to parents and to children alike.
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We pray that these infants may grow under your favor and under your protective care.
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We pray for them health wise as well.
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And ask that you would be pleased, O Lord, to watch over them and to grant to them your blessing as the days go by.
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And we pray, too, that you would bless our land at this time.
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As we extend our prayers, Lord, to cover all our people, we ask that you would bless our circumstances to us.
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Even though we know that there are many difficulties attending our present circumstances, Lord, in providence,
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that we pray for those who have difficulties in regard to income.
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Remember those who have lost work and are searching for work.
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Remember those who face poverty and experience poverty.
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Remember, we pray those who use food banks, both locally and throughout the nation.
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Lord, give them not to be ashamed of such.
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But we thank you for that provision.
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And we pray for those who administer it and manage it from day to day.
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And we pray, O Lord, that we especially as a people, you would turn us away from the things that have to do with sin and ungodliness.
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Those things we know from your word are unacceptable to you.
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And, O Lord, be merciful to us as a people, as a nation.
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Bless our leaders at this time.
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Bless especially the situation in Westminster.
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Lord, we pray for all who are concerned in it.
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And we pray that you would bring stability out of it.
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And we ask, O Lord, that whatever you have in store for us as a people,
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and we know that we are undeserving of the least of your mercies.
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We have spurned your laws.
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We have turned aside from righteousness.
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We have exalted evil.
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O Lord, we have done all this in your sight.
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And yet we look to your word and find evidence in it of how even then in times of great evil in the past,
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you overlooked these sins in your mercy and came with days of reviving power,
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days of quickening, days of gospel, precious gospel blessing.
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And it is, Lord, our prayer that this would be so for our day as well.
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And we ask that you would continue to bless us here with your favor now as we wait upon you.
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Guide and conduct us into your word, we pray.
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And all we ask is in Jesus' name and for his sake.
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Amen.
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Let's sing again to God's praise.
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We're singing from Psalm 65.
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65 and sing.
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Psalms page 82.
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The tune this time is done.
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Firmly in singing verses 1 to 5.
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And Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.
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To you our vows will pay.
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To you all people will come near.
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You hear us when we pray.
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When we were overwhelmed by sins and guilt upon us lay,
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you pardoned all our trespasses and washed our guilt away.
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And so on to the end of verse 5.
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In Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.
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In Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.
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In Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.
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To you our vows will pay.
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To you, O people, welcome near.
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You hear us when we pray.
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When we were overwhelmed by sins and guilt upon us lay,
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You pardoned all our trespasses and washed our guilt away.
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I bless our clothes you choose not bring,
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Within your courts of grace.
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We're filled with blessings in your hearts,
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In your roles, holy place.
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With awesome things of righteousness,
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You have said us, O God,
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Our Savior, hope of our besties,
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And all the earth abroad.
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Let's now read God's Word.
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We're reading from Romans tonight.
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A letter to the Romans, chapter 8.
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Beginning at the beginning of the chapter,
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And we'll read down as far as verse 17.
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So Romans, chapter 8, and from the beginning.
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There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
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For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
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For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do.
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By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,
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He condemned sin in the flesh,
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In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,
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Who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
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For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.
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But those who live according to the Spirit set their mind on the things of the Spirit.
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To set the mind on the flesh is death.
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To set the mind on the flesh is death,
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But to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
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For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God,
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For it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot.
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Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
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You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
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If in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
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Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.
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But if Christ is in you,
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Although the body is dead because of sin,
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The Spirit is life because of righteousness.
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If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
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He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
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Through His Spirit who dwells in you.
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So then, brothers, we are debtors,
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Not to the flesh to live according to the flesh,
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For if you live according to the flesh you will die.
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But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
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For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
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For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
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But you have received the spirit of adoption as sons,
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By whom we cry, Abba, Father.
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The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
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And if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
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Provided we suffer with Him,
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In order that we may also be glorified with Him.
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And so on may the Lord again follow with His blessing,
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Our reading of His Word.
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We are going to sing once again this time in Psalm 51 in the Scottish Psalter.
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51 verses 6 to 13.
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The tune this time is St. Kilda.
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That is on page 281.
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Behold thou in the inward parts with truth delighted art,
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And wisdom thou shalt make me know within the hidden part.
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Do thou with hyssop sprinkle me, I shall be cleansed so.
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Yea, wash thou me, and then I shall be whiter than the snow.
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Of gladness and of joyfulness make me to hear the voice,
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That so these very bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
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We'll sing on until the end of verse 13.
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Then will I teach thy ways,
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And to those that transgressors be,
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And those that sinners are,
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Shall then be turned unto thee.
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Behold thou in the inward parts.
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With truth delighted art,
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And wisdom thou shalt make me know,
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When the Lord is in the midst of the kingdom of God.
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Behold thou in the inward parts.
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Behold thou in the inward parts.
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With truth delighted art.
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And wisdom thou shalt make me know,
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With truth delighted art.
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With truth delighted art.
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And wisdom thou shalt make me know,
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Within the hidden part.
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And wisdom thou shalt make me know,
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Within the hidden part.
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And wisdom thou shalt make me know,
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Within the hidden part.
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And wisdom thou shalt make me know,
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Within the hidden part.
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whether art.
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You'dahl with nieces of spring yel Oui,
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I shall reclancen so ne-
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Pull thy ways,
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When the washclur be on thepai sele-
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I shall be cleansed so,
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Trow thou red,
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You're dressed the geol,
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TheYA.
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And I shall be whiter than the snow.
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All gladness and love, joyfulness, make me hear thy voice.
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That so this very old switcher has broken, may rejoice.
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All my iniquities, Lord, I, by this light, from my sin.
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He is a clean heart, Lord, bring you, and my strength be with him.
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Cast me not from thy side nor take thy holy strength away.
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Restore me thy salvation's joy, with thy peace let me stay.
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Then will I teach thy ways unto those that trespassers be.
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And those that sinners are shall then be turned unto thee.
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Well, let's turn now tonight to the passage we read in Romans, Romans chapter 8, especially verses 12 and 13.
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Very difficult in some ways to just extract a verse or two from the whole chapter because it's so wonderfully tied together.
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And the way that Paul leads us through his own argument or reasoning throughout the whole of this really wonderful chapter.
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We'll read from verse 12.
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So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
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For if you live according to the flesh, you will die.
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But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
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It's virtually impossible to go through life without being indebted to someone or not to find somebody that's indebted to ourselves in some way or other.
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We're very frequently under obligation to others, whether it's in monetary terms or even just, as we commonly say,
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well, I owe you one when they've done us a favor.
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In other words, you've come to be placed under obligation to return that favor to someone.
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So, all the way through life, we're very familiar with the matter of being under obligation or being indebted to people in various ways and for different things.
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And that's really the kind of idea that Paul has here in a spiritual sense.
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He says, verse 12 here, we are debtors.
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We are debtors.
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He then says, not to the flesh.
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And we're going to have to explore a bit about what that means, the flesh, and what he means not being debtors to the flesh.
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But he doesn't actually complete the balance, if you like, that you might expect.
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You might expect him to say, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, but we are debtors to something else.
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And he doesn't say that.
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But what he does say, it makes it fairly obvious, I think, that what he really says is that we are indeed debtors to the Spirit of God, to the Holy Spirit.
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We are indebted to the Holy Spirit for what He's done.
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And, of course, you need to go all the way back to chapter 6, especially for that, and we'll maybe touch on that as we go through our study this evening.
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But we are indebted to the Spirit.
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We are debtors to the Spirit, not to live according to the flesh, but instead to put to death the deeds of the body so that we shall live.
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That's the balance, I think, in these two verses where he's emphasizing for us.
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This is the one we are indebted to, the Spirit of God.
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And because we're indebted to Him, how do we actually, if you like, pay back our obligation to the Spirit?
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Well, we live a holy life, essentially, is what it means.
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We put to death the deeds of the body rather than live according to the flesh.
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So, these are the things that we've got in this passage.
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What does he mean, we are debtors not to the flesh?
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What does he mean by the flesh?
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Who is he talking to?
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Well, he's talking to Christians.
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He's writing to the Christians in Rome, to the church in Rome.
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And he's saying to them here, we are debtors, including himself in that, we are debtors not to the flesh.
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And the flesh really essentially means our fallen humanness in itself, our sinfulness.
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And even when we're conscious of the fact that God has delivered us, as chapter 6 puts it so well,
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if you look at chapter 6 and verse 20 there, for example, you'll see,
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when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
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In other words, he's saying, this is what we're all naturally like.
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This is how we are as we come into the world.
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This is how we are until God changes us and changes things for us,
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until it changes the direction of our life.
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We are actually under the control or the directorship, if you like, of sin.
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The sin that's true of every one of us.
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The sin that is in us.
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Our sinful nature.
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Our sinfulness.
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Our fallenness.
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When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
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In other words, you did not have righteousness in your life.
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You were cut off from it.
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You were free from that.
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But now, he says, what fruit were you getting in those times?
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The end of these things is death.
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But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God,
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the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
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In other words, when God saves us, when God changes us inwardly,
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when He changes our hearts, when He takes us out of the dominance of sin,
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when He takes us out of being controlled by sin,
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of sin being the director, if you like, of our life,
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He doesn't just take us out of that and leave us in our neutrality.
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He takes us under the directorship of the Holy Spirit.
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So, instead of the power of sin working in our life as it once was,
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we have the power of the Holy Spirit in its place.
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Sin has not gone away.
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We're not sinless as Christians, but we have a big change taking place in our life.
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God has set us free from sin, from the power, from the dominance of sin,
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and He's brought us under the wonderful directorship or control of the Holy Spirit.
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And that essentially is what He's saying here,
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you have your fruit unto holiness.
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Instead of following the ways of sin,
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God has turned His people into following the ways of holiness.
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They're not perfect people.
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They're not perfectly holy.
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It's obvious from our lives we're not.
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But this is the direction that our life is now in,
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as we're in Christ, as we're led by the Spirit,
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as we're under the directorship of the Spirit.
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That is essentially the great change in someone's life
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when they've gone from being directed by sin and in the ways of sin
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to being directed by the Holy Spirit.
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So, that's really the flesh.
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He's delivered us from the flesh,
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and therefore, He's saying it isn't logical,
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it isn't in keeping with that deliverance,
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that we should actually give our allegiance to the flesh anymore.
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He says that in chapter 6 itself.
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What shall we then say?
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Are we continuing sin that grace may abound?
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By no means.
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How shall we who die to sin still live in it?
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He's really arguing that sin is not now the controlling feature or principle in our life,
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so we can't live for it.
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We can't live after.
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We can't live as we once did in a desire to please the flesh,
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to please sin.
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We are debtors not to the flesh.
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We are not under obligation anymore to the flesh.
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God has delivered us from that.
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We're now under obligation to the Holy Spirit,
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and that means being led by the Holy Spirit into holiness of life.
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That's what He said in chapter 6, wasn't it?
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You have your fruit unto holiness,
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and the end of that, the terminus of that,
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is eternal life.
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Now, it's great to see young folks here tonight.
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There's some big words here,
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and I'll try and explain them if I can,
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but it's wonderful to see children here at the evening service as well.
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Well, as you know, sanctification is what the Bible,
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a word the Bible uses for God taking our lives
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and setting them apart to be for Himself,
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and delivering us from sin and making us holy is part of that as well.
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And that's really what these passages,
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these verses here deal with as well,
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because when we're delivered by God from the power of sin,
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from the dominance of sin,
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and placed us under the leadership,
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the directorship of the Holy Spirit,
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it comes to involve what we're going to call as our heading tonight,
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mortification of sin.
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The word mortification is not here,
33:01
but it's in the older translation,
33:02
and I think it's a good word.
33:04
It essentially means the same thing as what Paul is saying here,
33:07
you put to death the deeds of the body.
33:10
Mortification is putting something to death.
33:13
And what he's saying here, mortification,
33:15
what is it we put to death?
33:16
The deeds of the body,
33:18
the flesh,
33:18
the workings of the flesh,
33:20
the things of sin.
33:22
That's what holiness really is about, isn't it?
33:24
You follow the Holy Spirit's direction,
33:28
you're concerned to live a holy life,
33:31
to turn from sin,
33:32
to put sin more and more behind you,
33:34
so that you live a life that's pleasing to God.
33:39
And that's really what mortification here is about.
33:42
It's dealing with sin as a new creation,
33:46
as a Christian,
33:47
as someone in Christ,
33:49
so that you're actually putting sin to death.
33:52
Now, it's not an easy subject to deal with.
33:56
It's not something palatable to ourselves.
33:59
The flesh doesn't like to be killed.
34:02
The flesh doesn't like to be put to death.
34:04
That sinful aspect of our being
34:07
is very reluctant to actually be done away with.
34:11
That's why, as we'll see,
34:12
we need the strength and the energy
34:14
and the power of the Holy Spirit to do that.
34:19
But first of all,
34:21
let's try and define what mortification is.
34:25
And then we'll look at practicing mortification.
34:30
So, defining mortification.
34:32
Well, as we said,
34:32
it has to do with putting the deeds of the body,
34:35
putting the things of the flesh,
34:37
putting sin to death.
34:39
But it's interesting,
34:40
the way that Paul uses different terminology,
34:43
and here he's talking about something
34:45
that applies to us,
34:46
that we, as we'll see,
34:48
are required to do.
34:50
Now, when you think about mortification,
34:53
putting to death the deeds of the body,
34:55
the flesh,
34:56
the deeds of the body,
34:57
or different ways of describing it,
35:00
we must not begin with what is physical.
35:04
We must not begin with the physical side of our being,
35:08
our bodies.
35:10
It does here talk of,
35:11
specify the deeds of the body.
35:13
We'll come back to that in a minute.
35:14
But when you try and define what mortification is,
35:19
what it is to pursue holiness,
35:22
you don't begin with your body.
35:23
You don't begin with the physical.
35:25
You begin with your mind.
35:26
You begin with the things of the soul.
35:28
Because that's essentially what he's saying throughout this chapter,
35:31
isn't it?
35:31
At the beginning of the chapter,
35:32
we read through it,
35:33
where he talks here about those who walk not according to the flesh,
35:36
but according to the Spirit.
35:38
What does he then say?
35:39
Those who live according to the flesh,
35:41
verse 5,
35:42
set their minds on the things of the flesh.
35:46
But those who live according to the Spirit,
35:48
set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
35:50
To set the mind on the flesh is death.
35:53
To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
35:55
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.
36:00
You, however, are not in the flesh,
36:02
but in the Spirit.
36:03
So, you see,
36:04
he's taking us to the mind.
36:05
He's taking us to the depth of our being.
36:07
He's taking us to our soul.
36:10
He's taking us to the workings of our soul.
36:13
So, the flesh is really very much part of…
36:16
The flesh is very much to do with that whole complex
36:19
or combination of what you have in your soul,
36:22
your attitude,
36:23
your thoughts,
36:24
your desires,
36:26
your appetites,
36:27
your aspirations,
36:28
your motives.
36:29
Everything you could say are the motions of your soul
36:32
where the flesh is concerned,
36:35
where these are sinful appetites,
36:36
sinful motions,
36:37
sinful desires,
36:39
sinful attitudes.
36:40
That's what he's saying we have to put to death.
36:42
That's the flesh.
36:44
That's defining mortification for us.
36:48
These are the things that he's dealing with.
36:52
But, of course,
36:54
you start with what's in your soul.
36:56
You start with the mind,
36:57
but you can't leave the body out of it
37:00
because it's through our bodies,
37:02
our bodily faculties,
37:04
that sin,
37:04
the flesh,
37:06
those things that we have in us
37:08
as sinful appetites and thoughts and desires,
37:11
they actually work through our bodies,
37:14
don't they?
37:15
Because they don't just lie in our souls
37:20
and never involve our bodies.
37:23
The whole person is actually involved.
37:25
The root of our sin and our sinful behavior,
37:29
the root of our following the ways of sin,
37:32
the root of that is in our souls.
37:35
But sin in us uses our bodies,
37:39
our eyes,
37:40
our mouths,
37:41
our hands.
37:43
That's why he calls it here
37:44
the deeds of the body.
37:46
In other words,
37:46
he's saying the workings of the flesh
37:48
are essentially the deeds of the body
37:51
as the workings of the flesh,
37:54
our inner part,
37:55
our spiritual inner being
37:57
comes through in the workings of our flesh.
37:59
You remember how Jesus put it?
38:02
And this is really a definition
38:06
that Jesus gave.
38:08
Essentially,
38:09
it comes to the same thing
38:10
because you remember in Mark chapter 7,
38:13
this is people were called by Jesus to him
38:16
and he said to them,
38:17
hear me all you and understand.
38:20
And we're talking about
38:21
what is it that defiles a person?
38:24
What is it that makes a person defiled,
38:27
dirty, grubby, spiritually, morally?
38:31
He says,
38:32
there is nothing outside a person
38:34
that by going into him can defile him.
38:37
But the things that come out of a person
38:39
are what defile him.
38:41
And when he had entered the house,
38:43
he left the people.
38:44
His disciples asked him about the parable.
38:46
He said,
38:47
are you also without understanding?
38:49
Do you not yet see
38:50
that whatever goes into a person from outside
38:52
cannot defile him
38:54
since it does not enter his heart?
38:57
But his stomach and is expelled.
39:00
And he said,
39:01
what comes out of a person
39:02
is what defiles him.
39:04
And then he gave a list.
39:07
He said,
39:07
it's from within,
39:09
from inside a person,
39:10
from our soul,
39:12
from out of the heart of man,
39:13
as he put it,
39:14
comes evil thoughts,
39:16
sexual immorality,
39:18
theft,
39:19
murder,
39:20
adultery,
39:22
coveting,
39:23
wickedness,
39:24
deceit,
39:24
sensuality,
39:26
envy,
39:27
slander,
39:28
pride,
39:30
foolishness.
39:31
All these evil things
39:32
come from within
39:33
and they defile a person.
39:37
Where does,
39:39
where do all of these things
39:41
actually come from?
39:43
He says,
39:43
they come from the heart.
39:45
You find a person
39:46
committing adultery.
39:48
You find a person
39:49
engaged in theft.
39:50
You find a person
39:52
using really bad language.
39:56
Those things
39:57
don't come from the body,
39:59
even if the body
40:00
is used
40:01
in actually
40:02
engaging in them.
40:06
You don't find somebody
40:08
who's set on committing adultery,
40:10
blaming,
40:11
or being in a position
40:12
to blame the body
40:13
for what's happened.
40:15
The sinful appetite
40:16
behind that,
40:17
as it is of all these
40:18
other things
40:19
that Jesus mentions,
40:20
actually comes from within.
40:23
And once that sinful appetite
40:24
has reached a certain point,
40:26
and then that person
40:27
wants to follow it through,
40:29
then your body comes
40:30
to actually be the means
40:32
by which that sinful appetite
40:33
reaches accomplishment.
40:37
That's the flesh.
40:39
And mortification
40:41
is putting these things
40:43
to death.
40:45
Dealing with these
40:46
inner sinful appetites,
40:48
the flesh,
40:49
in a way that actually
40:50
puts them
40:51
to death,
40:52
killing them
40:53
at the root,
40:54
if you like.
40:56
That's one of the things
40:58
that defines
40:58
the difference
40:59
between a person
41:01
who's in Christ
41:01
and a person
41:02
who's not.
41:03
Because if you look,
41:04
if I look back
41:05
over my own life,
41:06
I can't say that
41:07
as a youngster
41:08
I wasn't taught
41:09
right and wrong.
41:11
I can't say that
41:12
I didn't know
41:12
a definition of sin
41:13
and what it was.
41:14
And I would be told
41:15
the implications
41:17
of living a sinful life.
41:19
But it didn't concern me.
41:21
I didn't want to do away
41:22
with these things.
41:24
And any time
41:25
I was in church
41:25
and any time
41:26
listening to the gospel
41:27
or listening to Christians
41:28
talking about their lives
41:29
and giving me some advice,
41:31
I didn't like that
41:32
because it asked me
41:33
to face up
41:34
to these inward appetites
41:36
that I didn't want
41:37
to get rid of,
41:38
that I didn't want
41:39
to mortify,
41:40
that I didn't want
41:41
to put to death.
41:42
But when the Lord
41:43
came into my life
41:44
and when the Lord
41:45
came into your life
41:46
as a Christian,
41:47
things changed.
41:49
The things that you
41:49
weren't once concerned with,
41:52
the things that
41:52
characterized the world
41:53
out there
41:54
to a great extent tonight,
41:56
the things that
41:56
characterized so much
41:57
of our society,
42:01
they're not things
42:02
which concern people
42:03
inwardly
42:04
to an extent
42:05
that they really think,
42:06
well, I've got to
42:07
get rid of this,
42:08
I've got to deal with this,
42:09
I've got a problem
42:09
inside me,
42:10
I've got a problem
42:11
of my mind
42:12
and my soul
42:13
and I need to have
42:14
it dealt with,
42:15
it only comes
42:15
when the Holy Spirit
42:17
takes over your life,
42:19
when your life
42:19
is in the hands
42:21
of Christ,
42:21
then things change.
42:24
And that's what defines,
42:26
one of the things
42:27
at least,
42:28
that defines the difference.
42:30
Because the person
42:31
that's now under
42:32
the directorship
42:33
of the Spirit
42:34
hates sin,
42:36
doesn't want
42:37
to live for sin,
42:39
is concerned
42:40
about any remnant
42:42
of sin
42:42
being left
42:43
in your life.
42:45
You want to put it out,
42:47
you want to kill it,
42:48
you want to put it
42:49
beneath your feet,
42:51
you pray to God,
42:53
help me Lord
42:54
to get rid of it,
42:55
you pray for the Holy Spirit's
42:56
energy to help you
42:57
deal with it,
42:59
because essentially
43:00
it makes you
43:01
unlike Jesus,
43:03
it makes you
43:04
unlike Christ,
43:05
and you know
43:06
that likeness
43:07
to Christ
43:07
is the objective
43:09
of sanctification,
43:11
of living a holy life,
43:13
because that's
43:15
the perfection
43:16
that God
43:17
is aiming at
43:17
and that you desire
43:19
as well
43:19
in your own life.
43:22
So,
43:22
defining mortification
43:23
involves
43:25
understanding
43:25
something
43:26
of what the flesh
43:27
is,
43:28
and how the flesh
43:29
is the inward
43:30
side of us,
43:31
and how the appetites
43:32
and actions
43:33
and movements
43:34
of our souls
43:35
sinfully
43:36
take our bodily
43:38
functions
43:39
and use these
43:40
in the service
43:41
of sin.
43:42
Well,
43:43
what he's saying
43:43
here is
43:44
that's not
43:45
the kind of life
43:46
you now live.
43:48
God has delivered
43:49
you from that.
43:50
He has made you
43:51
bond servants
43:52
of the Spirit,
43:54
bond servants
43:55
no longer of sin
43:56
to serve sin.
43:57
You're no longer
43:58
debtors to the flesh,
44:00
but you are debtors
44:02
to the Holy Spirit,
44:03
to follow holiness
44:05
of life.
44:08
And how then
44:09
is mortification
44:12
practiced,
44:12
if that's briefly
44:13
a definition of it?
44:15
Well,
44:15
it is indeed
44:16
we who need
44:18
to put it to death.
44:18
So then,
44:19
brothers,
44:19
we are debtors
44:20
not to the flesh,
44:21
for if you live
44:22
according to the flesh
44:23
you will die,
44:24
and so on.
44:25
But if by the Spirit
44:26
you put to death
44:28
the deeds of the body,
44:29
you shall live.
44:29
Now,
44:29
notice what it's saying.
44:31
He's not saying
44:31
that this is something
44:32
that's done for us,
44:34
it's not something
44:35
that's done in us,
44:37
it's something done
44:38
by us.
44:39
If you,
44:42
by the Spirit,
44:43
put to death
44:43
the deeds of the body,
44:45
you shall live.
44:47
You see,
44:48
the Lord gives
44:49
the Holy Spirit
44:49
to His people,
44:51
and He's not saying here
44:52
that this is a salvation
44:54
by works
44:54
or you'll get some reward
44:56
if you try and attend
44:57
to the works
44:58
of the flesh
44:58
and you pray for the Spirit
44:59
to help you.
45:00
The outcome of that
45:01
will be the reward
45:02
for that will be
45:03
that you will have
45:04
eternal life.
45:05
It's not what He's saying
45:05
at all.
45:06
He's saying that
45:07
those who have come
45:08
under the directorship
45:09
of the Spirit,
45:10
those who have come
45:11
by the grace of God
45:12
to give their lives
45:13
over to Jesus,
45:14
over to Him,
45:16
they have this great benefit,
45:17
they have this amazing resource,
45:19
they have the Holy Spirit
45:21
living within them.
45:23
And the Holy Spirit
45:24
that lives within them
45:25
under His leadership
45:26
leads them
45:27
into the ways
45:28
of sanctification.
45:29
And the ways
45:30
of sanctification
45:30
involve mortification,
45:33
putting sin to death.
45:35
That's how it works.
45:36
It's not an optional extra.
45:38
It's not something
45:39
we can afford
45:40
to leave aside
45:41
in our definition
45:42
of a Christian.
45:44
It's very much
45:45
part and partial
45:45
of what the Christian life
45:47
is and is about.
45:49
That's why it's a vital thing
45:51
to understand something
45:53
about what mortification is,
45:55
but it's even more vital
45:56
that you followed through
45:57
in your life.
45:59
That is something
46:00
you are busy doing
46:01
in your life
46:03
and I with you.
46:04
Because either we
46:06
put sin to death
46:08
or else we'll come to die
46:10
as a result
46:10
of not doing that.
46:12
Die eternally.
46:16
But you see,
46:18
yes, we must kill sin.
46:21
We must kill
46:22
the works of the flesh.
46:24
We must put them to death.
46:26
But we cannot do it
46:28
by ourselves.
46:30
That's why he's saying,
46:31
if you by the Spirit
46:34
put to death
46:35
the deeds of the body,
46:37
you shall live.
46:39
I must put the deeds
46:40
of the body to death,
46:41
but if I try and do it
46:42
on my own,
46:43
I will miserably fail.
46:45
I will end up
46:46
with self-righteousness
46:47
or something like that
46:48
and I will not be saved
46:50
and I will not actually
46:50
be in the category
46:51
are in the position
46:53
of those who are
46:53
actually putting to death
46:55
the deeds of the body.
46:56
Why are you saying,
46:57
by the Spirit
46:58
you'll do it?
47:01
One of the
47:01
great theologians
47:03
of the church,
47:05
John Owen,
47:06
has a marvelous
47:09
section on mortification
47:12
in volume 7
47:14
of his complete works.
47:15
You have access,
47:16
you can get it online as well.
47:17
This is what he's saying
47:18
in terms of trying
47:19
to deal with sin,
47:21
in terms of trying
47:22
to do away with it
47:23
and deal with it
47:24
successfully yourself.
47:25
This is what he's saying.
47:26
Mortification,
47:28
this is one of the
47:29
great quotes really,
47:30
I remember when I came
47:30
across it first of all.
47:32
Mortification
47:33
from a self-strength
47:35
carried on
47:37
by ways of self-invention
47:40
unto the end
47:41
of a self-righteousness
47:43
is the soul
47:45
and substance
47:46
of all false religion
47:49
in the world.
47:51
I'll read it again.
47:53
Mortification
47:54
from a self-strength
47:55
that's by our own efforts
47:57
carried on
47:58
by ways of self-invention
47:59
other than
48:00
the way God
48:01
has actually set
48:02
before us
48:03
by His Spirit
48:04
unto the end
48:06
or for the reason
48:06
of a self-righteousness
48:08
is the soul
48:10
and substance
48:10
of all false religion
48:12
in the world.
48:12
You look at all the false religions
48:14
in the world
48:15
and that's exactly
48:17
what lies
48:17
foundationally to them
48:18
at the heart of them
48:20
because they are
48:22
ways of mortification
48:23
by self-strength,
48:25
by ways of self-appointment
48:27
or self-discovery
48:30
unto the end
48:31
of a self-righteousness.
48:33
Every single religion
48:35
that relies on that
48:36
and please don't think
48:37
that it's just
48:37
every religion
48:38
apart from the Christian religion
48:39
there are people
48:40
inside the Christian religion
48:43
inside the Christian church
48:45
if you like
48:45
for whom this teaching
48:48
is simply not acceptable
48:49
sadly
48:50
because what they'll tell you
48:53
well I've
48:53
I live a good Christian life
48:55
I do my best
48:56
I've never killed anybody
48:58
as far as I know
48:59
I've not engaged
49:00
in anything wicked
49:02
or evil
49:03
that's really brought
49:04
public disgrace
49:05
in myself
49:06
or anybody else
49:06
so no
49:08
but have you ever
49:09
you have to ask them
49:10
have you ever
49:11
lusted
49:12
have you ever
49:12
had in you
49:15
any of the things
49:15
that Jesus mentions
49:16
in Mark chapter 7
49:18
have you ever
49:19
coveted
49:20
have you ever
49:21
engaged in deceit
49:22
have you ever
49:22
told lies
49:23
have you ever
49:24
been envious
49:25
have you ever
49:26
slandered anyone
49:27
have you ever
49:28
had any sense
49:29
of pride
49:29
did you have
49:31
any element
49:32
of sensuality
49:33
did you act
49:35
in any way
49:35
foolishly
49:37
see these are the things
49:38
that we tend
49:39
to neglect
49:40
as being
49:41
really not
49:41
all that sinful
49:43
if you like
49:43
or the world
49:44
certainly would
49:45
but Jesus is not
49:46
Jesus is not
49:47
in the business
49:48
of leaving out
49:49
any sins
49:49
whatever we might
49:50
think of them
49:51
the flesh
49:52
is the flesh
49:53
and the flesh
49:54
the works
49:55
of the flesh
49:56
the works
49:56
of the body
49:57
the deeds
49:58
of the body
49:58
have to be
49:59
mortified
50:00
Paul is saying
50:01
it's perfectly
50:03
in line
50:04
with that
50:05
so he's given
50:05
us his spirit
50:07
if you by the spirit
50:08
put to death
50:09
the deeds
50:09
of the body
50:10
you shall live
50:11
you see
50:11
it's by the Holy Spirit
50:12
you really come
50:14
to appreciate
50:15
at least to some
50:16
extent
50:16
what sin is
50:18
how do you come
50:19
to actually appreciate
50:20
that sin
50:21
is evil
50:22
in its workings
50:22
that sin
50:23
is as it puts
50:24
there
50:24
enmity against God
50:26
that the sinful
50:26
mind is enmity
50:27
against God
50:28
because many people
50:29
in the church
50:30
would say
50:31
well I wouldn't
50:31
go that far
50:32
I wouldn't say
50:33
that I've ever had
50:35
I've ever been
50:36
in the situation
50:37
or in the category
50:38
where you could
50:39
class me as an
50:39
enemy of God
50:41
but this is what
50:42
the Bible is telling us
50:44
we are inwardly
50:46
natively
50:48
as we are in
50:49
ourselves
50:49
we are in the
50:50
workings of the flesh
50:51
in the workings
50:52
of sin
50:53
we are at enmity
50:55
with God
50:55
that sinful mind
50:57
that mind
50:59
of the flesh
50:59
is hostile
51:02
to God
51:03
it does not
51:04
submit to God's
51:05
law
51:06
we need to
51:08
deal with it
51:08
we need to
51:10
mortify
51:10
the deeds
51:11
of the body
51:12
and not only
51:13
does the Lord
51:15
give us his Holy
51:15
Spirit to show
51:17
us what sin
51:17
is like
51:18
to enable us
51:19
to hate it
51:20
and to detest it
51:21
but more so
51:22
than that
51:23
he gives us
51:24
the Holy Spirit
51:25
to deal with it
51:26
we deal with it
51:28
by the Holy Spirit
51:29
we seek to
51:31
mortify the deeds
51:32
of the body
51:33
by the Holy Spirit
51:34
we seek to put
51:35
sin to death
51:36
by the Holy Spirit
51:37
we rely on the Holy Spirit
51:39
though we are required
51:40
to do the killing
51:41
that's the relationship
51:43
that Paul
51:44
has in mind here
51:46
and in fact
51:46
that's really no different
51:47
essentially
51:49
to what Jesus said
51:51
in chapter 8
51:52
of Mark
51:53
and in the other
51:54
Gospels as well
51:55
you know yourselves
51:56
the definition
51:57
he gave
51:57
of following him
51:59
and what following him
52:01
actually entailed
52:01
he called him
52:03
the crowd
52:04
and with his disciples
52:04
he said to them
52:05
if anyone would
52:06
come after me
52:07
that's to say
52:08
follow me
52:08
let him deny himself
52:10
let him take up
52:11
his cross
52:12
and follow me
52:13
for whoever would
52:14
save his life
52:15
will lose it
52:16
whoever loses
52:17
his life for my sake
52:18
and the Gospels
52:19
will save it
52:20
for what does it
52:21
profit a man
52:21
to gain the whole world
52:22
and forfeit
52:23
his soul
52:24
in other words
52:25
Jesus is saying
52:26
if you don't
52:28
give your life
52:29
over to God
52:30
and seek to save it
52:31
some other way
52:32
you're going to lose it
52:33
and if you give it
52:35
over to God
52:36
for you to be saved
52:37
then what accompanies
52:39
that is
52:40
crucifixion
52:41
mortification
52:42
you take up
52:44
your cross
52:44
daily
52:45
and you follow
52:46
Jesus
52:47
we didn't make up
52:53
these terms
52:54
the church
52:55
didn't invent them
52:56
the church
52:58
didn't discover
52:59
all of a sudden
53:00
or invent
53:01
this kind of ideology
53:02
that says
53:03
you know
53:03
as a Christian
53:04
we're now saying
53:05
we're now saying
53:06
to you
53:06
you have to actually
53:07
put sin to death
53:08
if you really want
53:09
to be a Christian
53:09
if you want to
53:10
enter into eternal life
53:12
no this is the Lord's teaching
53:14
the Lord was really saying
53:16
to the disciples
53:17
when you see somebody
53:18
bearing a cross
53:19
or the horizontal part
53:22
of a cross
53:22
as it was often
53:23
in those days
53:24
you had to
53:24
if you were going
53:25
to be crucified
53:25
you carried that
53:26
to the place
53:27
of your crucifixion
53:28
and everybody
53:28
who saw you
53:29
walking with that
53:30
on your shoulder
53:31
were able to say
53:32
instantly
53:33
as they saw you
53:34
that man is going
53:35
to his death
53:35
or that woman
53:37
is going to her death
53:38
they're going
53:40
to the cross
53:41
they're going
53:41
to be crucified
53:42
and that's the language
53:44
Jesus used
53:45
of the terms
53:47
he said
53:48
for discipleship
53:49
of following him
53:49
of what it meant
53:51
to really follow Christ
53:52
as we should
53:53
you must take up
53:55
your cross
53:56
you must say
53:56
to the works
53:57
of the flesh
53:58
every day
53:59
I have to crucify you
54:01
today
54:01
I have to put you
54:04
to death today
54:05
I have to deal
54:08
with you
54:08
or else you're
54:08
going to kill me
54:09
that's the balance
54:12
that's what
54:13
Paul is actually
54:14
saying here
54:15
and in fact
54:16
you remember
54:16
also how he
54:18
wrote very similarly
54:19
to the Galatian church
54:21
in Galatians
54:22
where he talks there
54:23
so much about the law
54:25
and that we're not
54:26
saved by the works
54:27
of the law
54:27
but by faith
54:28
in Jesus Christ
54:30
in Galatians chapter 5
54:32
he says
54:33
as follows
54:34
in verse 24
54:35
especially
54:35
those who belong
54:37
to Christ Jesus
54:38
have crucified
54:40
the flesh
54:41
with its passions
54:42
and desires
54:44
if we live
54:45
by the Spirit
54:46
let us also walk
54:47
by the Spirit
54:48
those who belong
54:49
to Christ Jesus
54:50
have crucified
54:51
the flesh
54:51
with its passions
54:52
and desires
54:53
now there are many
54:54
Christians that find
54:54
a problem with that
54:55
because sometimes
54:57
you'll find people
54:57
saying well
54:58
I don't find myself
54:59
yet having actually
55:00
completely put
55:01
the workings of the flesh
55:02
and sinned to death
55:04
so I can't be a Christian
55:05
that's not what Paul is saying
55:07
Paul is saying
55:08
this is something
55:09
you're engaged in
55:10
every day
55:12
something you're engaged in
55:13
as your life goes on
55:14
something you're engaged in
55:15
as you come to know
55:16
more and more
55:17
of the truth of God
55:18
and of fellowship
55:19
with Christ
55:19
and your fellow Christians
55:21
it's something
55:22
that you're engaged in
55:23
and you want to be engaged
55:24
in more and more
55:25
it's something
55:25
that you're engaged in
55:26
the more you find out
55:27
about sin
55:27
and what sin is like
55:28
and what sin is like
55:29
in God's sight
55:30
you pray Lord
55:32
by your Spirit
55:33
help me today
55:35
to crucify the flesh
55:37
to put to death
55:39
the works of the flesh
55:40
to deal with this
55:42
inward motion of my heart
55:45
even though
55:46
I am one of yours
55:48
even though you've saved me
55:49
or perhaps you might say
55:51
because you've saved me
55:52
I need to deal with this
55:54
I need to live a life
55:56
that's honoring to you
55:58
a life that will
56:00
more and more
56:01
lead me into
56:01
the ways of sanctification
56:04
what he's saying is
56:05
if you do this
56:05
you will live
56:06
if you by the Spirit
56:08
put to death
56:09
the deeds of the body
56:09
you will live
56:11
and it doesn't just mean
56:15
that you will live
56:16
after you've left this world
56:17
and the life of heaven
56:18
by no means
56:20
is that left out of it
56:21
but it's not confined
56:22
to that
56:23
I think the thought
56:24
of the apostle is
56:25
if you do this
56:26
then your ongoing
56:28
Christian believing life
56:29
will be life
56:31
you will have life
56:33
in terms of
56:34
all the benefits
56:36
that God gives
56:37
to his people
56:38
the rich and full
56:39
and satisfying life
56:41
of fellowship with Christ
56:43
of the Lord's favor
56:45
in your soul
56:46
of comfort from him
56:48
of assurance
56:48
of peace
56:50
of all of these things
56:52
to do with God's presence
56:53
and you could add to that
56:54
all the other things
56:55
the Bible tells you
56:56
that's the life
56:57
that's the rich
56:58
the full life
57:00
that we can have
57:02
and should have
57:02
in Christ
57:03
John Owen again
57:06
if I can quote him
57:07
puts it this way
57:07
the vigor
57:10
and power
57:11
and comfort
57:13
of our spiritual life
57:15
depends on the mortification
57:18
of the deeds
57:19
of the flesh
57:20
that's how he put it
57:23
the vigor
57:24
the power
57:25
and comfort
57:26
of your spiritual life
57:27
depends on
57:29
the mortification
57:30
of the deeds
57:30
of the flesh
57:31
so one of the questions
57:33
we've got to ask ourselves
57:34
if we don't have
57:35
that sense
57:36
of God's nearness
57:36
of God's favor
57:38
of God's comfort
57:39
in our souls
57:39
we have to ask ourselves
57:41
is it in any way possible
57:43
that it's because
57:43
I'm not mortifying
57:44
the flesh
57:45
is it because
57:47
I'm not dealing
57:48
with my sinful
57:50
appetites
57:50
the way I should
57:51
is this
57:54
the reason
57:55
I'm not enjoying
57:56
God
57:57
the end
57:59
for which I was created
58:00
remember that's what
58:01
the catechism says
58:02
the very first one
58:03
what is the chief end
58:06
of man
58:06
you could translate that
58:08
for what reason
58:09
was man created
58:10
by God
58:11
man's chief end
58:13
is to glorify God
58:16
yeah
58:16
but there's more than that
58:17
and to enjoy him
58:20
forever
58:22
and for me to enjoy
58:25
my God
58:26
I need to crucify
58:29
I need to mortify
58:30
the deeds of the body
58:32
I cannot expect
58:34
to have
58:34
the favor of God
58:36
enjoyed in my soul
58:37
if I'm not engaged
58:39
in
58:39
what Paul is telling me here
58:42
putting to death
58:43
the deeds
58:44
of the body
58:45
and if I am
58:46
doing that
58:47
I'm assured
58:48
that I will live
58:49
I will live
58:51
because
58:51
it will be for me
58:53
part of
58:53
the process
58:55
of my sanctification
58:56
under God
58:57
under the directorship
58:59
of the spirit
59:00
more and more
59:01
leading me to become
59:02
like Christ himself
59:04
two questions
59:07
are you in Christ
59:12
are you saved
59:16
are you under
59:19
the directorship
59:20
of the Holy Spirit
59:21
is your life
59:23
the way it's always been
59:24
since you came
59:25
into the world
59:26
has it changed
59:28
at all
59:28
are you still
59:31
led by sin
59:32
even quietly
59:34
even in a way
59:37
that perhaps
59:37
isn't obvious
59:38
but is known
59:39
to yourself
59:40
friend
59:42
here again
59:43
God is saying
59:44
to you
59:44
to be found
59:46
in Christ
59:47
to give your life
59:49
over to him
59:50
so that he
59:52
will take control
59:53
and give you
59:55
all that you
59:56
were designed
59:57
to have
59:57
and to enjoy
59:58
as one of
1:00:00
God's creatures
1:00:00
second question
1:00:03
Christian
1:00:04
myself included
1:00:06
after all
1:00:07
Paul included
1:00:08
himself in this
1:00:08
we are debtors
1:00:10
he didn't exempt
1:00:12
himself from
1:00:13
what he was saying
1:00:14
to the Romans
1:00:15
Christian
1:00:16
myself
1:00:17
are we
1:00:18
tonight
1:00:19
engaged in
1:00:20
killing our sins
1:00:22
daily
1:00:22
is it our concern
1:00:24
to put to death
1:00:25
the deeds
1:00:27
of the body
1:00:28
the workings
1:00:30
of the flesh
1:00:31
if so
1:00:32
we are assured
1:00:34
we shall live
1:00:35
God will give us
1:00:37
his assurance
1:00:37
and comfort
1:00:38
that we are
1:00:39
his
1:00:40
that we are
1:00:40
his adopted
1:00:41
children
1:00:41
that we have
1:00:43
heaven
1:00:43
to expect
1:00:44
at the end
1:00:46
of our journey
1:00:47
let's pray
1:00:47
almighty God
1:00:51
we thank you
1:00:52
for the extensive
1:00:53
teaching of your
1:00:54
word
1:00:54
on the life
1:00:56
that you have
1:00:57
given to your
1:00:57
people to follow
1:00:58
and to see
1:01:00
through to the
1:01:00
end of their
1:01:01
course in this
1:01:02
life
1:01:02
we thank you
1:01:04
Lord for your
1:01:04
Holy Spirit
1:01:05
we thank you
1:01:07
for the power
1:01:07
of your Holy
1:01:08
Spirit
1:01:08
power greater
1:01:09
than the power
1:01:10
of sin
1:01:10
itself
1:01:11
a power
1:01:13
that has brought
1:01:13
all things
1:01:14
into being
1:01:14
that exist
1:01:15
in the creation
1:01:16
that we are
1:01:17
part of
1:01:17
a power
1:01:19
that has
1:01:19
raised us
1:01:20
to life
1:01:20
from the
1:01:21
deadness
1:01:22
of our
1:01:22
sin
1:01:22
a power
1:01:24
that enables
1:01:24
us to face
1:01:25
our sin
1:01:26
and to seek
1:01:27
Lord to
1:01:28
mortify it
1:01:29
and put it
1:01:29
to death
1:01:30
day by day
1:01:31
help us
1:01:32
we pray
1:01:32
to do so
1:01:33
help us
1:01:34
by your
1:01:35
Holy Spirit
1:01:35
to follow
1:01:36
through
1:01:37
with the
1:01:37
teaching
1:01:37
of your
1:01:38
word
1:01:38
and these
1:01:38
great
1:01:39
issues
1:01:39
that are
1:01:40
so much
1:01:41
a part
1:01:41
of your
1:01:41
people's
1:01:42
experience
1:01:42
and grant
1:01:44
your blessing
1:01:44
Lord today
1:01:45
to the
1:01:46
gospel
1:01:46
wherever it
1:01:47
has been
1:01:47
proclaimed
1:01:47
and in
1:01:48
our own
1:01:49
midst as well
1:01:49
we ask
1:01:50
that may
1:01:50
bear fruit
1:01:51
that will
1:01:52
be unto
1:01:53
eternal
1:01:53
life
1:01:54
and to
1:01:55
the praise
1:01:55
and glory
1:01:56
of your
1:01:57
great name
1:01:57
we pray
1:01:58
in Jesus
1:01:59
name
1:01:59
Amen
1:02:00
let's sing
1:02:03
a conclusion
1:02:04
now from
1:02:04
Psalm 119
1:02:05
page 157
1:02:07
to tune
1:02:10
before the
1:02:10
throne
1:02:10
Psalm 119
1:02:13
verses 1
1:02:13
to 8
1:02:14
blessed
1:02:16
are those
1:02:17
of blameless
1:02:18
ways
1:02:18
who live
1:02:19
according
1:02:19
to God's
1:02:20
word
1:02:20
blessed
1:02:21
are those
1:02:22
who keep
1:02:22
his laws
1:02:23
who with
1:02:24
their whole
1:02:24
heart
1:02:25
seek the
1:02:25
Lord
1:02:25
they keep
1:02:26
themselves
1:02:27
from doing
1:02:28
wrong
1:02:28
by walking
1:02:29
in his
1:02:29
perfect ways
1:02:30
you have
1:02:31
established
1:02:32
laws for
1:02:33
us
1:02:33
that are
1:02:34
to be
1:02:34
obeyed
1:02:35
always
1:02:36
that opening
1:02:37
section
1:02:38
verses 1
1:02:38
to 8
1:02:39
to God's
1:02:40
praise
1:02:40
verse 1
1:02:41
blessed
1:02:46
are those
1:02:47
of blameless
1:02:49
ways
1:02:51
who live
1:02:52
according
1:02:54
to God's
1:02:56
word
1:02:57
blessed
1:02:58
are those
1:03:00
who leave
1:03:02
his laws
1:03:03
who with
1:03:05
their whole
1:03:06
heart
1:03:06
seek the
1:03:07
Lord
1:03:08
Lord
1:03:09
they keep
1:03:11
themselves
1:03:12
from
1:03:14
doing
1:03:14
wrong
1:03:16
by walking
1:03:18
in his
1:03:20
perfect ways
1:03:22
you have
1:03:24
established
1:03:25
laws for
1:03:27
us
1:03:29
that are
1:03:30
to be
1:03:31
obeyed
1:03:32
always
1:03:34
that
1:03:36
are
1:03:36
to be
1:03:37
obeyed
1:03:39
always
1:03:40
that
1:03:41
are
1:03:43
to be
1:03:45
obeyed
1:03:46
always
1:03:47
that
1:03:48
are
1:03:49
to be
1:03:50
obeyed
1:03:51
always
1:03:52
oh
1:03:54
that
1:03:55
thy ways
1:03:56
were
1:03:57
steadfast
1:03:58
Lord
1:03:59
our
1:04:01
commands
1:04:02
I
1:04:03
would
1:04:04
not feel
1:04:05
disgrace
1:04:06
or shame
1:04:07
I
1:04:08
praise
1:04:09
you
1:04:10
with
1:04:11
an upright
1:04:12
heart
1:04:13
as
1:04:14
you're
1:04:15
just
1:04:16
all
1:04:17
suffered
1:04:18
by me
1:04:19
all
1:04:20
your
1:04:21
defeats
1:04:22
I
1:04:24
will
1:04:25
obey
1:04:26
do
1:04:27
not
1:04:28
forsake
1:04:29
me
1:04:30
after
1:04:31
me
1:04:32
do
1:04:33
not
1:04:34
forsake
1:04:35
me
1:04:36
after
1:04:37
me
1:04:38
I'll
1:04:39
go to
1:04:40
the door
1:04:41
to my right
1:04:42
this evening
1:04:43
now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always
1:04:51
Amen