Latest / Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons / The Life of Faith and Our Freedom in Christ

Transcript

The Life of Faith and Our Freedom in Christ · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

0:00
Let's turn again now to pause now to Colossians and chapter 2 and we can read at verse 11.
0:07
! Colossians 2 at verse 11.
0:10
In him also you are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body
0:18
of flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which
0:24
you are also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised
0:29
him from the dead.
0:31
And so on down to verse number 15.
0:34
The last time we were together, or I was with you on the Lord's Day, we looked at chapter
0:42
one of this letter and we noticed, as we notice again today and remind ourselves that in these
0:49
first two chapters, Paul wants to highlight the supremacy of Jesus Christ in salvation
0:58
as well as in creation.
1:00
And he is writing with that theme because of the great need that they had and the great
1:08
need that we have ourselves to recognize that our salvation is all about what God has done
1:16
in Jesus and not so much about what we are doing ourselves.
1:21
And we saw in chapter one and verse 12 the way in which God speaks about qualifying us to
1:28
share in the inheritance of God's people.
1:30
And we highlighted the way in which our salvation is about what God does in our own lives.
1:39
Today we want to look at the other side of that and to consider in these verses, to consider
1:46
what God has done for us outside of ourselves in the person of Christ.
1:52
Christ.
1:53
And we are doing so because when you read the letters of Paul, we notice a significant development.
2:02
When Jesus speaks of disciples, his emphasis is on people leaving everything and following
2:08
him.
2:10
When Paul speaks about disciples and about Christians, he speaks about those who are in Christ and who
2:16
are with Christ.
2:18
There's a development.
2:19
There is a change in focus.
2:24
And the message is not going to be a lesson on grammar, but I do want to draw attention
2:30
to the fact that the key to understanding what Paul says here and elsewhere is his use of
2:37
prepositions.
2:40
When I went to school and I heard prepositions mentioned, I was not remotely interested.
2:45
But prepositions are important because they show us the relationship between a noun and
2:53
what has been said in the previous clause.
2:57
And there are two prepositions that are central to the message of the gospel that capture for
3:04
us so much of what salvation is.
3:07
The first of these is the preposition in.
3:11
It's through this chapter in Christ.
3:14
The second preposition is with Christ.
3:20
And all of your salvation and mine today is summed up by Paul in the use of these two
3:26
prepositions.
3:29
And we hear so often with documentation that the devil is in the detail.
3:34
Well, in the case of salvation, the great blessing is in the detail.
3:39
When we notice the detail, we notice the marvel of what God has done.
3:45
And bearing that in mind, I want us to think of these verses before us here and to think of
3:49
the life of faith and our freedom in Christ.
3:56
I want to think, first of all, that we have before us a transition.
4:01
I come from being in one place to being in another place.
4:08
And we see that transition from verse 11 onwards, where Paul speaks about being circumcised with
4:14
a circumcision made without hands.
4:17
And the very mention of circumcision presents us perhaps with great difficulties.
4:25
But I want us to think of circumcision in the light of God's relationship with his people in the Old Testament
4:32
as an oath pledge of their loyalty.
4:37
Their loyalty to God.
4:38
And if they were not loyal to God, they would be cut off from the people of God and sent away from God.
4:49
Circumcision is about being cut off.
4:54
And here Paul wants them to understand their salvation in the light of that sense of cutting off
5:00
and cutting off with a circumcision made without hands.
5:08
God is working for our salvation by engaging in this cutting off activity
5:16
to take us from where we are, the place to which we are so attached,
5:22
the place in which we live our lives.
5:25
He comes to us in his grace and he comes to cut us off from being there.
5:30
And today, if I'm a Christian, if I'm a child of God,
5:36
the evidence of this happening is that I am following Jesus.
5:42
But my following of Jesus is the result of God the Father
5:47
cutting me off from the life of sin that I lived
5:51
and the life that I lived in the service of this world
5:54
and setting myself at the exclusion of Jesus Christ.
5:59
And he shows us how that actually takes place.
6:04
A circumcision made without hands,
6:07
putting off of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.
6:14
Circumcision, the cutting off of people.
6:17
Circumcision, the cutting off of Jesus Christ.
6:21
Circumcision, the cutting off of Jesus Christ.
6:23
We read in Isaiah chapter 53 that on the cross,
6:28
Jesus was cut off from the land of the living.
6:34
The cutting off in the life of Jesus is all about the cross of Jesus
6:38
where Jesus died for our sins and where,
6:41
when he was cut off from God,
6:44
he cried out,
6:45
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
6:48
And we hear that he was cut off because they came
6:52
and saw that Jesus was already dead.
6:57
And Paul wants the Christians in Colossae to understand
7:03
that they were cut off from the life of service to sin
7:08
because of the way in which God took them from where they were
7:13
and placed them in Christ,
7:16
in that new relationship with Christ,
7:18
in their union with Christ.
7:20
And so today in my lostness,
7:23
I'm out here.
7:25
I'm outside of the kingdom of God.
7:27
I'm outside of Christ.
7:29
I'm lost.
7:30
I'm serving myself.
7:32
I'm under the influence of the God of this world,
7:35
the devil and Satan,
7:36
and all that this world offers me.
7:39
I'm there outside of Christ.
7:42
And the moment that takes place in the day of my salvation
7:46
is not so much me coming to follow the Lord Jesus.
7:50
It's God taking me from there,
7:53
cutting me off from the root of that kind of life
7:56
and uniting me in my relationship with Jesus Christ
7:59
so that his death and his life
8:03
become meaningful in my life.
8:08
That's why Paul says in writing to Galatians,
8:12
I am crucified with Christ.
8:14
When I become a child of God,
8:19
I'm united to Jesus and his death,
8:21
says Paul.
8:23
And because of that,
8:24
my life up until then has come to an end.
8:30
I go on a train journey.
8:32
And I may be going from Edinburgh to London.
8:34
And I'm going on the express train.
8:36
It stops at so many different places.
8:39
And then I hear the announcement
8:40
that this train,
8:42
the next stop on this train is London.
8:44
And then I'm told,
8:47
this train terminates
8:48
at London,
8:50
Euston.
8:52
And I want us to think today about our lives.
8:54
We are on that journey outside of Christ.
8:57
And in the day in which God comes to save us,
9:00
our journey on that railway,
9:02
on that track,
9:03
comes to an end.
9:04
It terminates
9:05
the moment my relationship with Jesus begins.
9:08
And so,
9:12
for you and for me today,
9:14
am I a Christian or am I not?
9:16
Am I a child of God or am I not?
9:19
Then the first part of the answer
9:21
comes in looking at yourself
9:23
and asking yourself,
9:25
has the life that I lived,
9:27
setting myself,
9:29
happy in my sinful life,
9:31
has that life come to an end?
9:35
Has that part of my journey
9:37
has determined,
9:38
is it now over?
9:42
And those of us,
9:44
as we struggle
9:45
and come into faith,
9:46
there is that kind of process
9:48
where there is that kind of
9:50
struggle and confusion
9:52
with the life that I am leading
9:53
and the life that God wants me to live.
9:57
And that struggle comes to be over
9:59
when I'm united to Christ
10:02
and the one who died for my sins,
10:07
who broke the power of sin,
10:09
that through him and in him,
10:11
that life has come to an end.
10:14
Has your life today changed?
10:18
That's the first way
10:21
in which faith is evident
10:24
in the life of God's children.
10:27
That is confined to the past.
10:30
It's done with.
10:31
I don't want it anymore.
10:33
God has taken it away
10:34
and I don't want to see it anymore
10:37
appearing in life.
10:41
And the transition is complete
10:43
because not only do I share
10:48
what Jesus achieved in his death,
10:51
but I also achieve what,
10:54
I also take part in what
10:56
Jesus achieved in his resurrection.
11:00
And that's what we read of
11:01
in verse number 13.
11:04
You are dead in your trespasses
11:05
and the uncircumcision of your flesh.
11:08
God made alive together with him.
11:12
Here is the preposition,
11:13
the with him.
11:15
When I hear about Jesus
11:16
being raised from the dead
11:18
on the third day,
11:20
making himself known to his disciples,
11:23
when I read and hear that,
11:24
that's the new life of Jesus
11:26
after the cross
11:27
and that's the new life
11:29
that the child of God lives
11:30
in the moment of our union with Christ
11:33
and of being united to Christ
11:36
by the invisible hand of God.
11:39
the newness of life.
11:43
That comes, says Paul,
11:46
having had our sins forgiven,
11:49
we walk now in this newness of life.
11:53
A life that is like the life
11:55
that Jesus lived.
11:56
A life that shows the work
11:58
of the Spirit of God
11:59
in our hearts and our lives.
12:02
A life that is in the service of God
12:04
and no longer in the service of sin.
12:06
There is that transition.
12:09
There is that movement
12:09
in this momentary activity of God
12:13
when I'm taken from there
12:15
and taken to be in Christ.
12:21
And so, today,
12:24
for you,
12:26
there will be no physical movement.
12:30
The way God works,
12:31
you can sit where you are sitting.
12:33
And at the same time,
12:35
the greatest movement ever
12:37
takes place in your heart and life.
12:41
You don't change your position,
12:42
you don't change your body movement,
12:45
and in that silence,
12:47
motionless picture
12:48
of where you're at,
12:49
God works.
12:51
And He creates this new thing
12:53
in your heart.
12:55
And the new thing is
12:56
creating this union
12:58
with the Lord Jesus,
12:59
and that changes you forever.
13:01
physically,
13:02
there's no change,
13:04
but before God,
13:05
there is the world
13:07
of a difference.
13:09
That's what Paul wanted them to see.
13:11
And that's today
13:12
what God wants you and I to see.
13:16
A life that has changed
13:18
because God has brought us
13:21
into a living relationship
13:23
with Jesus.
13:24
And in that relationship,
13:26
we are a new people.
13:28
And the same Paul says
13:30
that everyone who is in Christ
13:32
is a new creation.
13:36
And he goes on to say,
13:38
all things have passed away.
13:41
That train has terminated
13:42
at the cross of Jesus.
13:45
All things have become new.
13:49
The old and the new.
13:50
The movement created
13:52
by God's work in our hearts.
13:55
Are we old or new?
13:56
Are we serving sin
13:58
or serving the Lord?
14:01
The transition
14:02
that is the first part
14:04
of our freedom.
14:07
Secondly,
14:08
we want to see
14:09
that there is
14:10
a transaction.
14:13
And the transaction
14:14
is based on two images
14:16
or word pictures
14:17
that Paul gives to us
14:18
in these verses.
14:20
And in the first word picture
14:24
that we have,
14:24
there is this idea
14:26
of debt cancellation.
14:29
We have it in version number 14.
14:31
By cancelling the record
14:33
of debt
14:34
that stood
14:35
against us.
14:38
There is a handwriting.
14:41
It's a handwriting
14:42
that speaks of
14:43
debts that,
14:44
of things that a person
14:47
is obliged to fulfill.
14:49
And all of these things
14:52
are written down.
14:54
And the document
14:55
is signed
14:55
as proof
14:56
of the obligation
14:58
to keep
15:00
and to observe
15:01
what is written
15:02
in the document.
15:04
And for the Old Testament
15:05
people of God,
15:06
we can think of them
15:08
at Mount Sinai
15:09
where God brought them
15:10
to be his own people.
15:12
And the people of God,
15:14
they said to Moses
15:15
and to the Lord,
15:16
all that the Lord
15:17
has said we will do,
15:18
they were signing
15:20
the document,
15:22
placing themselves
15:22
under obligation
15:23
to give obedience
15:25
to God
15:25
and his commands
15:26
and to live with him
15:27
forever.
15:29
It was
15:30
an I owe you
15:32
to God.
15:33
And it was signed
15:34
by them
15:34
in that moment
15:35
willing to
15:37
bind themselves
15:39
to God
15:39
and committed
15:40
to live
15:41
to him.
15:41
but we know
15:46
that
15:46
the Old Testament
15:47
people of God
15:48
were just like
15:49
yourselves.
15:51
We say the right
15:53
things,
15:53
we promise to do
15:54
so much
15:55
but we fail.
15:57
And they failed
15:58
to fulfill
15:59
the obligation.
16:01
What they had
16:01
signed up to do,
16:03
they simply
16:03
did not do.
16:05
And because of that,
16:06
the law that God
16:07
gave them,
16:09
that placed them
16:10
under obligation
16:11
to whom
16:11
that law now
16:13
changed to be a law
16:14
that spoke
16:15
against them.
16:18
It stood
16:18
in their judgment.
16:20
They had broken
16:20
the law of God.
16:22
They were condemned
16:23
by the penalty
16:24
of God's law.
16:25
It stood
16:25
firmly against them.
16:28
And what was true
16:29
of the children
16:29
of Israel
16:30
as they left
16:31
Mount Sinai
16:32
is true
16:33
of humankind
16:34
as we leave
16:35
the Garden
16:36
of Eden.
16:38
And for all
16:38
of us here today,
16:40
there is our debt.
16:41
There is our
16:42
obligation to
16:43
keep the law
16:44
of God
16:45
perfectly.
16:47
There is a promise
16:47
that if we do so,
16:49
we will have
16:49
eternal life.
16:50
But there is the threat
16:52
that if we don't,
16:53
there is the penalty
16:54
of death
16:55
that stands
16:56
against us.
16:58
And here we are
17:01
in our lostness
17:02
and God is
17:03
taking us
17:04
from the place
17:05
of lostness
17:05
and uniting us
17:07
to the passion
17:08
of his Son
17:08
and the day
17:08
of our salvation.
17:10
And he's forgiving
17:11
our sins
17:11
and he does that
17:12
because of
17:15
this wonderful
17:16
transaction
17:17
of cancelling
17:19
the record
17:22
of death.
17:24
He puts
17:25
his pen
17:26
through it
17:26
and he puts
17:29
his pen
17:30
through it
17:30
because of
17:32
all that
17:33
Jesus has done.
17:36
And not only
17:37
does he put
17:38
his pen
17:38
through the
17:39
record of
17:41
death that
17:41
you and I
17:42
have,
17:44
he also
17:45
takes the
17:47
document
17:47
and he
17:49
destroys it
17:51
so that the
17:51
evidence is
17:52
completely gone.
17:54
It's
17:55
cancelled.
17:56
I can
17:59
delete a
17:59
document
18:00
on my
18:01
computer
18:01
or laptop
18:02
and it
18:03
will be
18:04
in the
18:04
recycle bin
18:05
and if I
18:06
want to
18:07
recover it
18:08
I can go to
18:09
my recycle bin
18:09
and restore it
18:11
to where it
18:11
belongs so that
18:12
I've got the
18:13
written document.
18:15
But if I go to
18:16
my recycle bin
18:17
and if I
18:18
empty my
18:19
recycle bin
18:20
I'm asked the
18:21
question,
18:21
are you sure
18:22
you want to
18:23
empty your
18:23
recycle bin?
18:24
because once
18:25
the bin is
18:26
emptied then
18:27
these documents
18:28
are gone
18:28
forever.
18:31
And God
18:32
does not have
18:33
a recycle bin.
18:34
When he
18:35
deletes,
18:36
he deletes it
18:37
once and
18:38
for all.
18:40
And he
18:41
deletes the
18:41
record of our
18:42
sin and the
18:43
guilt that comes
18:44
with that
18:44
record.
18:45
He wipes
18:46
the slate
18:46
clean.
18:47
He erases
18:48
every entry.
18:49
Then he
18:49
destroys the
18:50
document so
18:51
that there is
18:52
no condemnation
18:54
to those
18:56
who are
18:56
in Jesus
18:57
Christ.
19:00
And today
19:01
as a child
19:02
of God
19:03
you may be
19:05
troubled because
19:06
of your sin.
19:08
You may be
19:08
troubled because
19:09
of the failures
19:10
in your life
19:11
and the way
19:12
in which you
19:13
are not able
19:14
to reach up
19:15
to the standard
19:16
that God
19:16
has given to
19:17
you.
19:18
And it robs
19:19
you of the
19:19
sense of the
19:20
peace of the
19:21
salvation that
19:22
God has given
19:22
to you.
19:24
And instead
19:24
of that peace
19:25
there is turmoil.
19:27
There is a
19:27
sense of
19:28
letting God
19:28
down.
19:30
There is a
19:30
sense of
19:31
failing to
19:32
find the
19:32
satisfaction
19:33
that God
19:34
promises to
19:35
give you.
19:37
And here is
19:38
what the
19:38
gospel wants
19:39
to say to
19:40
you, what
19:40
God wants
19:41
to say to
19:41
you.
19:42
The record
19:44
of your
19:44
debt is
19:45
cancelled.
19:47
The slate
19:48
is wiped
19:48
clean.
19:49
The document
19:50
is destroyed.
19:52
God is
19:53
saying, I
19:55
will forgive
19:55
their sin.
19:56
I will
19:57
remember
19:57
their
19:58
iniquity
19:58
no more.
20:00
The
20:00
forgiveness
20:01
of God.
20:05
And our
20:06
recent book
20:07
on forgiveness
20:09
speaks about
20:12
the importance
20:12
of forgiving
20:13
others.
20:14
But speaks
20:15
about a
20:16
psychological
20:17
challenge
20:18
of not
20:20
being able
20:20
to forgive
20:21
ourselves.
20:23
And when
20:23
God forgives
20:24
us, that
20:25
forgiveness
20:25
should reach
20:26
us so far
20:27
as to
20:28
enable us to
20:29
forgive
20:29
ourselves so
20:30
that we
20:30
have that
20:31
perfect peace.
20:33
And perhaps
20:34
as the
20:34
children of
20:34
God, that's
20:36
one of our
20:36
great problems.
20:38
That we
20:38
don't allow
20:40
God's total
20:41
forgiveness
20:41
forgiveness, to
20:43
fill our own
20:44
lives totally
20:45
and to take
20:46
away the
20:47
sense of
20:47
failure and
20:48
guilt and
20:49
to enjoy the
20:51
peace of
20:51
God.
20:53
There is the
20:53
cancellation of
20:54
debt.
20:55
the
20:57
second word
20:58
picture is
21:00
the way in
21:01
which the
21:02
cross comes
21:03
to be at
21:03
the very
21:04
center of
21:04
that.
21:06
This he
21:07
set aside,
21:08
nailing it
21:09
to the
21:09
cross.
21:11
He takes
21:11
it up.
21:13
He nails
21:13
it to the
21:14
cross.
21:15
He wipes
21:16
it clean.
21:17
The penalty
21:18
is thoroughly
21:20
executed.
21:21
The penalty
21:22
is severed in
21:23
the passion of
21:23
the son.
21:25
The son
21:26
who had
21:26
before him
21:27
on the
21:27
cross, that
21:27
that
21:28
that
21:28
that
21:28
superscription,
21:30
this is the
21:30
king of
21:31
the Jews.
21:32
That was his
21:33
condemnation
21:33
under
21:34
Pilate.
21:36
But the
21:36
nails and
21:37
the hands
21:38
and the
21:39
feet of
21:39
Jesus on
21:39
the cross,
21:41
they were
21:41
the
21:42
superscription
21:42
of God
21:43
that here
21:45
in the
21:45
oppression of
21:46
his son,
21:47
he was
21:48
bearing the
21:48
penalty.
21:50
He was
21:50
made a
21:51
curse for
21:51
us.
21:53
All other
21:53
sins
21:54
deserved.
21:55
He
21:55
severed in
21:56
our
21:56
room and
21:56
in our
21:57
place.
21:58
He set
21:59
it aside.
22:01
He lifts
22:01
it up from
22:02
us.
22:03
He places
22:04
it on his
22:05
son.
22:06
His son
22:06
suffers for
22:07
it and
22:08
takes it
22:08
all away.
22:11
And it's
22:11
deleted.
22:13
It's removed
22:14
forever.
22:15
the supremacy
22:18
of Jesus
22:19
in God's
22:20
transaction
22:21
in making
22:23
us the
22:23
children of
22:24
God
22:24
and the
22:26
way in
22:26
which
22:26
everything
22:27
comes back
22:28
to what
22:28
Jesus
22:29
achieved on
22:30
the cross.
22:32
He was
22:33
made a
22:35
curse for
22:36
us,
22:36
says Paul.
22:36
Christ
22:39
redeemed
22:39
us from
22:41
the
22:41
curse of
22:42
the Lord
22:43
by becoming
22:44
a curse
22:45
for us.
22:48
He took
22:48
our place.
22:50
He died
22:51
for our
22:51
sin.
22:52
And the
22:53
cross of
22:54
Jesus
22:54
cancels
22:56
all of the
22:57
dead and
22:59
removes it
22:59
forever
23:00
out of
23:01
sight.
23:02
there is
23:04
then the
23:06
transaction.
23:08
And finally
23:08
there is
23:10
the triumph.
23:13
As we
23:13
come into
23:14
verse 15
23:14
that's where
23:16
we see the
23:16
triumph.
23:16
He disarmed
23:17
the rulers
23:18
and authorities
23:18
and put
23:19
them to
23:20
open shame
23:20
by triumphing
23:22
over them
23:23
in him.
23:25
The rulers
23:26
and the
23:27
authorities.
23:30
The
23:30
parish
23:31
that are
23:31
working in
23:31
Colossae.
23:33
The parish
23:34
that were
23:34
generating
23:34
the philosophies
23:36
in Colossae
23:36
that was
23:37
so harmful
23:38
to the
23:38
church.
23:40
The parish
23:41
that are
23:41
working in
23:42
the church
23:42
in Ephesus
23:43
where Paul
23:44
speaks to
23:45
the church
23:45
and reminds
23:46
them of
23:46
their need
23:47
to be
23:47
on the
23:47
whole
23:48
armor of
23:48
God
23:49
because
23:49
they are
23:50
not wrestling
23:51
with people
23:52
but they are
23:53
wrestling with
23:53
powers,
23:54
with principalities,
23:56
wrestling with
23:56
the devil
23:57
himself,
23:58
the rulers
23:59
and the
24:00
authorities.
24:01
Paul goes
24:03
as far as
24:04
to describe
24:05
Satan as
24:06
the God
24:07
of this
24:07
world.
24:09
The
24:10
challenges,
24:12
the powers
24:12
that are
24:14
too great
24:15
for you
24:15
and I
24:17
to conquer.
24:20
And that's
24:20
so often
24:20
our failing
24:22
that we
24:23
try and
24:24
conquer them
24:25
ourselves.
24:27
That we
24:27
see the
24:28
giants
24:28
and we
24:30
think we
24:30
can manage
24:31
the giants
24:31
ourselves.
24:32
That we
24:33
will confront
24:33
them thinking
24:34
that we
24:34
can conquer
24:36
them.
24:37
But we
24:38
discover time
24:39
after time
24:40
that they
24:41
are too
24:41
great for
24:42
us.
24:43
They are
24:43
too strong
24:43
for us
24:44
and they
24:45
are ready
24:45
to conquer
24:46
us.
24:48
And all
24:48
of these
24:49
ways in
24:49
which the
24:50
power of
24:50
darkness
24:51
and the
24:52
power of
24:52
Satan
24:53
works against
24:54
the church
24:54
in Colossae
24:55
and works
24:56
against the
24:56
church wherever
24:57
it is
24:58
including
24:58
here today
24:59
all that
25:00
power we
25:00
read in
25:01
verse 15
25:02
he
25:03
disarmed
25:05
rulers
25:06
and
25:07
authorities.
25:11
It's the
25:12
picture of
25:13
stripping
25:14
them of
25:15
their
25:15
armor
25:16
stripping
25:17
them of
25:18
all of
25:18
their
25:18
indications
25:19
of power
25:20
of leaving
25:22
them helpless
25:23
and not able
25:24
to do
25:24
anything.
25:25
that's
25:27
what Jesus
25:27
achieved
25:28
on the
25:29
cross.
25:30
He
25:31
stripped
25:31
the
25:31
power
25:32
from
25:33
Satan
25:33
himself.
25:34
He
25:34
cast
25:35
him
25:35
out.
25:37
By
25:37
the
25:37
power
25:38
of
25:38
God
25:38
Jesus
25:39
has
25:40
the
25:40
victory.
25:42
We refer
25:42
to that
25:43
in the
25:43
children's
25:44
others.
25:44
The way
25:44
in which
25:45
Jesus
25:45
is the
25:46
champion
25:46
because
25:47
he
25:47
triumphed
25:48
in the
25:50
cross.
25:51
He
25:52
disarmed
25:52
all of
25:54
the
25:54
rulers.
25:56
In the
25:56
letter to
25:57
the
25:57
Hebrews
25:57
we read
25:58
that
25:58
Jesus
25:59
destroyed
26:00
him who
26:00
has the
26:01
power of
26:01
death,
26:02
the
26:02
devil.
26:03
And
26:03
he did
26:04
so to
26:05
deliver
26:05
those
26:05
who
26:06
through
26:06
the
26:06
fear
26:07
of
26:07
death
26:08
are
26:09
all
26:09
of
26:09
their
26:10
lifetime
26:10
subject
26:11
to
26:12
bondage.
26:14
We
26:14
need
26:14
fear
26:15
no one
26:15
as
26:15
the
26:16
children
26:16
of
26:16
God.
26:18
And
26:18
the
26:19
devil
26:19
wants
26:19
us
26:19
to
26:20
fear
26:20
everyone
26:20
and to
26:21
fear
26:21
every
26:22
kind
26:22
of
26:22
situation
26:23
and to
26:24
say to
26:24
us
26:24
we
26:25
can't
26:25
do
26:25
this
26:25
and we
26:26
can't
26:26
do
26:26
that.
26:27
We
26:27
can't
26:28
go
26:28
here,
26:28
we
26:28
can't
26:28
go
26:29
there.
26:30
Looking
26:31
back
26:31
to my
26:32
own
26:32
conversion,
26:33
there were
26:34
these
26:34
struggles
26:34
for so
26:35
long
26:36
that
26:36
there
26:37
were
26:37
so
26:37
many
26:38
things
26:38
that
26:38
the
26:39
devil
26:39
would
26:39
tell
26:39
me
26:39
I
26:39
could
26:40
not
26:40
and
26:40
I
26:40
cannot
26:41
do
26:41
as
26:42
much
26:42
as
26:42
my
26:42
desire
26:43
was
26:43
to
26:44
follow
26:44
the
26:44
Lord
26:44
Jesus
26:45
and
26:45
all
26:46
of
26:46
that
26:50
not
26:50
overcome
26:51
these
26:51
kept
26:54
me
26:54
paralyzed
26:55
where
26:55
I
26:56
was
26:56
for
26:56
so
26:57
long.
26:58
It
26:58
can
26:58
do
26:59
that
26:59
for
26:59
you
26:59
today
27:00
if
27:00
you're
27:00
deciding
27:01
to
27:01
follow
27:02
the
27:02
Lord
27:02
Jesus
27:02
there
27:03
will
27:03
be
27:03
all
27:04
of
27:04
these
27:04
arguments
27:05
presented
27:06
by
27:06
the
27:07
devil
27:07
himself
27:08
to
27:08
persuade
27:09
you
27:09
that
27:09
you
27:09
can't
27:10
do
27:10
this
27:10
and
27:10
you
27:11
can't
27:11
go
27:11
there
27:11
and
27:12
you
27:12
can't
27:12
follow
27:12
because
27:13
you
27:14
will
27:14
fail.
27:16
It's
27:17
the
27:17
typical
27:17
strategy
27:18
of the
27:18
devil
27:19
to
27:19
stop
27:19
you
27:20
from
27:20
believing
27:20
that
27:21
strategy
27:22
will
27:22
perhaps
27:22
be
27:23
altered
27:23
once
27:24
you
27:24
come
27:24
to
27:24
believe
27:25
but
27:26
don't
27:26
be
27:26
afraid
27:27
of
27:28
the
27:28
devil
27:29
or
27:29
of
27:29
Satan
27:30
because
27:31
here
27:31
we
27:31
see
27:32
that
27:32
Jesus
27:33
has
27:33
disarmed
27:34
him
27:35
and
27:36
once
27:36
we
27:36
believe
27:36
in
27:37
Jesus
27:37
the
27:38
victory
27:38
that
27:38
Jesus
27:39
has
27:39
over
27:39
the
27:39
devil
27:40
becomes
27:41
our
27:42
personal
27:43
victory
27:44
we
27:44
are
27:44
more
27:44
than
27:45
conquerors
27:46
through
27:46
him
27:47
who
27:48
loved
27:48
us
27:49
and
27:51
there
27:51
is
27:51
in
27:51
that
27:52
triumphal
27:53
procession
27:56
we
27:58
hear about
27:58
it in
27:58
sport in
27:59
so many
27:59
different
28:00
ways
28:00
once a
28:01
victory
28:01
is won
28:02
once a
28:02
competition
28:03
has won
28:03
once a
28:04
cup
28:04
has been
28:04
won
28:05
there must
28:06
be a
28:06
victory
28:06
parade
28:07
we
28:08
must
28:08
go
28:09
through
28:09
the
28:09
streets
28:09
of
28:10
London
28:11
or
28:11
Manchester
28:11
or
28:12
Glasgow
28:12
or
28:12
Edinburgh
28:13
wherever
28:13
it is
28:14
we
28:14
must
28:15
have
28:15
our
28:15
victory
28:16
parade
28:16
we
28:17
must
28:17
show
28:18
off
28:18
the
28:18
trophy
28:18
that
28:18
we
28:19
have
28:19
won
28:19
it's
28:23
something
28:23
like that
28:24
that we
28:24
have
28:24
here
28:24
but it
28:25
is
28:25
something
28:26
different
28:27
he put
28:28
them to
28:28
an
28:29
open
28:29
shame
28:29
by
28:30
triumphing
28:31
over
28:32
them
28:32
in
28:33
him
28:33
and it's
28:36
different
28:36
because
28:37
the
28:38
Romans
28:38
had
28:39
a
28:40
particular
28:40
practice
28:41
and it
28:42
was a
28:43
practice
28:43
that they
28:43
had
28:43
with
28:44
regard
28:44
to
28:45
victorious
28:46
generals
28:47
and when
28:49
a general
28:49
was
28:49
victorious
28:51
there was
28:52
a parade
28:53
along
28:53
the city
28:54
streets
28:55
and the
28:56
general
28:57
would be
28:57
followed
28:58
not by
28:59
his own
28:59
army
29:00
who helped
29:01
him achieve
29:02
the victory
29:03
but
29:04
by
29:05
those
29:05
whom
29:05
he
29:06
had
29:06
captured
29:07
chained
29:09
together
29:10
exposed
29:11
as the
29:12
defeated
29:12
enemy
29:13
and the
29:14
general
29:15
walking
29:15
through
29:15
as the
29:16
one
29:16
who was
29:17
the
29:17
victorious
29:18
one
29:19
they
29:21
were
29:21
defeated
29:22
they
29:22
were
29:22
powerless
29:23
they
29:23
were
29:24
chained
29:25
but
29:26
he
29:27
was
29:27
the
29:27
victorious
29:28
one
29:29
and
29:31
that's
29:31
the image
29:31
that Paul
29:32
wants to
29:33
leave
29:33
with the
29:33
people
29:34
in Colossae
29:34
it's the
29:35
image that
29:36
God wants
29:37
to leave
29:37
with ourselves
29:39
today
29:39
that the
29:42
Jesus
29:42
whom we
29:44
trust in
29:45
who died
29:45
on the
29:46
cross
29:46
the Jesus
29:48
whom we
29:48
trust in
29:48
who was
29:49
raised from
29:50
the dead
29:50
behind
29:50
this is the
29:52
Jesus
29:52
who enters
29:53
into
29:54
the presence
29:55
of God
29:55
as the
29:56
great
29:56
general
29:57
and captain
29:57
of his
29:58
people
29:58
and behind
30:00
him
30:01
are all
30:02
the powers
30:03
including
30:03
Satan
30:04
himself
30:05
chained
30:06
so that
30:07
they cannot
30:08
operate as
30:09
they did
30:09
anymore
30:09
and doing
30:11
so
30:12
putting them
30:14
to an
30:14
open shame
30:15
and what
30:16
was the
30:17
shame
30:17
the shame
30:19
of their
30:19
defeat
30:20
the shame
30:21
of their
30:21
powerlessness
30:22
in the face
30:23
of the power
30:24
of this
30:25
great general
30:25
and there is
30:28
that sense
30:28
of open
30:29
shame
30:30
and the
30:30
triumph
30:30
of Jesus
30:31
for you
30:31
and for me
30:32
God has
30:34
done this
30:34
openly
30:35
in the
30:35
gospel
30:36
and today
30:37
we should
30:38
not fear
30:39
what anyone
30:40
should do
30:41
to us
30:41
we should
30:42
not fear
30:42
what the
30:43
devil himself
30:44
threatens
30:44
to do
30:45
to us
30:45
because
30:46
Jesus
30:47
has triumphed
30:49
over him
30:49
because he
30:50
is chained
30:52
by him
30:53
and he
30:54
will operate
30:55
nowhere
30:55
beyond the
30:57
control of
30:58
the Lord
30:58
Jesus
30:58
all authority
31:00
is given
31:01
to Jesus
31:01
and Satan
31:03
has lost
31:03
all of his
31:04
power
31:05
and so
31:07
today
31:07
because of
31:09
this great
31:09
procession
31:10
and because
31:11
of this
31:11
triumph of
31:12
the Lord
31:12
Jesus
31:12
we can
31:14
follow the
31:15
Lord
31:15
Jesus
31:15
as those
31:16
who in
31:17
God's
31:18
power
31:18
and in
31:19
his invisible
31:20
way has
31:20
united us
31:21
to the
31:22
Lord
31:22
Jesus
31:22
we can
31:23
follow the
31:24
Lord Jesus
31:25
with a
31:26
sense of
31:26
triumph
31:27
because his
31:29
victory is
31:29
ours
31:30
because the
31:32
defeat of
31:33
Satan
31:33
becomes the
31:35
defeat of
31:35
Satan in
31:36
our lives
31:36
and we go
31:38
forward in
31:39
the strength
31:39
of God
31:40
in a
31:41
sense
31:42
not becoming
31:43
weary
31:44
although the
31:45
life of
31:46
faith will
31:47
challenge us
31:47
but going
31:48
forward
31:49
going from
31:50
strength to
31:51
strength
31:51
because our
31:53
strength is
31:54
not in
31:55
ourselves
31:55
it is in
31:56
what God
31:57
has achieved
31:58
in the life
31:59
and the death
32:00
and resurrection
32:01
of his son
32:02
and may God
32:03
help us to
32:03
reflect on
32:05
the direction
32:06
that God
32:07
gives to us
32:07
to think of
32:08
the great
32:09
freedom that
32:09
we have in
32:10
Christ
32:10
and to
32:11
understand
32:12
that the
32:14
freedom is
32:14
secured by
32:16
Jesus
32:16
it is
32:17
unchangeable
32:18
it cannot
32:19
be lost
32:19
and the
32:20
triumph is
32:21
the same
32:21
we will
32:23
conquer
32:23
because
32:24
he has
32:25
conquered
32:25
may God
32:26
bless his
32:26
word
32:26
let us bow
32:27
our heads
32:27
in prayer
32:28
most gracious
32:30
God we do
32:31
rejoice in
32:31
you
32:32
God
32:33
Father
32:33
Son
32:33
and Holy
32:34
Spirit
32:34
working for
32:36
our salvation
32:36
doing so
32:38
even here
32:38
today under
32:39
the ministry
32:39
of the
32:40
gospel
32:40
we pray
32:41
you Lord
32:42
as a
32:43
father to
32:44
touch the
32:44
hearts of
32:45
your children
32:45
we pray
32:46
you Lord
32:47
as the
32:48
Son of
32:49
God
32:49
to show
32:50
to us
32:50
more and
32:51
more of
32:51
your great
32:52
love for
32:53
us
32:53
and we
32:54
pray you
32:54
Holy Spirit
32:55
to bless
32:56
your word
32:56
and to
32:57
breathe that
32:58
new life
32:59
in our
32:59
hearts
32:59
that indeed
33:00
we may be
33:01
the children
33:02
of God
33:03
who have
33:03
that spirit
33:04
of adoption
33:05
and to
33:06
know you
33:06
as
33:07
Abba
33:08
Father
33:08
and to
33:09
put our
33:09
trust in
33:10
you as
33:10
the one
33:10
who has
33:11
secured
33:12
our
33:12
eternal
33:13
salvation
33:13
for us
33:14
so bless
33:15
your word
33:15
we do
33:15
pray and
33:16
hear as
33:16
we ask
33:17
for Jesus
33:17
sake
33:18
Amen
33:19
so
33:23
the
33:23
closing
33:24
psalm is
33:24
psalm
33:24
118
33:25
in the
33:25
Scottish
33:26
Psalter
33:26
sorry
33:30
sing
33:31
psalms
33:31
psalm
33:32
118
33:32
and sing
33:33
psalms
33:33
it's on
33:34
page
33:34
156
33:37
and we're
33:39
singing at
33:40
verse number
33:40
19 to
33:41
verse 26
33:42
psalm
33:44
118
33:44
page
33:45
156
33:45
at
33:46
verse
33:46
number
33:47
19
33:48
throw
33:50
wide
33:50
the gates
33:51
of
33:51
righteousness
33:52
and enter
33:53
and give
33:53
thanks to
33:54
God
33:54
this is the
33:55
gate of
33:56
God
33:56
through which
33:57
the righteous
33:58
come
33:58
before
33:59
the Lord
34:01
we'll sing
34:01
from verse
34:02
19 to
34:02
verse
34:03
26
34:04
to God's
34:04
praise
34:04
!
34:05
O
34:10
wide
34:10
the gates
34:12
of
34:13
righteousness
34:16
I lend
34:49
with thanks
34:52
salvation
34:55
comes
34:56
from you
34:59
alone
35:01
the stone
35:03
the builder
35:05
hath
35:07
refused
35:09
has now
35:12
become
35:14
the
35:15
corner
35:16
stone
35:18
the Lord
35:21
himself
35:22
has done
35:25
all it
35:28
it is
35:30
a
35:31
marvel
35:33
in our
35:35
sight
35:37
this is the
35:39
day
35:41
the Lord
35:43
has made
35:45
in it
35:47
let us
35:50
take
35:51
great
35:51
delight
35:53
save
35:55
us
35:56
oh
35:57
Lord
35:58
we
36:00
hum
36:01
we pray
36:03
oh
36:04
Lord
36:05
we pray
36:07
grant
36:09
us
36:10
success
36:12
he
36:14
blessed
36:15
who
36:16
comes
36:16
in
36:18
cross
36:20
we
36:20
gave
36:21
you
36:22
from
36:23
the
36:24
Lord
36:25
house
36:26
we
36:27
will
36:28
bless
36:30
after
36:32
the
36:32
benediction
36:33
I'll
36:33
go to
36:33
the
36:33
main
36:34
door
36:34
the
36:36
grace
36:36
of
36:36
the
36:36
Lord
36:37
Jesus
36:37
Christ
36:37
the
36:38
love
36:38
of
36:38
God
36:39
the
36:39
Father
36:39
and
36:39
the
36:39
fellowship
36:40
of
36:40
the
36:40
Holy
36:40
Spirit
36:41
be
36:41
with
36:41
you
36:42
all
36:42
now
36:42
and
36:42
forever
36:43
more
36:43
Amen
36:44
Thank you.
37:14
Thank you.