Christ Who Lives in Me

We begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise in Psalm 96a.

! Sing Psalm's version, Psalm 96a, page 126.

! We sing from verse 1 to verse 9 on the tune is Gainsborough.

! Psalm 96a, we sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name and his salvation day by day.

Let all the earth proclaim. We'll sing from verse 1 to 9 to God's praise and we stand to sing.

Let all the earth proclaim.

Let all the earth proclaim.

His glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare.

Our great and awesome is the Lord, within no gods come fair.

For the other gods are wooden stone, the Lord made heaven's might.

All power and majesty are his. He dwells in glorious light.

All nations to the Lord has cried, the glory that is true.

Glory and strength must cry to God and praise his name and you.

Worship the Lord, be holy, be holy, be holy.

Bear his glory, be holy, be holy, be holy.

He's close with joy and grace.

He's close with joy and grace.

And offering with you.

Worship the Lord, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy.

Worship the Lord, be holy, be holy, be holy.

Worship the Lord, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy, be holy,

able to gather in worship. We thank you for our call to worship as we have sung from these words

that remind us of the worship and glory that is due unto your name. It reminds us of who you are

and that we are to come with that song anew to you for you are the one who gives us the song

of salvation. We are to proclaim it day by day and as we are reminded this morning singing together

in the words of Psalm 100 we are reminded too this evening that our praise together here is a

people not just here but throughout the world that you this day Lord have people calling upon you

in praise and worship through to all ends of the earth. For we are reminded Lord that glory

belongs to you that you are a great and awesome God that you are the one who has made all things

with you no gods compare as we have sung and we thank you for that great reminder that in this

world in this life in which we so easily and so often perhaps make idols when there are so many

things that take our attention away from you when there are so many things that would come between

through worship of you and distract us we thank you Lord that your word is our focus

your spirit is our helper and that we come to seek to worship you in spirit and in truth

and we know that we cannot do that in and of ourselves for it is only by your grace towards

us that you truly enable us to worship and to see you as you are to see you as the one who has all

power and majesty and glory and we pray Lord that together this evening we will be helped in that

to see you in all in all of these things and to know you and to love you with all our hearts and to serve

you with all that we are and so we ask oh Lord that as we come to you this evening as we come to your word

that you would open it up to us that you would help us in our understanding of it that you would help us

and that you would help us even as we go from here this evening to take these words with us and to live

by Christ for we thank you that we have his name to praise and we have the hope of salvation in him

the one who came to give his life and who gave it in such a humble way who humbled himself

in obedience to death and even death on the cross and as we think of that gruesome suffering that he

endured for us as we think of the remembrance of it as we have had it recently with communion season

and as we think of this time of year easter time when this gives us that focus of the reason why jesus

came that he came not to be served as he could easily have brought upon himself as he would have deserved

the service of this world all its kings and queens and all its people and yet he did not come for that

but he came to serve and to serve and giving his life as a ransom for many

and we thank you that we can look to him in that way and see in his humility and in his sacrifice that

there we find a call for ourselves to follow in that way as well to take up our cross daily

and follow him to be willing to to let go of the things of this world and be willing to to serve the lord

for some of the things of this world and the lord and the lord and the lord and the lord and the lord and

living for christ and the many blessings that arose in that but we recognize too that for many

it is a call to suffer a call to endure many hardships and trials and pains for some even it is that call to

to give life as well as we see so many throughout the world who are persecuted for their faith

and we think even of nations this evening who for many christians they live in fear of their very lives

and yet they love the lord and they're able to to praise him in that way i love the lord because my voice

and prayers he did here i while i live will call on him about to me his ear we thank you that your people

have these these words to offer up so that whatever our circumstances whatever our situation we have

that love towards you because you first loved us and so we do pray lord for your church we pray that

you will build your church up that you would be pleased oh lord to pour out your spirit upon us to

revive us to help us to to seek you while you may be found and this word says to call upon you

while you are near and we thank you that as we gather in your presence this evening that that is

the hope that we have to come and meet with our risen lord to meet with our savior christ jesus

and we do pray lord for all who serve you in your church we thank you for not just ministries

in congregation but we thank you for all who serve in so many different ways

throughout our congregations on our island here and throughout our denomination we thank you for

every congregation we have and throughout our nation here lord from the north to the south from the east to

the west we thank you that you have your people who are serving you in the cities and the towns and the

villages we thank you that you have your praying people those who are so faithful and diligent

in prayer and even though maybe not even able to attend the the times of worship still

in their homes offering up prayer for your cause and for your kingdom and we do thank you lord that

you have a praying people we thank you that you have a serving people those who help in so many

different ways the the tasks that are required for churches and congregations to function from

administration to road us to serving in different ways to door duty and visiting and so many other

different aspects of the congregation so much that goes on quietly and hidden and yet oh lord so

important and so precious that we would see that nature of serving each other and in that serving

you as our lord and as our god we thank you for those who are elders and deacons as well we thank you for

those who have been called to these positions and we pray for help and wisdom and guidance towards them

we thank you for those who help in preaching we know that especially at such times of vacancies as we

have just now that there is a great burden on on different people to be involved in helping with the

preaching whether it's ministers of congregations helping retired ministers or elders or lay preachers

we do thank you for those who go out with the gospel and pray that it will be blessed that you would use

each one and the hearers of it lord to be under your word and under your truth and help to grow in

faith and knowledge of christ jesus we thank you too lord for those who serve the church far and wide

throughout the world we think of muriel this evening thankful for the connections that there are with her

month by month able to meet with her online and just pray for her and with her and see her and

hear from her and all the different aspects of the work that she's involved in and we thank you for

the many encouragements that you have given to her we thank you for the the delight that she has in

serving you the joy that is so evident in her and we pray lord that you would continue to make that joy

her strength in serving you and that she'll be used not just to encourage the people there in

cambodia but also ourselves as we hear from our lord that would encourage us in our hearts not just to

pray for her but to pray for our own service in the lord as well that we would have that joy in serving

you whatever you places and whatever you have for us we remember too lord our people who of our

communities at this time lord as we prayed this morning so many going through the the valley of the

shadow of death at this time knowing the grief that it brings and the the pain and sorrows of heart and

we just ask lord for your comfort and blessing to each one we pray for those who are unwell and laid

aside at this time as well and just ask for your hand upon each one for good as well we thank you for

the care homes around us in their town and further afield as well thank you for the privilege of worship in

them as well and we pray that residents and staff there would be blessed under the ministry of the

gospel as well this day too lord we remember a day that is marked as mother's day and think of

the blessings that that entails the blessing and privilege of mothers who encourage and who love and

care for us in different ways but we recognize too lord that it can be a day that is difficult for

many as well those who have lost mothers those who mothers who have lost children and we think of the

pain and sorrow that these reflections can bring as well we remember those who may be who are unable to

have children and we recognize the pains involved in this as well and we just pray lord that in a day

that is marked with joy that would we also remember lord that there is comfort needed in us well and we

thank you that you are one who is able to supply in every need that we have so remember us lord we pray

watch over us we pray in these coming weeks as different preachers will come to the pulpit here we pray for

them as your word to be ministered even thinking of next lord's day thankful for reverend calum mcleod and

remembering him today in open as he preaches there and in his role as moderator of our denomination

just now lord we pray for strength and help to him remember donald mckinnon as well we thank you for

his willingness to come and preach the word and just pray for him as he prepares for that thankful too for

those from our own number who who preach here as well both in english and gaelic and help in the

prayer meetings and the sunday services for our own elders as well lord may you bless them and be with

them too so may you encourage us in prayer lord and strengthen us in our faith this evening and

continue to watch over us lord bless us our homes our families and us all together as we look to you for

help and strength in all things we do pray above all lord that you will hear us as we confess our sins

and you as well we recognize our shortcomings we recognize the sin that is within us lord and that

comes through in our in our speech in our actions and even in our thoughts and we just pray lord that

you will forgive us and pardon us anew so lord continue with us now in the praising of your name

in the hearing of your word and as we worship you together that all would be to your glory as we ask

all in the precious name of jesus our lord and savior amen

we'll sing again to god's praise this time in the scottish psalter version of psalm 103

psalm 103 page 369

we'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5 the tune is london new psalm 103 at verse 1

o thou my soul bless god the lord and all that in me is

bestowed up his holy name to magnify and bless we'll sing from verse 1 to 5 to god's praise we stand

to voy forbade voy forbade

voy

!

voy

!

voy

!

He said in the darkest holy name to magnify and bless.

Let all thy soul, the Lord thy God, and not forgetfully.

Of all his gracious benefits he hath bestowed on thee.

All I need in it, when he stood out, most gracious be forgiven.

To my dear Jesus, all and grace, not healed and healed.

To thou redeem thy life, but thou to death mayst not go down.

To thee with loving kindness, the hand of mercy's crown.

With abundance of good things, thou satisfy thy mouth.

So that dear lasting evil sage, renew it is thy good.

Amen.

We'll turn together to read in the New Testament in Paul's letter to the Galatians.

And we're reading in chapter 2.

Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

And we can read the whole of this chapter.

As Paul is writing to the church in Galatia, he's writing to a people who have been led astray and led in different ways to turn away from the Lord Jesus.

But he comes reminding them of what they have in Christ.

But he also comes defending his own standing, his own faith.

He has to almost prove himself, and especially before the church at Jerusalem.

But he says here that he has stood before them and that his gospel is the true gospel in Jesus Christ.

And we see as we read on, he also has words with Peter.

Peter, who he sees as having almost compromised himself by being a hypocrite before people and doing one thing in front of some,

but then another thing in front of others.

So he challenges Peter in the midst of that as well.

But at the end of the chapter, he says, this is how we are to live.

He's a reminder to all.

You think of Peter and his standing with the Lord, one who was restored by Jesus and who served Jesus.

But even Peter needed to be told at times, look, you live for Christ, not to impress others or to be in favor with others.

You live for Christ.

And that's the great reminder we have at the end of this chapter.

So we read the whole chapter together.

Then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.

I went up because of a revelation and said before them, though privately before those who seemed influential,

the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.

But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus,

so that they might bring us into slavery, to them we did not yield in submission, even for a moment,

so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

And from those who seemed to be influential, what they were makes no difference to me.

God shows no partiality.

Those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.

On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised,

just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised,

for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised,

worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles.

And when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars,

perceived the grace that was given to me,

they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me,

that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing which I was eager to do.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, that's Peter,

I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned.

For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles.

But when they came, he drew back and separated himself,

fearing the circumcision party.

And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,

so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel,

I said to Cephas before them all,

If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew,

how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.

Yet we know that a person is not just justified by works of the law,

but through faith in Jesus Christ.

So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ,

and not by works of the law.

Because by works of the law, no one will be justified.

But if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ,

we too were found to be sinners,

is Christ then a servant of sin?

Certainly not.

For if I rebuild what I tore down,

I prove myself to be a transgressor.

For through the law I died to the law,

so that I might live to God.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh,

I live by faith in the Son of God,

who loved me and gave himself for me.

I do not nullify the grace of God.

For if justification were through the law,

then Christ died for no purpose.

Amen.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

Before we turn back to look at this passage,

we'll sing again to God's praise in Psalm 37,

the Scottish Psalter version,

page 252, Psalm 37 at verse 1.

For evildoers fret thou not thyself unquietly,

nor do thou envy bear to those that work iniquity.

And then verse 3,

set thou thy trust upon the Lord,

and be thou doing good,

and so thou in the land shalt dwell,

and verily have food.

We'll sing from verse 1 down to verse 6

to God's praise at Tunis, St. Andrew.

For evildoers fret thou not thyself unquietly,

nor do thou envy bear to those that work iniquity.

For eeder,

Like the green, a tender hair, they withered shall away.

Let thou thy trust upon the Lord, and with thy doing good.

And so thou in the land shall dwell, and there he hath food.

Delight thy strength, and God will give.

Thine heart's desire to lead.

Thy way to God forbid him trust, and bring to pass shall he.

And like unto thy light he shall, thy righteousness display.

And he thy judgment shall break forth, and in time of the day.

Amen.

We can turn back to our reading in Galatians chapter 2, and we're going to look at the end of the chapter, verse 20 and 21.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

There are many people in the scriptures who may be your go-to place.

Different characters, different people that we see in the scriptures, and we maybe can relate to them in different ways.

Maybe we can relate to them because of the kind of life they've had, or the things that they've done that very much speak to us.

And we can relate and learn from them.

For example, in the Old Testament, you have Moses, you have David, you have Esther, you have all these people, and you read about them,

and you think of all the different things that they did and experienced in life.

You look at the New Testament, and you see people, as we mentioned here, Peter, someone who was restored by the Lord Jesus, who denied knowing Jesus.

You see Lydia, a businesswoman who was converted so remarkably.

You see Bartimaeus, a blind beggar at the side of the street who was called by Jesus to follow him.

The list goes on.

And perhaps you've got your own individual, or maybe a few that you'd like to go back to and read their story again and again,

just because there's so much encouragement we can take from real people in real situations.

They're not just characters that we put on a pedestal.

They're ordinary people like you and I.

And what their lives tell us is the same thing.

They all point us towards Jesus and the need that we have of Jesus.

And the one I often come back to personally is Paul.

Paul's life is something I tend to go back to again and again and just see his own experiences that he had in life,

the different challenges that he came through, the different experiences that he had.

And despite, it's not just about himself, but it's always about Jesus.

And despite how he sees himself so often, he sees himself as chief of sinners and the least among all people,

as he looks to his past and even as present, he says the same thing.

But he always has his focus on Jesus.

And there's so many words that he brings to us that help us just to see his focus is on Jesus.

We live in a world where there are so many things grabbing for our attention.

So many adverts that come up on television or online or in magazines or on the phone.

We see them again and again and again, all grabbing for our attention.

And it's often just short slogans that they have just to try and catch our attention and keep a hold of us

and make us think that's something that I need.

For example, you have the sports manufacturer Nike.

And they have the slogan, just do it.

And if you watch their adverts so often, their adverts can be quite long, but those words keep appearing, just do it.

And it's maybe someone who starts training and gets up early.

And it's always about what they're wearing, what they're using, and not exactly what they're doing.

Just do it.

So in the sense that you'll go out and buy the shoes, the trainers, the boots, whatever it is.

You'll buy all the gear.

And that's what's going to help you to just do it.

But there's another slogan that often comes in that sort of goes against the grain in that way.

It's all the gear but no idea.

So you can have everything that you need.

And you can see this from time to time when you see people.

They can buy everything that's needed for doing or what they think is going to help them do something,

whether it's running a marathon, being the best footballer or rugby player, whatever it is.

They can have all the gear but just no idea what they're doing.

And so there's these kind of slogans that we see that we think,

well, that's what I need to be able to run a marathon.

I need these trainers.

That's what's going to do it.

But it's not.

It's what we are in and of ourselves and the work that we put into it in terms of training and listening

and all of these things and seeking to do it.

It's not just the trainers that are going to do it.

We need more than that.

But what about when it comes to the Christian faith?

When you hear about being a Christian,

when you hear what it is to live for Christ and the blessings that there are,

the joy that there is,

is that what grabs your attention when it comes to being a Christian?

You think, yes, that's something that I want to live as.

I want to live as a Christian.

But you've not grasped what it really means.

Because so often, even as we were looking at this morning,

and we were thinking of Jesus and speaking to the scribes about all these laws,

and they were thinking, well, it's all about what I can do.

Just do it.

Just do this.

Do that.

Do the next thing.

And that's what will make me good with God and right with God.

But it's not.

There's got to be more to it than that.

And you think of the people that we see in the Scriptures,

whether it's in the Old Testament or the New Testament,

and you see the kind of words that are applied to them.

And it reminds us that it's not about the individual, but the one who was with them.

For example, David.

If you look at the life of David, you see all the ups and downs in his life.

There's certain words that you can relate to him,

and you think there is just something that speaks so wonderfully.

David.

The apple of his eye, as it speaks of in front of God.

The apple of God's eye.

How precious he was to God.

And you think, oh, that's just amazing.

Or Esther.

You think of Esther, and it's probably these words for such a time as this.

There's these words that just, you can relate to her.

The same with the New Testament people with Peter.

We often think of Jesus asking, do you love me?

That's what maybe comes to us.

Or Bartimaeus, what do you want me to do for you?

Jesus asked him.

And when we look at that,

we realize that there's so much in the Christian life

that's more than just having all the ideas in our head.

It's more than just having a knowledge of it.

But it's about putting these things into practice.

And when you look at the Christian faith,

there are blessings, there are joys.

But there are also many different challenges

that we have to come up against as well.

For example, when we hear these words

that you are to take up your cross, deny yourself,

and follow him.

Does that change your outlook on what the Christian life means?

The plans that the Lord has for us

that interfere with our own plans,

our own desires.

When the rubber hits the road as it is,

when we think the going gets hard,

what are we going to do?

Are we going to carry on in the faith?

Or think, this isn't what I was expecting.

We need to see that the Christian life,

yes, is one of great joy

and will be eternally one of great joy.

But there is also a life that has a need for commitment,

for sacrifice, for faith,

in the midst of everything that comes our way.

And that's what Paul's life so often shows us

and highlights for us as well.

When you think of the kind of things

that Paul says as he's writing to the different churches,

he writes to the church at Ephesus

and says you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

but you're made alive in Christ.

You have these words that remind us

of what we were dead in our trespasses and sins,

but made alive together with Christ.

You know, it was led to the Philippines

and how often in that letter you see him

just saying a few words and you think,

well, there's the blessing of the Christian life,

but also the challenges of it as well.

For example, in Philippians 4,

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

You can have these words and think,

there is a slogan for me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

But what's he talking about?

He's talking about poverty and persecution

and shipwreck and slavery

and all of these kinds of things,

as well as the joys.

But he can do it all through Christ who strengthens him.

There's the promise of Christ with him.

It's not about himself.

In Philippians 1, he says these words as well,

for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Again, can we take these words to heart ourselves?

Can we apply them to ourselves and our own,

seeking to walk with Christ?

For me to live is not myself, it is Christ.

And something very similar that we have here

in Galatians as well,

in verse 20 and 21.

And you read here that the Christian life

is all about Jesus.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh,

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me

and gave himself for me.

So we see here he's not living the Christian life by himself.

He's not living it just doing it himself.

He is living it looking to the Lord Jesus Christ

and knowing that it is only through him that he lives.

And as we think of a time of year when we remember

the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

we think this evening of the significance of that.

We always have it to mind,

but we think of just the significance of the life

that we have in Christ this evening.

Can we say, can you say this evening with Paul these words,

it is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

It's not about me.

It's about Christ who lives in me.

That is the key to the Christian walk.

Self decreases and he increases.

And so there's three things I want us to look at

in these verses, these two verses.

I wish you think of the life that we have in Christ.

First of all, we live by Jesus.

We live by Jesus.

Secondly, we are to live like Jesus.

And then thirdly, we are to live for Jesus.

We have life by Jesus, life like Jesus, and life for Jesus.

And that's really what Paul is highlighting to us here

in these two verses.

It's very much in the context of what's come before us well,

both defending his own gospel ministry to the Gentiles.

And you see in verse 9 that James and Peter and John

had perceived, they were the pillars of the faith,

but they had given the right hand of fellowship.

They'd given the blessing to him

to go and minister to the Gentiles.

But yet in the next few verses,

you've got this opposition against Peter,

who was living hypocritically in front of the Gentiles.

And then when the Jews arrived,

he changed the way he lived.

So it's all in light of that.

And that's a challenge to ourselves as well.

How are we going to live not just before God,

but before man as well?

Are we going to be the Christian who's comfortable in here,

but who goes out there,

and then we suddenly live a different life?

Well, not if we live as Paul describes here.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

That is when we live for Christ in every place that we go,

in everywhere that we are.

So we are to live by Jesus, first of all.

And the question here is,

do you realize the life and power that we have in Jesus?

Do you realize the power that there is in the life that Christ gives to us?

Not the life that the world has to offer,

where it offers all these slogans and things

that can grab our attention and make us live to that end of,

just do it, just go and live your life,

live it to the full,

do what you want,

do what you please.

But the very fact that we live by Jesus,

that Jesus is the author of life,

that is in him,

we live,

move,

and have our being.

So that's the first thing that Paul is addressing here in these verses to the Galatians.

The people there who are being pulled away from faith in Christ,

being pulled back to the law and living their life by the law

and being under the burden of the law,

where it's all about keeping all the laws.

Well, Paul is almost calling them back again and saying,

no,

it is to live by Jesus,

to live by Christ.

And that's not about keeping all the laws.

It's by living by faith.

And you see that how he says in verse 20 here,

I have been crucified with Christ.

Christ.

And it's all the difference as we see this.

We see the focus is moved away from just keeping the law

to living by Jesus,

to living by Christ.

That we are in Christ,

we live by him.

And it starts with these words,

I have been crucified with Christ.

I have been crucified,

I have been put to death.

With Christ.

So there's almost like a past position here

as to how we are living.

I am crucified.

It's referring back to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Very much so in that we live because he gave his life for us.

And that's what affects her life.

Even now,

as we can read in the book of Romans,

Romans 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6,

here it outlines just the significance for us.

In verse 4 to verse 6.

We were buried,

therefore,

with him by baptism into death,

in order that,

just as Christ was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father,

we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him

in a death like his,

we shall certainly be united with him

in a resurrection like his.

We know that our old self was crucified with him.

In order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing.

So that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

He's written it to the Romans as well.

We are crucified with Christ.

And if we deny that,

if we say that we can live by the law ourselves

and fulfill all the law by ourselves,

well,

we are deceiving ourselves.

But more than that,

as you see in verse 25,

we nullify the grace of God.

For if justification were through the law,

then we're saying Christ died for no purpose.

Christ's death means nothing

if we feel we can live for ourselves,

if we can just do it ourselves.

But instead we are to see

we are crucified with Christ.

His death was for us.

That once for all death.

And because we died with him,

it's a sense of we died too.

We died to our sin there.

And yet we know that through that we have hope

that Christ died for sinners.

And so like you read in Psalm 56, verse 3 and 4,

Psalms 56:3

when I am afraid,

I'll trust in thee.

In God I'll praise his word.

I will not fear what flesh can do.

My trust is in the Lord.

The one who died for our sins.

The one we are crucified with.

We live by Jesus through his crucifixion.

But we see it's not just the death of Christ.

It's the fact that we live in him as well.

Because he was crucified with him.

But he says,

it is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

So there is life.

There's the past that Christ died for our sins,

but the present as well.

We live by Jesus, by Christ even now.

Died for our sins,

but he rose again on the third day

to give us life.

That we might live to him.

And so we have that hope.

That hope of life in Christ

that's also life eternal.

When you think of eternal life,

when do you think of that being?

It's in the future, I'm sure you think of it.

Eternal life is something in the distance,

ahead in the future.

When we pass from this world,

we go into glory,

if we're believing in the Lord,

and there is eternal life.

But eternal life we have now.

We have that hope now.

So that even as you read in Psalm 23,

yea, though I walk in the valley

of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me.

There is that hope for now.

John 10, verse 28,

John 10:28

he says,

I give them eternal life,

and they will never perish,

and no one will snatch them

out of my hand.

We live eternally,

even now,

because we have that assurance,

that promise,

that we live by faith in Christ.

Crucified to him,

and we live by him.

We are alive in Christ,

and through him.

And there is the joy of the Christian faith.

There is the hope of the Christian faith,

that there is life in him.

Again,

we live by Jesus.

We live by Christ.

And then we read on,

and we see we are to live like Jesus.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh,

I live by faith in the Son of God,

who loved me,

and gave himself for me.

You may be familiar with the phrase,

what would Jesus do?

For a number of years,

there were these bands you used to see

on so many people's wrists,

WWJD,

what would Jesus do?

But it's not just,

we ask ourselves,

what would Jesus do?

Like,

what would he do if he was here and now?

But what did Jesus do?

How are we to live

in light of this life

that he has given to us?

We are to live like Jesus.

And what does that mean for us today?

Well,

when we think of how Jesus lived,

we know we can never accomplish

that perfect life ourselves.

We can never reach that,

but it doesn't mean we are not to live like him.

And live towards his glory.

Paul goes on to remind us here

that we are able to live through him,

but that we are also to live like him,

because we have the power

of the resurrection in us as well.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

Again, we go back to what we were thinking of

this morning.

And the challenge that Jesus gave

to the scribes,

as he was saying to them,

what's the greatest commandment?

Well, the greatest commandment is this,

that you love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

with all your mind,

with all your strength.

Well, how can we do that?

Well, it is only through Christ

that we can do that.

And therefore,

we are to live like him.

We are to live like him

and in all the ways

that he shows us

through his word.

When you think of Paul writing

to the Philippines,

he wrote about the humility

of Jesus,

who humbled himself,

who thought others

more important than himself.

We have that example

given to us there.

Is that how you live?

Is that how I live?

Looking to others

and having them thinking

more importantly of them,

or humbly living before God.

When we think of faith,

we are to come humbly,

but we receive powerfully.

Just think of these words.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

Do you know that yourself,

the power of that salvation

in your heart?

That he lives,

he is a resident in you.

That by faith,

he comes into you.

You have that promise

that Jesus gave

in the Gospel of John

that as he goes,

he is going to leave

his comforter,

the Holy Spirit,

the one who is called

alongside us

and the Spirit

who lives in us.

We are not alone.

It's not a case of saying to us,

just do it yourself.

No, it is like Paul says,

I can do all things

through Christ

who strengthens me,

the Christ

who lives in me.

That is the joy

that the Christian has.

Peter himself

knows that joy too.

Although he was

clashed with Paul here,

he too knew the joy

of salvation in Jesus.

In 1 Peter 1, verse 3,

1 Peter 1:3

he says,

he has caused us

to be born again

to a living hope

through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

from the dead.

Born again.

There's that newness.

There's that life

in us

that's not our own

but the Christ

who lives in me.

And it's that life

that gives hope

and it's through

the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

from the dead.

Christ

who lives

in me.

That is the hope

that the Christian has.

We are to live

like Jesus

through him

who lives in us.

And what impact

does that have

in our lives?

Well, it should impact

in everything

that we do.

But as you see,

the example of Jesus

as he gives us

in prayer,

we are to pray

like Jesus.

Always to pray

and never give up.

In our worship,

that is to be our goal

at all times,

to live

for the glory of God

and to give glory

and worship to him

in all that we do.

It should come into

the way that we praise,

the way that we sing

our praise to the Lord,

the way we lift up

our voice.

When we think of Christ

who lives in us,

should that not make us

just want to burst out

in praise to God?

It should impact

the way that we love

as we were thinking

about this morning.

Love the Lord your God

with all your heart

because Christ lives in you.

Surely as we have that,

then we cannot

but love God,

but also love

our neighbor

as ourself.

And as we live,

it is no longer

I who live.

So it's not our priorities,

it's not what we see

as important.

It is to live

for Christ.

So that everything

that we do

is with thanksgiving

and praise

to him.

Christ in us,

the hope

of glory.

When you think of why

Paul had to rebuke

Peter here,

why was it?

Well,

because he was not

showing Christ

to others.

He was okay

when it was just

the Gentiles there.

It says in verse 12,

for before certain men

came from James,

he was eating

with the Gentiles.

He was among them.

He was eating with them

quite happily.

But when they came,

he drew back

and separated himself.

So Paul rightly

had to speak to him.

He had to challenge him

and say,

you're not loving

your neighbor

as yourself.

You're being hypocritical.

And you're causing

others to live

hypocritical lives

as well.

So he challenges

you're not living

like Jesus.

And sometimes

we need that

rebuke ourselves

too,

to live

like Jesus.

To give that example

of what Jesus is

to others.

So we are to live

by Jesus.

We are to live

like Jesus.

And then thirdly,

we see we are to live

for Jesus.

We are to live

for Jesus.

Who are you living for?

That's the question

that Paul addresses here.

Are you living

to please God?

Or to please men?

And again,

you see this

going back to Peter.

Are you living

to please God?

Are you living

to please those

who will see you

eating with Gentiles?

And you might think

you might upset them

by doing it.

Well,

he's saying,

it's no longer

I who live

but Christ

who lives

in me.

And I live

by faith

in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave

himself

for me.

are we living

that kind

of life,

that sacrificial

life?

Because when we

see this,

we see that

there is the supply

of faith

that God gives.

And by that

we are to live

for Jesus

as well.

He will supply

the faith

that we need

for our journey

in this life.

So it's not

just you do it.

It is Christ

who lives

in us.

And we are

to live

for Jesus

in that faith

as well.

Faith is a

gift

of God.

And it's a gift

of God

that we are

to flan

into flame.

By the grace

of God

you have been

saved.

And you have

been saved

for works

to do

for the Lord.

And that

we have

that hope

of the faith

that dwells

in us.

And that

that leads

us to live

for the

Son of God

who gave

us life.

Who loved

me

and gave

himself

for me.

One person

put it like

this when you

look at faith.

You see faith

is like a

muscle.

A muscle

like in the

body.

And when

it's taken

into the

gym of

life it's

weak at

first.

It can

do little.

But as

it is

exercised

in the

little

things day

by day

it grows

considerably

until it's

able to

accomplish

great

things

through

Christ.

So there

is this

exercise

of faith.

Putting

our faith

into

practice

on a

daily

basis.

How do

we exercise

faith?

Well faith

comes by

hearing.

And hearing

by the

word of

God.

And so

we live

by this

word of

God.

Growing

in it.

But there's

also this

living by

the sacrifice.

By the

sacrifice that

has been

made for

us.

Our lives

are to be

sacrifices

too.

Paul says

that as he

writes to

the Romans

in chapter

12.

we are

a people

who are

to live

for him.

And so

we think

of these

three things

that we

have.

We live

by Christ.

Are you

this evening

living in

that way

by Christ?

We are

to live

like

Christ.

Are you

living

like

Christ?

Living for

the glory

of God.

And are you

living for

Christ?

Seeking not

just glory

for yourself

but glory

for God.

Even in the

ordinary things

that we have

in life.

Everything that

we do we are

to do for

the glory

of God.

And the

day will

come when

we will be

recognized for

what we have

done.

when we

will appear

before God

and he will

have before

him everything

that we have

done.

And how we

lived for

him.

During the

Second World

War

Winston

Churchill

often had

to go and

speak to

different people

in different

places.

He spoke

to soldiers,

he spoke

to sailors,

he spoke

to airmen

to encourage

them.

And there's

so many

words that

Winston

Churchill

spoke that

still resonate

to this

day but

he didn't

just leave

it to those

who were to

the forefront

of the

cause and

that sense

of soldiers

or sailors

or airmen.

He spoke

to those

who were

doing behind

the scene

work as

it were

as well.

And there

was a

time when

he had

to speak

to those

who were

involved

in the

mining

of coal,

the coal

miners.

Many of

them thought

that their

job was

almost

meaningless,

serving no

purpose when

it came

to the

cause of

the war.

But he

had to

go and

speak to

them and

remind

them that

they were

needed just

as much

as anything.

Because

without them

none of

the others

could do

the work

that they

were involved

in.

And they

weren't to

see themselves

as insignificant

in the

cause of

defending the

nation,

but to

see themselves

as vital

to the

defence of

the nation

because coal

ran so

much.

Everything

depended on

fuel,

whether it

was to

help the

soldiers,

the sailors,

the airmen,

coal was

essential.

And he

spoke to

them in

ways that

they recognised

the importance

of what they

were doing.

And he

said at

one point

that,

yes,

there will

be those

who would

say,

I fought

in the

war on

the front,

on the

front,

I fought

at sea,

I fought

in the

air,

but he

says you

will be

able to

say,

we fought

at the

coal

face,

we cut

the coal.

And they

began to

realise the

importance

of it.

And when

we see the

importance

of faith,

it's faith

to live

for Christ.

Whatever

we have,

whatever we

are able

to do

for him,

what we

can say

is it

is no

longer I

who live,

but Christ

who lives

in me.

And as

Christ

lives

in us,

we will

do

for him

and not

see anything

as unimportant

or little

in the scheme

of things,

but all

things working

together for

the glory

of God.

But it

begins by

recognising

what it

is to

have faith

in him,

faith

in the

son of

God

who

loved

me

and

gave

himself

for

me.

When we

see his

sacrifice,

we see

our lives

as a

living

sacrifice

for him.

So we

are to

live

for him.

We live

by him.

We live

by him

in the

sense of

he is

the one

who gives

us

life.

we live

to give

glory

to him.

We live

for him.

So we

be able

to say

like this

when Paul

says here

that this

is what

apply to

me,

that this

is what

I would

see as

important

for my

life and

for the

glory of

God and

for his

church,

that I

have been

crucified

with Christ.

it is no

longer I

who live

but Christ

who lives

in me.

And the

life I

now live

in the

flesh,

I live

by faith

in the

Son of

God who

loved me

and gave

himself

for me.

Are we

living

for Christ?

Because if

we are not,

then what

we are doing

is saying

that Christ

died for

no purpose.

if we

think we

can do

it

ourselves,

we are

saying his

death does

not matter.

So let

us see by

faith the

importance of

the fact that

Christ died

for us,

that we be

crucified with

him and

live for

him.

Let us

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven, may

you help

us to

have that

mind in

us that

is in

Christ,

that we

would live

in all

things for

him and

for his

glory.

Help us,

Lord, to

have these

words even

in our

hearts as

we go from

here this

evening,

recognising

that it is

nothing that

we do in

and of

ourselves,

that we

can only

live through

him and

that we are

to live like

him and

for him.

And so

help us,

Lord, that

we would

see that we

have life

in Christ

and he

lives in

us as

we come

to him

by faith.

May we

go on

strengthened in

our faith,

able to

live for

him and

all things

for his

glory as

we ask

it in

his precious

name.

Amen.

We'll

conclude by

singing to

God's

praise and

sing

Psalms

version of

Psalm 56

at verse

9,

page 73

of the

psalm

books.

Psalm 56

at verse

9,

singing down

to the end

of the

psalm.

When I

call on

you to

help me,

then my

foes will

turn aside.

This is

how I

will be

certain

that my

God is

on my

side.

We'll

sing from

verse 9

down to

the end

of the

psalm

and the

tune is

Sussex.

Sussex.

If I

call on

you to

help me

and my

foes will

turn

aside,

this is

how I

will be

certain

that

my

God is

on my

side.

In

the

Lord's

word

I

honor,

in

my

God

I

praise

his

word.

I

will

trust

and

God

be

!

I

will

be

!

I

will

be

true

!

I

have

taken

my

speed

for you

tell my

God

I

will

be

true

sacrifice

!

I

will

give you

!

I

will

gladly

get

get

to

you!

For

you

kept

my

feet

from

stumbling

and

from

death

to set

me

free

so

that

I

will

walk

before

you

and

the

light

of

life

next

to

me

after

the

benediction

I'll

go to

the

door

to

my

left

we'll

close

with

the

benediction

now

may

grace

mercy

and

peace

from

God

Father

Son

and

Holy

Spirit

rest

upon

and

abide

with

you

all

now

and

forever

more

Amen

voy

!

voy voy voy

!

voy

voy

!

voy

Thank you.