Paul's Deposit

this evening singing in Psalm 103, Psalm 103. That's in the Sing Psalms version on page 135.

We'll sing verses 1 to 11, these first three sections.

Praise God, my soul, with all my heart. Let me exalt His holy name. Forget not all His benefits.

His praise, my soul, in song proclaim. The Lord forgives you all your sins and heals your sickness

and distress. Your life He rescues from the grave and crowns you in His tenderness.

So on down to verse 11, praise God, my soul. We'll stand to sing.

Praise God, my soul, with all my heart. Let me exalt.

His holy name. Forget not all His benefits. His praise, my soul, in song proclaim.

The Lord forgives you all your sins and heals your sickness and distress.

Your life He rescues from the grave and crowns you in His tenderness.

He satisfies your deep desires from His unending source of good.

So that just like the King of strength, your beautiful name God is in you.

The Lord is born for righteous acts and trust is true.

The Lord is merciful.

The Lord is merciful.

The Lord is merciful.

Moses' name may go on his ways, his mighty deeds to Israel's sons.

The Lord is merciful and kind to hang us low and full of grace.

He will not constantly reproof or end his anger by his face.

He does not punish our best deeds, forgive our sins, their just reward.

How great is love that I ascend towards all those who fear the Lord.

We're going to call upon the Lord again in prayer, so let's all just join together in prayer.

Almighty and gracious God, as we give thanks for being able once again to gather here

and to come before you as worshipers of your great name, we thank you for these words we

have been singing, reminding us of your own unending stores of good for those who love

you and for your own people down through the centuries, even from the beginning of the world.

Lord, you have taken from these stores of good and dispensed them to your people.

We thank you tonight, Lord, in the access we have to you, that we can seek from you, that

you would dispense further from these stores of good that which would do us good this evening.

We thank you, O Lord, that we can come to you and claim in the name of Christ access to the

grace that is in you and to these stores of good and to these stores of good and to these

that flow toward us so abundantly.

We thank you that we have not earned them for ourselves.

We thank you that they are indeed by your grace and the free gift by which you come to dispense

your salvation.

We thank you tonight for the way that you teach us, O Lord, of those great issues in

your word that have to do with our redemption.

And we thank you that in your word you have taken account of all our need as we find ourselves

in this world.

O Lord, bless us, we pray, as once again we gather here before you.

Help us once again to turn our mind to those things that are revealed in your word that are

of eternity, the things that belong to the most important issues that we can know in life,

our own relationship with you, your own rule over us, the way in which you have provided

redemption for us, the glorious attributes that belong to you, the way in which we can have

our confidence in Christ and know that our life is secure in him.

We pray, Lord, tonight that you would lead us further into the understanding of your truth,

as you have revealed it to us in the gospel.

We pray tonight that you would give to us further encouragement, Lord, to trust in you,

in a world in which we find so much that discourages us, so much that causes us at times even to

feel disconsolate and disappointed and disillusioned.

Help us, Lord, we pray, to find our confidence in you.

Help us to come to know that as we trust in you, so you have guaranteed to your people that victory

that is especially brought to us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

And enable us, Lord, as we continue to trust in you, that we may find day by day that your grace

is channeled into our lives, that your strength is made perfect in our weakness, that we find the

fulfillment of your promises to look after your people even as they go through this life.

Bless us then, Lord, we pray, as a congregation of your people once again as we gather before you.

Bless us, we pray, too, in all our other activities that accompany the worship of your name in our experience.

We thank you, Lord, for all that we are enabled to partake of and take part in, Lord, in the course of each week as they go by.

And we pray that you would bless all that we seek to do in your name with all the different activities and groups that meet from time to time.

We, Lord, seek your blessing upon them all.

Again, we pray your blessing for our children, for our young people, for our young adults, for those who, O Lord, receive instruction from your word,

and for those who meet also in the upper years of life.

Lord, we pray that you would bless each and all of these activities.

We ask that your blessing will be especially upon your word to them.

Anchor, O Lord, these young lives, especially in the things of your truth, and give them to be rooted and grounded in Christ himself,

so that they have him as their sure foundation, that whatever things lie in a wait for them as their life develops,

they may be sure that this is not going to change,

that however many changes they may experience in the course of life,

they may never find the foundation in Christ himself to be subject to any change or moving or any alteration.

And so, Lord, we commend them to you.

We give thanks for the many young families we have as a congregation.

We give thanks for the many young people who come to attend the means of grace,

the services such as these and other activities.

And, Lord, we pray for them as we commend them to you tonight.

We pray that you would go before them,

that you would provide nourishment for them daily from your word.

And we ask that they would indeed come to walk confidently in the steps of faith,

trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask tonight for those who may be struggling with their faith,

struggling to deal with the issues that are in their life in providence.

Lord, we pray for them.

We know that there are some of us who find it difficult from day to day,

who struggle with mental health issues,

who find ourselves sometimes bewildered with what's happening in the world around us.

Oh, Lord, we ask that you would grant us this stability

that would be from your own guidance of us,

from your own spirit at work within us,

from that living relationship with you, Lord,

that draws all our strength from you.

Remember, we pray tonight,

those who are laid aside with illnesses of various kinds,

we commend to you, Lord, those who are receiving treatment,

those who have been through operation and surgery in recent days.

We ask, Lord, that you'd bless them

and bring them back to health and to strength, we pray.

We ask, Lord, that you'd bless Marianne as she recovers from her own surgery.

We thank you that she is recovering.

And we thank you, Lord, for all that she has done and continues to do in the congregation,

and especially with our young people.

And we pray that your hand will be upon her,

that you will know, Lord, your strengthening,

your guidance and your restoration of health to her at this time.

And we pray, too, Lord, that you'd bless all others like her

who are known to us at this time to be suffering from various types of illness,

confined to hospitals, those in our care homes,

those who are looked after by others at home.

We pray for them, O Lord.

We pray for those whose years have now reached the stage

where their faculties physically or mentally have begun to fail.

And, Lord, we pray for them.

And we give thanks that despite our outward failures,

Lord, your word assures us that our inward man is being renewed day by day.

And we thank you that the spiritual condition of your people

is constantly in your hand.

And that even as we anticipate our bodily decay as the years go on,

we thank you, Lord, that there is no decay

in the life spiritually that you give to your people.

Help us to hold on to and to cling to these great truths.

We pray tonight, too, Lord, for those who mourn the passing of loved ones.

We know, Lord, as each week goes by.

We have pretty much each week that we experience here

various deaths that affect families belonging to us as a congregation

or in our community.

We pray for them, O Lord, tonight as they seek to adjust to life without loved ones

and also those who have lost loved ones in days gone by.

We pray for them, Lord.

And we pray for those especially in this week gone by

that have had to bid farewell to their loved ones.

We pray for Anne Chris as she misses her beloved Neil.

We pray for herself and Martin and Christine and for the whole family.

And we commend them to your care and ask that you would uphold her

and all who help her at this time.

And so we pray, Lord, for all others who mourn tonight in this troubled world of ours.

And, Lord, we pray that we would never forget,

even though they may have disappeared from news items,

those in the world who suffer so greatly in various circumstances

and conditions that are beyond our understanding and experience,

those, Lord, especially who have the devastation of war,

of famine, of being outcasts, of refugees.

Oh, Lord, all of these great problems in our world

and the management of them and sometimes the mismanagement of them,

we, Lord, seek for the gospel to be blessed,

for your kingdom to advance,

for people to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ himself,

for them to place and deposit their lives in his hand.

And so we pray, Lord, for the gospel,

for those who take the gospel to various parts of the world

and face deprivation themselves and consequence.

Oh, remember your people, we pray,

as they carry the message of Christ

into this world that so largely does not want it.

And we ask for your Holy Spirit, Lord,

to come to shine into people's hearts

the truth as it is in Christ Jesus.

When we read, Lord, in the earliest stages of the world

that the Spirit of God hovered on the surface of the waters

and that by your Spirit all of these things

were kept together and managed,

we pray, Lord, for the management of human lives

to be brought under the directing of your Spirit,

to be brought to know you as a Savior

who is able to do so much, Lord,

beyond what we are able to ask or even think.

Oh, Lord, we pray for reviving power

in our own experience.

We pray that our own hearts will be

reignited with the flames of your Spirit.

We pray, oh, Lord, that you would come in our day

and as we complain to you of how we find so little,

oh, Lord, of an appetite for the things of God.

And so we pray that you would re-instill in our hearts

that hunger and thirst for righteousness

that you tell us characterizes you people.

And we pray for ourselves tonight

that we may draw, Lord,

our spiritual nourishment from you

through the gospel.

Hear us then, we pray now.

Continue with us, guide us into your word,

and pardon our sin for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

We're singing once again now to God's praise,

and this time it's in Psalm 54.

Psalm 54 in the Scottish Psalter,

page 284,

verses 1 to 7.

Save me, O God, by thy great name,

and judge me by thy strength.

My prayer here, O God,

give ear unto my words at length.

For they that strangers are to me,

do up against me rise.

Oppressors seek my soul,

and God set not before their eyes.

Psalm 54, verses 1 to 7,

Psalms 54 · chapter mention

to God's praise.

Save me, O God,

by thy great name,

and judge me by thy strength.

My prayer here, O God,

give ear unto my words at length.

For they that strangers are to me,

do up against me rise.

O presence of sin,

my soul, and God set not before their eyes.

The Lord, my God,

my help,

Lord, that for I am bold,

He take the heart with every one,

that hath my soul of old.

But do my name,

and he is the child,

may save and ill be paid.

O Lord, my truth,

save but them all,

and weep and lead away.

I will have sacrifice to thee,

and with thee,

and with thee worthiness.

Thy name, O Lord,

be cost is good,

with grace,

with grace I will forfez.

For he hath me delivered,

from all my mercilies.

And this desire,

my life hath seen,

upon my enemies.

Let's now turn to read God's word.

This evening we'll find that in 2 Timothy.

The second letter of Paul to Timothy,

chapter one.

Reading through the whole chapter.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus,

by the will of God,

according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus.

To Timothy, my beloved child.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father,

and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God, whom I serve,

as did my ancestors,

with a clear conscience,

as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day,

as I remember your tears.

I long to see you,

that I may be filled with joy.

I am reminded of your sincere faith,

a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois

and your mother Eunice,

and now I am sure dwells in you as well.

For this reason,

I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,

which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear,

but of power and love and self-control.

Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,

nor of me, his prisoner,

but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

who saved us and called us to a holy calling,

not because of our works,

but because of his own purpose and grace,

which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus,

who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,

which is why I suffer as I do.

But I am not ashamed,

for I know whom I have believed,

and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me,

in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us,

guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me,

among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus,

for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

But when he arrived in Rome,

he searched for me earnestly and found me.

May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day.

And you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

And may God once again bless to us our reading of his holy word.

Let's now sing once again, before we turn to this passage,

Psalm 125 on page 419.

Psalm 125, the whole of the Psalm.

We are going to be looking later in a moment at what Paul referred to as his own security in Christ Jesus, his Saviour.

And here's a reminder, a Psalm that reminds us how the Psalmist found an illustration of his protective,

God's protective care and his security, even in the physical creation,

as the mountains around Jerusalem stood in such a grand, immovable way.

And so he found that as an illustration of the security that he himself had in God as his Saviour.

They in the Lord that firmly trust shall be like Zion Hill.

which at no time can be removed.

but stand by the Lord that shall be like Zion Hill.

then the Lord that firmly trust shall be like Zion Hill.

which at no time can be removed.

which at no time can be removed.

but stand the death was still.

as round about Jerusalem,

the mountains and the way.

I find the commandments God is where one nation can bring forth to him.

The mahdoll

What ill men shawed upon the Lord of just men shall not lie,

lest righteous men set forth their hands unto iniquity.

Good power to all, O Sáad, be good, thy goodness stormed in part,

and do thy good to all, O Sáad, a bright within their heart.

But as for Son has turned aside, after their crooked way,

God shall be poor, when wicked men on Israel these shall see.

Now please turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

2 Timothy chapter 1, and especially words you'll find there in verse 12.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

He's been talking here about how as a called apostle of God and preacher and apostle and teacher,

his sufferings that he's endured are so keyed into this particular way in which he has served God.

But he says,

But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,

and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Now one of Paul's great concerns in writing these letters to Timothy is that Timothy not only will be encouraged,

but also prepared to meet with the difficulties that will still come in his way,

and especially so when Paul himself is no longer in this world,

and when he will no longer be receiving letters from the beloved apostle.

As we see in this epistle itself, Paul is saying to Timothy,

I'm now being poured out in verse chapter 4,

and the time of my departure has come.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

So he's alerting Timothy to the fact that his own future is safe in the hand of God,

but he is going to actually face difficulties as he continues to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in this world.

Which is why he says that both he and Timothy together must be partakers of the afflictions of the gospel.

They must willingly take to themselves the share that God has appointed to them

in whatever afflictions come their way as apostles or as servants or preachers of the gospel.

And now he comes to bring Timothy's mind to what is actually foundational to his confidence

and encouragement as he would go ahead and go on serving the Lord.

He brings him really to the ground of confidence, the ground of confidence,

indeed the only ground of confidence, which is Christ himself.

He says, these are the sufferings I am suffering, but I am not ashamed,

for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day

what has been entrusted to me.

Or we can translate it as we'll see what I have entrusted to him.

So he's really putting it in the form of a brief personal testimony to Timothy.

Paul is saying, this is my testimony.

This is what I'm convinced of.

This is what I'm leading you to actually keep in place for yourself as well.

And of course, at the end of anyone's life in this world,

if we know that somebody wants to speak to us,

especially somebody who's been a faithful Christian over many years,

and they call us and we go to see them and they speak to us,

well, it's a situation, as you know, where you take more careful note than usual, probably,

of what they have to say.

Because when they know that they're on the verge of eternity,

their words have added significance.

And most of us, of course, have maybe come to,

some of us at least come to that position where we've seen somebody

just reaching the end of the course of life in this world,

and the things that they say to us, what they believe,

the kind of life they've lived, the advice that they give us,

that is even more significant in these consequences, in these circumstances.

And that's really what Paul is doing here.

He's giving some very direct encouragement to Timothy,

but it's in the light of his own departure,

in the light of the fact that he's not got long to live.

And as he stands on the threshold of eternity,

he's really saying to Timothy,

this is the only fail-safe foundation that you've got.

This is what you need to come back to again and again

when so much changes around you,

when you see so many fears in yourself,

when you find yourself questioning things,

you have to come back.

He's really saying, pretty much saying this,

you have to come back to this,

that he, this Savior, this Jesus,

is able to look after things for you

and to look after yourself especially.

So he's saying, I know whom I have believed.

And so because he's able to say that,

he has that confidence,

he's convinced about Jesus looking after

all of his possessions

and all of his confession

and all of his person

as he looks to the future.

I want to look at two things

that arise out of this.

It's a wonderful passage.

First of all, the issue of knowing Jesus.

I know whom I have believed.

I know whom I have believed.

There is a confident note

in the apostle and Paul's testimony here

to Timothy.

I know whom I have believed.

The second thing is

what we can call a safe investment

when he comes to say that

he is able to guard

until that day

what has been entrusted to me.

And we're going to take that

the way the AV puts it.

I'll explain that in a minute.

And when we come to it,

he is able to guard

what I have entrusted to him

until that day.

So here's first thing of all.

First of all, knowing Jesus.

Now, together here,

you'll find knowing and believing.

I am not ashamed

for I know whom I have believed.

So the knowing and the believing

are locked together.

They're not alternatives.

They exist together.

They belong together.

They're in partnership

in the experience of those

who actually have

a saving experience of Christ.

It's a mistake

to actually think somehow

that you have to separate

faith or believing

from knowledge,

from knowing.

That the working of your mind

is somehow detached

from what you're doing

when you believe.

You'll find that idea

that is sometimes thrown at us

for believing in a Jesus

that we don't physically see

and that we believe things

that the Bible tells us about him,

that we believe

what Christians have believed

down through the centuries.

And people will accuse us

of really, you know,

you're believing in something

you cannot verify.

You've never seen this person

and yet you claim

that you believe in him,

that you trust in him,

that you actually find him

the basis of all your hopes.

How can you do that?

Well, because believing

and knowing

actually go together.

It's not simply a matter

of believing in Christ.

It's also knowing Christ.

And our believing,

in any case,

is not a leap in the dark.

It's not as if you're just

jumping off a spiritual

or moral cliff

and somehow hoping

that you're going to land safely

without really knowing

what's ahead of you.

That's not the kind of thing

that faith is.

Tonight,

if you're a believer in Christ,

you're not believing blindly.

You're not believing in something

really that you don't know much about.

Because,

as Romans 10,

Romans 10:17

verse 17 tells us,

faith comes by hearing

and hearing the word of Christ,

the truth of God.

Your faith,

as you place your faith in Christ,

is not a blind faith.

It's not a launching out

into the dark

as if you don't have any access

to what's true at all.

You believe

because God has revealed things

to you to believe.

You believe

because you are convinced

that this Bible

is God's revelation to you

and it's reliable

as well as being authoritative.

And so,

when you come

to believe in Christ,

it's not a Jesus

you know nothing about.

It's not a Jesus

that's somehow

hiding in the shadows

from you

even though you can't

see Him physically.

He's not hiding

in some sort of

moral or spiritual shadow

that you can hardly make out.

He is actually revealed

in all His beauty

and His glory

as far as we can

actually follow it at least

in these wonderful pictures

of the gospel,

these descriptions,

these things that make up

the truth of God.

I know whom I have believed.

You embrace Christ

as He's offered

in the gospel

willingly

by the grace of God.

And always remember that

when somebody comes to you

and says,

you know,

I don't really think

you've got a ground

for believing

what you believe

or trusting in this Jesus

when you can't tell me

that you've actually seen Him

at any point.

No, but you actually say to Him,

well, I believe certain things

but I believe them

not just because

they're written

in the pages of the Bible

which I regard

as the truth of God.

I believe them

because I know Him

as well as what's written

in the Bible

and what's presented

in the gospel.

That's the second thing here

in terms of knowing Jesus.

There is a knowing

along with a believer.

You know what He's saying here?

He's saying,

I know

whom I have believed.

See, the apostle here

is not saying

I know what I have believed.

And he's not saying

I know what I believe

about Jesus.

He's not saying

I know things about God

and I believe these things

to be true.

He's saying

I know

whom I have believed.

I know this person.

I know this person

of Jesus for myself.

I don't just believe

blindly

and I don't just believe

because I've got a Bible

to believe.

I know

this person

that I believe in

and trust myself to.

That's what He's saying.

I know

whom

I have believed.

You see,

Paul

is on personal

terms

with this Jesus.

He's not

believing

in this person

because he knows

him as the founder

of a religion

that he respects

such as you find

in the major

world religions

of today

founded by

whether it's

Muhammad

or Buddha

or whoever else

it might have been

that have founded

or established

these great religions.

But they're gone.

They're dead.

They've passed

from the scene

of time.

They're no longer

living as

Jesus is living.

But here is Paul

saying,

I know

whom I have

believed.

I know

the one

that I've

placed my

trust and

confidence in.

I know

him

because he

is still

living.

Because he's

risen from

the dead.

Which is why

you find him

dealing so much

and so

foundationally

and so centrally

with the

resurrection

of Christ

from the dead.

He has brought

life

and immortality

to life

through his

resurrection.

And Paul

is saying,

I know

him.

God has

brought me

into a

living

relationship

with him.

I'm not

following a

dead founder

of a religion.

Nor am I

following the

gospel as a

mere system

of belief.

Such as you

might find

people following

a creed or

following a

system of

belief founded

by whoever

it is and

continuing to

actually follow

that kind of

system of

belief or

that creed

or other.

No, he says,

I'm not

following a

system.

I'm not

following a

religion.

I'm following

a person.

I believe

in this

living person.

I know

this living

person.

And really

that's how

you've got to

look at it

yourself.

What is it

that distinguishes

a person who

is a Christian

in a living

sense?

I'm not

talking about

a Christian

in the sense

of, you

might say,

the formal

sense because

you follow

the Christian

faith rather

than Islam

or Buddhism

or whatever.

Well, in a

sense, that

makes you a

Christian, of

course.

If you're

following the

Christian faith,

you're a

Christian in

that formal

outward sense.

What I'm

talking about

here is a

Christian in

the living

sense of

living in

dependence upon

Christ,

living in a

relationship that

you know is

live with

this living

person.

Is that

you?

Is that

you tonight?

Are you a

Christian through

knowing Christ?

You're surely

not just saying,

I'm a Christian

because I'm

different to a

Muslim, because I

follow the

teachings of the

Bible.

Wonderful.

That's so

important.

That's so

crucial to

you.

true.

But what makes

you a Christian

in the living

sense is that

you know

Jesus, that

you know Christ

for yourself,

that you know

he lives, that

you know he

has conquered

death, that

you know he

has forgiven

your sins, that

you know he's

your daily

companion, you

know whom you

have believed.

need.

And then he

says, and I

am convinced.

You see how it

grows out of

this knowing

of Christ.

He's saying, I'm

not ashamed, I

will not be put

to shame, I

will not be

shunned by

God, I will

not be rejected.

All of that

comes into what

he's saying, I'm

not ashamed.

It's not just a

feeling of being

ashamed.

In the New

Testament, being

ashamed is tied

up with being

rejected or being

judged and found

wanting.

that's not

going to happen

to me, saying, I'm

not ashamed and

I will not be

put to shame, for

I know whom I

have believed and

I am convinced.

You see, from his

knowing of Jesus, he

comes to be

convinced about

certain things,

about him, and

about the truth as

it is in him.

You might say

he's got an

assured

believing from

knowing Christ.

Now, you're to

ask Paul, well,

Paul, how can you

possibly be sure

about these

things?

How can you be

convinced about

things?

How can you

actually say that

this is, in

fact, certain

for you, and

that this is not

just the truth for

you, but it is

the truth?

Well, he says, I

know, I'm sure, I'm

convinced because I

know him, because I

know himself.

And when you

know himself, it

doesn't matter what

somebody says to

you and tries to

convince you

otherwise.

It doesn't matter

what doubts the

devil or somebody

else might try and

instill in your

mind.

It doesn't matter

how much somebody

might try to shake

your faith and

bring you back to

the kind of ideas

you find in the

world that tells

you you're stupid,

you're a fool to

believe something

you've never

verified scientifically

or whatever, I

know whom I have

believed.

I know himself.

That's why I'm

convinced.

I'm convinced

about these things

about him.

See, Paul, you

guys put it this

way, Paul is not

searching for the

truth.

This is one of the

great fallacies of

today, isn't it?

When you find people

who are established

churchmen sometimes

saying, you know,

you can't actually

possibly believe that

Christ is the only

way to God, that he

is the way, the truth

and the life, as

John's gospel puts

it.

You've got to have an

amalgamation and a

conglomeration of all

sorts of different

religious ideas and

it's as you weld these

together, as you

actually bring all of

that together and as

you walk along with

people who believe in

other systems of

belief and as you

join all that

together and as you

try and worship

together and engage

with each other, then

you're involved in a

search for the

truth.

You're involved in a

progress onwards until

eventually at some

point or other you're

going to come to the

truth hopefully.

Paul is saying,

nonsense,

rubbish.

I know the truth

because I know Jesus

Christ.

I know the truth

because I know the

Son of God who is

himself the embodiment

of the truth as he

came into this world to

reveal the truth of God

to us.

I know whom I have

believed.

Some people would say,

you know, that's really

being pretty arrogant,

isn't it?

I'm pretty arrogant

towards other faiths

or other systems of

belief.

If you're saying to me

tonight that,

and they might say to

you, if you're saying to

me tonight that Jesus

is exclusively the

Savior and the way to

know God and to come

into a living

relationship with God

and to have the

righteousness that God

requires of us and

live the kind of life

that God is pleased

with, how can you say

to me that only Jesus

can do that for you

or only through Jesus

can you come into

that relationship with

God?

Well, I can say that

because I know Jesus

and I know this is what

Jesus himself believed

and said.

Am I going to actually

trust the word of

someone whom I know

to be my Savior?

Or am I going to

simply say, well,

you know, we've got to

add to that, we've got

to change that in the

world in which we live.

We've got to add to that

other kinds of ideas

and especially as the

world has progressed

technologically in terms

of finding things out

and affirmations from

science as to how

things work and all

the rest of it.

It doesn't matter.

You don't have to

understand many of

these scientific

discoveries or how

the analysis is made

of life as you know

it in this world.

All you need is to

know him.

I know whom I have

believed.

Paul's not searching

for the truth.

He doesn't need to.

He knows that he's got

that in Christ.

He knows that what he

has in Christ is God's

supreme revelation of

himself.

He's the light of the

world.

He is himself the way,

the truth, and the life.

He is the resurrection

and the life.

He's all of the things

he claimed to be.

And although Paul

himself, of course,

was adamant at one

time that the last

thing in the world he

wanted was to give his

life over to this

Jesus, he regarded him

as a fraud, regarded

him as somebody who was

being peddled by his

followers as somehow or

other a representation of

God on earth until he

was making his way as an

enemy of Christ, to

Damascus with further

intentions in his mind to

cast more of the

followers of Jesus into

prison and so on.

And then he met with this

person.

He was arrested by this

Christ himself who turned

his life around and put

everything upside down for

him, or rather the right

way up for him.

And now he's saying, I

know whom I have

believed.

And all the things that I

once held on to as so

essential for earning the

favor of God, of coming to

gain God's approval, as he

says in Philippians chapter

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

3, I now count these as

worthless rubbish.

He's not being disparaging of

what he once believed in a

sense, but he is rejecting it

as the basis of his

acceptance with God.

I count him, he says, as

worthless so that I might

gain Christ and be found in

him and have the righteousness

as of God by him.

I know whom I have

believed.

You know, Paul would really

look out over those folks who

claim that Christ is not

enough, that you've got to add

to Jesus himself or to the

gospel where Jesus is set

forth as the Savior

exclusively.

People, as we said, will say

to you, that's really not

enough.

You've got to move ahead

nowadays.

You've got to progress.

What will Paul say to that?

Paul said to that, you've got

a big problem.

You've got a massive problem.

And the problem is you don't

know Jesus.

And you don't know Jesus as God's

exclusive, wonderful, sufficient

Savior of sinners.

So here's for me the question

tonight.

Do I know Jesus?

Have I been standing in pulpits

for well over 30 years and still

don't know him for myself?

I hope not.

I trust not.

I believe not.

Do you know him?

Do you know him as your living

companion?

Are you in a daily conversation

with him?

Do you know him in such a way as

would say, you know, if everything

else was taken out of my life, and

that's a very difficult thing to

say, I would still have Jesus and

my life would be secure.

I know whom I have believed, says

the apostle.

And for you and for me, it's not

just a matter of believing in

Christ, believing God's word,

believing what it says there about

him.

Believing means a knowing of him,

a coming to live in a living

relationship with him, where you

have, as Paul himself had,

personal terms with Christ

every day.

I know whom I have believed.

But then he says, and I am

convinced, rising out of that

relationship that he has with

Christ, this knowledge that he has

of Christ, he's saying I am

convinced that he is able to guard

until that day what has been

entrusted to me.

Now, I've said that personally I

prefer the old AV rendering of it

there.

It's perfectly possible

grammatically to render it either

way, either like this.

He's able to guard what has been

entrusted to me, by which the

translators here have been really,

their view is that he's talking

about the gospel, the message of

Christ.

Whereas the AV took it in the other

way that, again, is possible

grammatically.

I am convinced, he says, that he

is able to guard what I have

entrusted to him.

And you see it's, you find later

on there the verse 14, by the Holy

Spirit who dwells within us, he's

saying to Timothy, guard the good

deposit entrusted to you.

And I think it's from that that this

translation itself has come to

translate it this way, to guard what

has been entrusted to me.

Now, do you see, verse 14 there is

really saying the Holy Spirit who

dwells in us, you, Timothy, guard the

good deposit entrusted to you.

But what he's saying here in verse

12 is it's something that he has

entrusted to Christ, something that

Christ is going to look after.

It's not Timothy who's looking after

it here, it's Christ who's looking

after what he says here in verse 12.

It's literally in the Greek text of

all it says is he's able to guard the

deposit.

My deposit.

And what is this deposit?

Well, I believe it's better taking it

as Paul speaking about entrusting

himself, his life, his apostleship,

his present, his future.

After all, he's talking here about

death being imminent.

He's not far away from the end of his

course in this life.

And he's encouraging Timothy to

continue to trust in this God and to

continue to entrust himself to Jesus

because he says, I know whom I have

believed and I am convinced that he

is able to guard, to keep until that

day what I have entrusted to him, what I

have given over to him to be secure in

him.

In other words, it's Paul's own, if you

take it that way, he means his own life.

He means his person.

That's what he's deposited in Christ's

hands.

And so that's really, in a sense, what

fits in with many references in the

Bible to God being a refuge.

And 1 Peter, for example, chapter 4, which

is a letter really, as you know, that's

written largely to suffering Christians,

persecuted Christians.

In chapter 4, the last verse there, he

says, therefore, let those who suffer

according to God's will entrust their

souls to a faithful creator while

doing good.

He's talking about entrusting themselves

to this living Savior.

And that's how we're taking these words

of Paul to Timothy as well.

I am convinced, I am persuaded, I am

fully convinced that he is able to guard,

to look after everything that I've placed

in his hand, including myself, until

that day.

So really, your faith, your living

relationship with Jesus is not just, of

course, a formal assent to his truth.

It is, as we said, knowing Jesus in a

personal relationship.

But it's also in the actings of your

faith.

And it's not just once and for all.

It's really on an everyday, ongoing

basis.

It's entrusting yourself to Jesus.

Isn't that how you begin every day?

That you actually pray, Lord, please

look after my life again.

I'm placing myself in your hands.

And as I place myself in your hands,

Lord, whatever happens on this day,

look after me.

Guard me.

Keep me.

Be my guard.

My guardian.

Be the one who looks after me as I

entrust myself to you.

Entrustman to a person.

And there's the question again for

yourself and for myself.

Is that how you find your own life?

You know the gospel.

You know the Bible.

You know the message of the gospel.

You know other Christians in this place

tonight and elsewhere.

But here is the question following on

from do you know him yourself,

for yourself?

Have you entrusted your life to him?

Have you given over your life

to this Jesus to be your Lord

as well as your Savior?

Have you deposited, if you like,

to use the words of the apostle here,

this deposit, my deposit?

I have entrusted my deposit to him.

Have you deposited your own life

into the hands of Jesus?

There are few questions

as important as that in your life.

This is why, friends,

God has given us the gospel.

Not so that we would have

a mere intellectual knowledge

of who Jesus is

and what Jesus has done.

Wonderful though that is.

It's so that

we will be persuaded

that we need this Jesus

as our own personal Savior.

And that knowing that we need this Jesus

by the grace of God,

by the power of his Spirit,

we will deposit our lives

into his hand.

We will entrust ourselves to him

to look after us

all the way through life

and into eternity itself.

And let me say to the young folks

here tonight,

you don't think of yourself

as too young to do this.

I don't know if you've still

got a bank account.

Some of you probably have.

But if you have,

you know what you do

when you have a savings account.

You deposit some money in that.

And you expect the bank

to look after it for you

and not lose your money.

Then you can withdraw it

whenever you want.

You can go

and take some money out of it.

But you've left it in the bank.

You've put it there.

You've deposited it there

for safekeeping.

That's what Paul is saying

about himself.

He has put himself

in the hands of Jesus

for safekeeping.

And what he's saying is

when you do that,

your life is safe.

You can't guarantee

whether you're young or old

in this life.

You can't guarantee

that everything will turn out well

just by hoping for the best.

Paul is saying here

he's able to guard this deposit

until that day.

What I have entrusted to him,

he's going to look after it

until that day.

And by that he means

the day of Christ's return.

The day of judgment.

The day when Jesus

comes back to this world.

What a momentous day

that's going to be.

We must all,

as Paul says to the Corinthians

in his second epistle,

we must all appear

before the judgment seat

of Christ

that we may all receive

the things done in this body

whether good or evil.

Paul doesn't need to be afraid

that somehow or other things

are not going to turn out well

for him on that day

because he has entrusted

his life to Jesus,

because Jesus is looking

after it for him,

because he's put himself

in the hands of Christ,

because that's where

the deposit of his life is.

He is safe.

Nothing's going to actually

change that.

The only way that can change

is somehow or other

God the Father

finds something wrong

with Jesus.

And that's never going to happen.

And there's your

wonderful assurance tonight

that however weak

you might say

your own faith is

and however many times

you fail the Lord,

however many times

you know that you've not

been as you should be,

you've not done

what you should have done,

or you've done things

you shouldn't have done,

you're conscious

that you sin against God

every day,

that you need his forgiveness,

all of that is there.

But if you've entrusted

your life to Christ,

he's looking after

everything for you.

Your life is secure.

you've made your deposit.

You've deposited yourself

into his hands.

Now is that

your outlook tonight?

Is that how your life

is situated?

Is that what's

underneath your present

and your future?

It's Jesus himself.

F.B. Meyer,

who was a Baptist minister

in England

from the mid-1800s,

he died, I think,

in 1929.

But in his writings,

he gives the following

account of two Germans

who wanted to climb

the Matterhorn,

and you know

the Matterhorn mountain

itself,

one of the big mountains

in Europe,

a very steep mountain,

very icy in parts of it.

Well,

there were two Germans

who wanted to climb

the Matterhorn,

so they hired

three guides,

and the three guides

would take them,

they hoped,

safely up the Matterhorn

as far as they could

at least.

And very soon,

they reached the steepest

and the most slippery

part of that mountain,

and they had roped

themselves together

in this order.

First of all,

a guide went ahead,

then a traveler,

then a guide,

then a traveler,

and then a third guide

at the end,

at the rear.

As they went up the mountain,

the one bringing up the rear,

there the last man,

actually lost his footing

and slipped.

But he was able to hang on

because the others had

little toe holes in the ice

that they were climbing up

the ice wall.

They had toe holes in the ice,

so they were able to

hold tight

the weight of this man

until he regained his footing.

But then there came a moment

when those ahead of that man

also lost their footing.

And they pulled down

everyone ahead of them

except the guide

who was going

at the head

of the procession,

of the climb.

And he stood firm

because he had driven

his spike

deep into the ice.

And so all of those

who were coming after him

were depending on that

spike holding,

which it did.

And they were able again

to regain their footing

because this one guide,

the guide at the front,

had the spike deep

in the ice

and was able to hold

things steady

until they recovered.

And this is what

F.B. Meyer said,

I am like one of those men

who slipped.

But thank God

I am bound

in a living partnership

to Christ.

And because

he stands,

I will never

perish.

May God bless

his word to us.

Let's

sing to his praise

in Psalm 73.

Psalm 73,

page 316,

verses 23 to 26.

Nevertheless,

continually,

O Lord,

I am with thee.

Thou dost me hold

by my right hand

and still

upholdest me.

Thou with thy counsel

while I live

will me conduct

and guide

and to thy glory

afterward

receive me

to abide.

So 23 to 26

of Psalm 73.

Psalm 73.

Psalm 73.

Thou dost me hold

by my right hand

and still upholdest me.

Thou with thy counsel

while I live

will be conduct

and guide

and to thy glory

afterward

and to thy glory

afterward

receive me

whom I desire

to abide.

Thou have

have

died

in the heaven's

night

but thee,

O Lord,

our Lord,

and in the air

whom I desire

whom I desire

whom I desire

and in the air

whom I desire

whom I desire

besides thee

there is none.

my flesh

and heart

doth

faint

and fail

but

what

doth

fail

me

never

for

God

for

love

my heart

God

is

the

strength

and

love

my heart

God

is

the

strength

and

portion

for

heaven.

forever

I'll go to the main door after the benediction.

the benediction.

Lord, our gracious God, we pray that you would bless your word to us once again.

We ask also that you would bless to us the preparation made for us for our bodily needs of the fellowship.

We thank you for that food prepared.

We pray that you would bless Jackie as he gives an account of his own spiritual experience and his testimony to your grace in his life.

And we ask that you would uphold him and bless Scott too as he leads the meeting.

And 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 evermore. Amen.

Thank you.