An Invitation

Thank you, James. It's a privilege and a joy to be with you once more this evening to worship

together the living God. Let me read to you just these few words from his word before we sing

praise together to his name. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. Let

us worship him together, singing to his praise from Psalm 96a. Psalm 96a and sing Psalms, page 126

in our Blue Psalm books, page 126. Singing Psalm 96a from the beginning, we'll sing to verse 9.

Sing a new song to the Lord. Sing praises to his name and his salvation day by day that all the

earth proclaim. His glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare how great and awesome is the

Lord with him no gods compare. Psalm 96a, we'll sing to verse 9 to the praise of God.

Lord with him no gods. Sing a new song to the Lord. Sing praises to his name and his salvation day by day that all the earth

sing a new song to the Lord. Let his salvation day by day that all the earth proclaim. Let glory and his mighty deeds to every day of the earth.

to every land declare. To every land declare. How great and awesome is the Lord. With him no gods compare.

All other gods are good and stone. The Lord may tell us high. All power and majesty are missed.

All nations do. The Lord has guide. The glory that is due.

All nations do. The Lord has guide. The glory that is due.

All nations do. The Lord has guide. The glory that is due.

All nations do. The Lord has guide. The glory that is due.

All nations do. The Lord has guide. The glory that is due.

The glory that is due. The glory that is due.

Holy that is true.

Glory and strength, and strength to God, and praise his name anew.

And turn his course with joy and ring, and offer him with you.

Worship the Lord in holy fear, all earth before him.

Let us join in prayer together. Let us pray.

Worship the Lord in holy fear, let all the earth before him bow.

Lord our gracious God, this evening from the outset of our time together,

we would acknowledge your greatness, your majesty, your holiness.

We acknowledge that you are altogether other, that you are our creator, sustainer, sovereign ruler,

majestic and glorious in power and strength and wisdom and might.

Lord, we humble ourselves before you this night.

And we know that that is the spirit and attitude and mindset of worship,

to bow before you, our creator, and to say in our hearts and to acknowledge in our songs,

the Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God.

And so we pray that you would, Lord, look upon us in favour this evening.

That you would open your word to our hearts,

and in your spirit open our hearts to your word.

That we would again acknowledge and study and reflect on the good news of Jesus Christ.

This gospel of grace, this declaration that in him, your son,

there is forgiveness and freedom, there is life and immortality,

and it is ours through Jesus.

For we know that the wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

And so we come, Lord, before you,

and we humbly seek your presence and seek your face through Jesus.

It is all of him.

He is our hope, our joy, he is our surety,

he is our mediator, our intercessor,

our redeemer, our saviour,

Lord, King and Friend.

He is Lord of Lords, Lord of all.

And so we would acknowledge tonight the good news of Jesus.

He would lift up his name on high.

And we give thanks tonight that we know his name.

And we have come to know that by day and by night he is with and before and around his people.

For the Lord has said he will build his church,

and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

And so we tonight, Lord, would ask for your grace and strength

to don the armour of God as we are called to do,

to face the weak to come prepared fully in heart and mind and soul.

By worshipping you aright this evening, Lord,

we put you at the beginning of this week.

And we ask in so doing that you would be honoured

and that you would be pleased to dwell among us, Lord,

and bless us with your grace.

That we would be strengthened with your might in our inner beings,

ready and fit and willing to run the race that is set before us,

looking unto Jesus, the author and completer of our faith,

who for the joy set before him despised the shame.

Oh, Lord, our God, we think of the race set before us

because of the cross set before him.

And we ask tonight that we would maintain a sense of perspective

as we go through life and as we run our course.

At times, Lord, we are imbalanced,

we get selfish, we get impatient,

we become demanding before you.

Forgive us, Lord, for these times when we get things so badly wrong,

when we forget our place,

when we forget that you are almighty God,

glorious in power and wondrous in might,

amazing in grace.

Lord, at times we lift up our prayers to you

in a spirit that is less than satisfactory,

in a spirit that is perhaps demanding,

in a spirit of seeking after ourselves.

Forgive us.

And Lord, lead us to seek your ways

and to know your paths.

Give us that teachableness of heart

that we would say, here am I, Lord, send me.

And may we go into the week ahead conscious

that you have set us here

as signposts and missionaries,

each and every one of us,

missionaries in our districts and across our island.

And we thank and praise you, Lord,

that there are so many of your people

who are so called to be missionaries

here on our own island,

in our own districts.

And so we pray tonight

that as the word is preached here

and across our island,

that your people would be encouraged

and nourished and built up,

that we would be stimulated

to go into the week ahead

and to make Jesus known.

Sometimes, Lord, this is difficult to do.

Sometimes we are uncertain

of how to share our testimony,

how to share our faith.

Lord, give us grace and insight,

understanding, wisdom, patience,

tenacity and courage,

for we need all of these things

to make Jesus known.

And so we would seek to share

the good news of Jesus Christ,

the gospel of grace with those around us

and beside us,

in our homes, in our communities.

And we pray, Lord,

that as that witness unfolds this week,

that you be pleased to bless

the labors of your people,

for it is not in vain

that we labor in the Lord.

We look to you, Lord, and pray

that the gospel would flourish,

that it would take root in hearts and lives,

that men and women,

and boys and girls,

would be held and constrained

in their awareness

of their need of salvation

and see in Christ the Savior.

For it is through him,

through this man,

that is preached the forgiveness of sins.

This is the message of salvation

that the Christian church

has declared loud

and declared strong and clear

down through the generations.

May we continue to do so

as we build on the labors

of those who have gone before us.

May we continue to be faithful

to the task.

May we be good soldiers

of Christ Jesus.

May we endure hardship

as at times we must.

And may we look unto the one

who has called us to run our race,

sharing the message

of forgiveness in him

to all around.

We pray then, Lord,

for your work here in Stornoway.

We pray for James and Donna,

for Calamurdo and Joanne

and their families.

We pray, Lord,

that you would uphold them

and keep them in their ministry

here in the town.

That you be with the elders

and deacons

and all those involved

in Sunday school

and creche

and mother and toddler

and all the activities

that are ongoing,

the work that so many

put their hand to

here in the congregation

in Stornoway.

And may it continue

to be an encouragement

to all of us

that we too, Lord,

would follow this example

and work as hard as we can

where you have placed us

to your glory

and to the furtherance

of the gospel.

We long for the day

when we will see

men and women

and homes and families

transformed by grace.

So, Lord,

we pray for conversions tonight.

We seek conversions

through the preaching

of the word.

We ask that many

in our districts

would be brought

under conviction of sin

and there in Christ

to find relief

and peace and joy

for in him

there is forgiveness.

In him

there is plenteous redemption.

Lord,

we ask for your blessing

across our island

and nation.

We pray that you

would raise up leaders

who would be unashamed

of the testimony

of the gospel,

unashamed of naming

Jesus as Savior.

We long for leaders

who in the public square

would reflect

a love for Jesus

and would have at heart

an honouring of his word

that they would be

clearly people of prayer,

people of faith,

people who would

set an example

that they, Lord,

would lead us

by themselves

being led by you.

We long for this,

for an upturn

in our nation's spirituality,

for an outpouring

of the Spirit

to an extent

that we could not

contain it

or even begin

to imagine it,

but that many

in our land

would come to know

Christ Jesus

for themselves.

We pray, Lord,

that you'd remember us

this time as a nation

as we pray

for our parliament,

our leaders,

our politicians.

We remember

our armed forces.

We pray for the

emergency services

and the National

Health Service staff,

those who look after us

and do so much

on our behalf

to keep us safe

and to look after

those who are ill

and those who are housebound.

We remember carers

who are under

particular pressure

and stress

at this time.

And we ask, Lord,

that you would watch

over them

and bless them

in the wonderful work

they do across

our communities

in helping those

who are housebound

and unable

to leave homes

and unable

to join us

in worship,

unable to spend

time with family,

unable to do so much

because of ill.

Lord,

we pray tonight

for those bereaved.

We pray for those,

Lord,

who have known

sadness and loss

in their lives

and continue to feel

that the weight

of that loss.

We near them,

Lord,

and grant them

that peace

that passes understanding.

Be with them

in your grace

and in your mercy,

we pray.

And so, Lord,

we ask tonight

that you would open

your word to us,

that we would hear

something of the wonder

and splendor

and scope

of the gospel.

And all these things

we ask

through Jesus Christ,

our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

We'll turn again

to sing to God's praise.

Sing Psalms

in Psalm 65.

Psalm 65,

singing from verse 8.

That's page 82

in our blue psalm books.

Page 82.

Psalm 65,

singing from verse 8.

Those who inhabit

distant lands

with all regard

your ways,

where morning dawns

and evening fades,

you call forth

songs of praise.

You tend the land

and water it,

you make it rich

and good,

as you ordain

your streams are full

to give the people food.

Psalm 65,

we'll sing from verse 8

to 13

to God's praise.

Amen.

Psalm 66,

singing from verse 9.

When morning dawns

and evening fades,

you call for songs of praise.

When morning dawns

and evening fades,

you call for songs of praise.

to take the land

and water it,

you make it rich and good.

As you ordain,

your streams are full

to give the people food.

the grace of the earth

of the land,

you heaven off the ground,

you soften it

with showers of rain

and make its crops

above.

You end the year

with truthfulness,

your harvest overflow,

the grass that flourishes again,

the hills with madness glow.

The birds to stream

with thoughts are cold,

the meadows covering.

Above, he's there

themselves with corn,

they shout for joy and sing.

A song of gratitude

and thankfulness

for God's provision toward us,

his grace poured out

in that psalm.

We'll read together

from his word,

first of all,

from the Old Testament

and the prophecy of Isaiah,

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

chapter 40.

Isaiah and chapter 40,

we'll read from verse 18,

and then we'll turn forward

in our Bibles to the Gospel of John

and chapter 3.

Reading first of all,

then, from Isaiah

and chapter 40,

and verse 18.

A section that is all about

the greatness of God.

To whom, then,

will you liken God?

Or what likeness compare with him?

An idol?

A craftsman casts it,

and a goldsmith overlays it with gold

and casts for it silver chains.

He who is too impoverished

for an offering

chooses wood

that will not rot.

He seeks out a skillful craftsman

to set up an idol

that will not move.

Do you not know?

Do you not hear?

Has it not been told you

from the beginning?

Have you not understood

from the foundations of the earth?

It is he who sits above

the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants

are like grasshoppers,

who stretches out the heavens

like a curtain

and spreads them

like a tent to dwell in,

who brings princes to nothing

and makes the rulers

of the earth as emptiness.

Scarcely are they planted,

scarcely sown,

scarcely has their stem

taken root in the earth

when he blows in them

and they wither

and the tempest

carries them off like stubble.

To whom, then,

will you like compare me?

That I should be like him,

says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high

and see who created these.

He who brings out

their host by number,

calling them all by name,

by the greatness of his might,

and because he is strong in power,

not one is missing.

Why do you say,

O Jacob,

and speak, O Israel,

my way is hidden from the Lord,

and my right is disregarded

by my God?

Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the creator of the ends

of the earth.

He does not faint

or grow weary.

His understanding

is unsearchable.

He gives power

to the faint

and to him

who has no mighty

increases strength.

Even youth shall faint

and be weary

and young men

shall fall exhausted,

but they who wait

on the Lord

shall renew their strength.

They shall mount up

with wings like eagles.

They shall run

and not be weary.

They shall walk

and not faint.

And turning forward

to the Gospel of John,

reading from chapter 3,

the Gospel of John

and chapter 3.

We'll read the most famous of words

in this chapter

from verse 16.

For God so loved the world

that he gave his only Son

that whoever believes in him

should not perish

but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son

into the world

to condemn the world,

but in order that the world

might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him

is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe

is condemned already

because he has not believed

in the name

of the only Son of God.

And this is the judgment.

The light has come

into the world

and people loved the darkness

rather than the light

because their deeds were evil.

But everyone who does wicked things

hates the light

and does not come to the light

lest his deeds should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true

comes to the light

so that it may be clearly seen

that his deeds

have been carried out

in God.

Amen.

And may the Lord bless

the reading of his word

to his own name.

We'll sing again to God's praise

before considering together

this evening these words.

And we'll sing from the Psalter,

Psalm 130.

Psalm 130.

A song of redemption.

A song of provision

that is found in the Lord.

Psalm 130.

Page 421

in our blue Psalm books.

Lord, from the depths

to thee I cried.

My voice, Lord,

do thou hear

unto my supplications voice.

Give an attentive ear.

Lord, who shall stand

if thou, O Lord,

shouldst mark iniquity?

But yet with thee

forgiveness is

that feared

thou mayest be.

We'll sing the whole Psalm

to God's praise.

Lord, from the dead to thee I cry, my voice for to the hear.

Come to my supplications, Lord, in an attempted ear.

Lord, who shall stand in thine, O Lord, to spark in liberty?

But yet with thee forgiveness is the fear, the vainest being.

I wait for God, my soul doth wait, My hope is in His word.

For love, yea, love, for morning watch, My soul waits for the Lord.

On same or now, they have to watch, The morning light to see.

Let Israel open the Lord, For with Him mercy's thee.

On grandiacal redemption, His name were found within,

And from all His iniquities, He Israel shall redeem.

Let us pray together for a moment.

Lord, our dependence upon you is complete, is total.

We seek your face, and by your spirit we ask you would lead us this evening

as we consider your word, this eternal truth contained in scriptures and provided toward us.

What gracious provision.

Lord, we thank you that we meet tonight around the word of God,

and that brings us to the God of the word.

And as we worship and sing and pray and now study the scriptures together,

we ask above all that you be glorified,

and all that is done and said here would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight.

Lord, draw near to us.

And may we heed the Spirit's leading this evening,

and may we respond to your graciousness.

May we respond to the gospel.

And may we go from here knowing it's good to be here.

Bless, Lord, your word to us, we pray.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Well, if you would open your Bibles at the gospel of John in chapter 3,

where we read from together already,

you will open your Bible at probably the most famous verse of the whole scripture.

John 3 and verse 16 is the Bible in miniature.

It is the gospel in summary.

And I'd like us to think about it this evening and to learn together what it has to teach us about the gospel,

and above all, what it has to teach us about God.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

I wonder sometimes what people who have never been to Scotland actually think of Scotland.

They might be depending on a tourist or a relation or someone who's lived here,

telling them what our country is like.

They might take their impression from the internet, from a travel magazine,

from a postcard, from TV, who knows?

I just wonder sometimes if they envisage pipers and haggis in every corner,

and the low mists and the songs that just float up and down our land.

I wonder if they ever think of the rain and the midges and all that stuff.

And I sometimes think about that because I often wonder, more so,

what people think about God without ever coming to his word.

And I think that's a massive problem in our own time, in our own land, this very evening.

There are vast numbers of people tonight who have a concept of God,

call it a theology of God, perhaps that's pushing things.

They have an idea, a system, a scheme,

whereby they think of God along their terms,

without ever coming to the word he has given us.

And that's something we must be on our guard against.

Friends, this evening, if you have a concept of God,

if you have an imaginary thought about what God is like,

and you have framed your thinking in isolation to the word,

then you need to stop now and come to this text with me this evening

and think about what this tells us about the living God,

the God of the word.

And I would say also right from the off that we shouldn't understand the Bible or approach the Bible

thinking that it's a book that is set before us to convince us about the existence of God.

That is not the Bible's focus and purpose.

The Bible has not been given to us this evening to answer the question,

does God exist?

That question is not addressed by the Bible.

The question the Bible addresses is not,

does God exist?

But what is God like?

And John 3 and verse 16 brings us right to the heart of the matter.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

It's a very high probability that most of us here know the words off by heart.

So I approach a text like this that's so well known with a level of trepidation

because it's a text that will always feature in any preaching ministry

because it's so deep and wide and beautiful.

There is so much here of God.

There is so much here of the gospel that it would take many, many visits to this text

to begin to just scratch the surface.

But it's good this evening to think about God.

That's why he raised up his church.

The church militant is here to profess faith in Christ

and declare the unsearchable riches of Christ,

to preach the cross.

And we will never exhaust that subject.

We read from Isaiah in chapter 40 and verse 18 begins,

To whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness compare with him?

And then it says toward the end,

Lift up your highs on high and see.

Who created these things?

He who brings out their host by number,

calling them all by name.

This is God, the God of wonders,

the God of power, almighty God.

Wondrous in power and glorious in might.

And so we come to this answer he has given us.

And we come humbly and carefully to listen to what God has to say to us

in this most famous of texts.

And above all, we seek to form our thinking of God and toward God

based upon his word.

So there are a few things to think of this evening.

I want to think with you first of all, from John 3 and verse 16,

about what God has done.

What God has done.

God is a God of love.

Love flows from him.

It is part of who he is.

It is of his very essence.

And as we read through various passages in the scripture,

we come to see more and more of who God is and what God is like.

John, as he wrote of the love of God,

particularly in his letters.

And if I could just turn very quickly to 1 John in chapter 4,

to consider just a few things there we're told here of the love of God.

In chapter 4 of 1 John and verse 9,

in this the love of God was made manifest among us,

revealed, confirmed, declared,

that God sent his only Son into the world.

There is the declaration and affirmation and confirmation

of the love of God,

so that we might live through him

in his love for us.

He has sent his only Son into the world,

so that we might live through him.

Such is God's love

and its intensity

and its perfection

and its purity.

That God has made provision for sinners

in sending his Son.

And this is love.

Not that we have loved God,

but that he loved us

and sent his Son to be the propitiation

for our sins.

Beloved,

if God so loved us,

we also ought to love

one another.

That's why love must be at the center

of any gospel preaching

and gospel declaration,

because it is of the essence of our God.

And in his love,

he has provided his Son,

for God so loved the world

that he gave.

And that's the key word

in John 3 and verse 16

when it comes to thinking about

what God has done.

We speak of his character,

his nature,

being perfect

and pure

in love.

And we see that in his love,

he acts.

It's not just words with God.

It's actions.

And in his love,

because of his love,

through his love,

he gave.

God gave.

It's wonderful just to pause

and think and reflect

for a few moments about this,

to think of the love

of our God.

His love is limitless.

And this is how one writer

sums it up.

The magnitude of his love

is matched

by the magnitude

of his gift.

The magnitude of his love

is matched

by the magnitude

of his gift.

And when people ask you,

what gift?

What's God ever done for me?

Remind them

that he who did not

spare his own son,

but delivered him up

for us all,

how will he not also

with him graciously

give us all things?

He gave all.

The magnitude of his love

is matched

by the magnitude

of his gift.

How many people

in Stornoway tonight

and across our land

are thinking,

well,

what's God ever done

for me?

What's God ever given me?

Particularly when things

go bad

and when life

takes a downward turn

where there's a period

perhaps of ill health

or bereavement

or financial strain

and pressure,

unemployment,

when relationships

break,

when things get bad,

when brokenness

comes in,

when there's addiction,

people lash out

at God

and blame God

and shake their fist

at God

and will have nothing

to do with God

and if ever he gets

a passing thought

as well,

what's he ever done

for me?

And the tragedy

about that mindset

and that heart condition

is that it goes

straight past

this open declaration

of what God

has already done.

In love,

he's provided

his very own son.

You see,

the gospel's

not a bedtime story.

It's not about

a bunch of rules.

It's not about

a code of conduct

for religiously minded people.

The gospel,

as we've already noted

this weekend,

it's not a message

about religion.

It's a message

of salvation.

For I'm not ashamed

of the gospel

for it is the power

of God to salvation

to all who believe.

It's about salvation

and being saved

and how does it,

how do we get there?

It comes from God.

It pleased God

from all eternity

to ordain

and appoint Jesus

as our mediator.

It's paraphrasing

our own confession

of faith.

For God so loved

the world

that he gave.

He gave his son.

And the gospel tonight

stands upon

this historical

giving of Jesus.

We have to assert

and maintain

and defend

that the one

who from all eternity

was with the Father,

through whom

all things were made

and through,

by whom all things

are sustained,

by whom all things

were created,

as a result of his

being given,

became flesh

and dwelt

among us.

He is the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn

over all creation.

By him all things

were created

through him

and for him.

In him all the fullness

of God

was pleased to dwell.

How long have we got

to unpack

these words?

A lifetime

isn't long enough.

The fullness of God

was pleased to dwell.

This is our Savior.

And this is our song.

And this is who

God the Father

gave.

Why?

Because of his love.

What God

has already done.

You see,

he came

to finish a work.

He came

to complete

a task.

He was given

to do

and to do that

he gave himself

to death,

even death

on a cross.

He took our place.

He paid our price.

If you this evening

are asking,

what's God

ever done

for me?

Your answer

is the cross.

And the response

to your question

is one

that the gospel

raises.

What have you

done

about what

God has done

for you?

Have you come

to him?

Have you pled

for his mercy

and forgiveness?

Have you sought

his grace

in your heart

to take your sins

away?

Have you come

to him and cried

out the great

New Testament

prayer of confession?

Lord, be merciful

to me, a sinner.

Because that's

where we all begin.

And that's the point

where we all must come

in order to reckon

with God.

We must come

to him

on his terms,

by his appointed

means,

through our mediator,

our redeemer,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

What God

has done.

I want to think

secondly with you

about this.

What God

is doing.

Because this

incredible text

refers not just

to the past

but to the present.

For God

so loved the world

that he gave

his only son

that whoever

believes in him,

that whoever

believes in him

should not perish

but have

eternal life.

So if God

has already

done something,

what is it God

is now doing?

And what God

is doing

is calling us

to his son.

This is my

beloved son.

Hear him.

This is my

beloved son

in whom

I am well

pleased.

And as John

the Baptist

said when he

saw him,

he couldn't

contain himself.

He couldn't

keep the words

in.

He just

blurted out,

behold,

the Lamb

of God

who takes

away the

sin of the

world.

And he

does.

And there

are testaments

to that

saving work

in here

this evening.

Many,

many people,

men and

women and

boys and

girls,

who have

come to know

Jesus in

their own

hearts,

who have

prayed the

prayer of

faith,

come into

my heart,

come into

my heart,

come into

my heart,

Lord Jesus,

come in today,

come in to

stay,

come into

my heart,

Lord Jesus.

This is a

message of

salvation.

And that's

probably why

in John's

writings,

between his

gospel and

his letters,

when we put

them together,

we find the

word life

36 times.

It's a

message of

life.

And look

what he

says here,

that you

should not

perish but

have eternal

life.

Christ wants

to bring us

from death

to life,

from darkness

to light,

from estrangement

to being

children of

God,

not just

bringing us

into the

palace,

not just

bringing us

into the

kingdom,

but bringing

us right

into the

family of

God.

This is

grace.

Because,

friends,

in and of

ourselves,

what are we?

We're

sinners.

Look at

the last

verse of

this famous

chapter,

John 3

and verse

36.

We have

a solemn

perspective

and balance

presented by

God so

that tonight

each one of

us can go

home and

be under

no illusion,

no uncertainty

as to where

we stand

tonight before

our living

God.

Whoever

believes in

the Son

has eternal

life.

Whoever

does not

obey the

Son shall

not see

life,

but the

wrath of

God

remains

on him.

Solemn

words,

searching

words,

words that

I believe

the Spirit

will use

this evening

to seek

you out

and to

stir up

your conscience

so that

you would

come to

Christ

yourself,

that you

would come

and ask

the question,

what must

I do

to be

saved?

What

did Paul

say?

Believe

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ,

and you

will be

saved.

Believe.

And there

it is,

the gospel

in a moment

of time

as the

Philippian

jailer fell

to his

knees in

desperation,

knowing his

heart and

in his

spirit something

was wrong,

sensing the

void between

him and

God,

sensing that

he couldn't

get across

it himself,

he cries

out,

what must

I do

to be

saved?

Haven't

we all

done that,

Christian

friends?

Yes,

we have.

That's what

brings us

to Christ,

acknowledging

our need

for him,

and so we

come in

repentance

and faith,

and we

come to

him,

and we

come to

him in

conscious

awareness of

his summons,

his invitation

to come in

faith and

believe.

And look what

this verse

says,

whoever

believes in

him,

there's the

key word,

when we

think about

what is

God doing?

What's God

doing in

Stornoway,

in Scotland,

across the

world,

now,

this evening?

God is

saving those

who come

in faith

to his

son.

And who

are they?

Here they're

defined,

whoever,

whoever.

See,

friends,

we don't

know.

We only

see the

outward,

but God

looks at

the heart.

God knows

tonight what

we've done

with this

gospel,

and what

we've done

with his

son.

He knows

that if we

have responded

in faith,

He knows

if we

have stayed

back uncertain,

unconvinced,

and unconverted,

waiting for

another time,

waiting for

that eternal

tomorrow.

There's always

tomorrow when

it comes to

the gospel,

the great

lie of

Satan.

Don't worry

about this,

that's fine,

the gospel's

a great

message,

the gospel

has changed

lives,

and yes,

it's true,

but listen,

you've got a

lot to see

to,

you're only

young.

Let's think

about this

at the next

communion,

let's think

about it

next Sunday,

let's think

about it

when you

talk to

this one

or talk

to that

one,

any time

but God's

time,

and God's

appointed time

for dealing

with salvation

is now,

when in

his spirit

and in

his grace

and in

his mercy

and in

his providence

he presents

his gospel

to you,

saying,

come to

me,

and I

will give

you rest.

this is

the wondrous

invitation

and summons

of Jesus

Christ.

The magnitude

of his love

is matched

by the

magnitude

of his

gift,

and his

gift is

nothing other

and no one

less than

his son.

So John 3

and 16

is vast

in its

teaching of

the scope

of the

gospel,

incredible

in the

lengths

that God

will go

to.

It's

tremendous

in what

it sets

before us.

First of

all,

in what

God has

done,

and we

can call

that a

statement

of fact.

He has

given

his son.

Golgotha

was 2,000

years ago,

and now

tonight we

have the

complete

canon of

scripture

in a

language

and version

we can

read easily

and follow.

Isn't

God good?

Isn't

God gracious

and loving

and merciful?

And that

he's given

us this

message of

his son

tonight in

a way we

can sit

in comfort,

not worried

about the

police kicking

in the

door,

not worried

about being

dragged off

to prison,

not under

persecution,

but in

wonderful comfort

and security

with plenty

provided for

us,

and we

can reflect

tonight for

this half

hour together

on the

wonderful

gospel and

provision of

Christ.

For God

did not

send his

son into

the world

to condemn

the world,

but in

order that

the world

might be

saved through

him.

Let's make

it more

personal on

that.

How about

you?

Because that's

the essence

and question

of the

gospel.

God

searches the

heart and

he's asking

now this

evening,

individually,

what have

you done

with my

son?

What have

you done

with my

gospel?

What have

you done

with this

knowledge that

you have?

What have

you done

with the

Bible?

What have

you done

with your

need to

be forgiven?

Will you

still stay

away?

Will you

still

prevaricate,

debate,

argue?

Will you

still get

into a

remonstrance

and a

standoff

with God?

Will you

rail against

the Holy

Spirit and

continue to

say in

your hardness

of heart,

what's God

ever done

for me?

Or will

you now,

friends,

stop and

pause and

think.

He sent

his son

in love.

He gave

everything.

And that's

why as we

go through

the wonderful

book of the

Acts of the

Apostles,

we read of

tremendous

instances

of clarity,

of great

theology,

but great

simplicity as

well.

Listen to

Acts 13

and verse

26.

Brothers,

sisters,

sons of the

family of

Abraham and

those among

you who

fear God

to us has

been sent

the message

of this

salvation.

And again

down Acts

13 and

verse 38.

Let it be

known to

you therefore

brothers that

through this

man forgiveness

of sins is

proclaimed to

you and

by him

everyone who

believes is

freed.

Isn't that

wonderful that

God has been

so plain and

clear and

purposeful,

tender and

compassionate and

gracious and

ensuring tonight

we'd be here for

this short time,

the end of the

month of August

2022, the

year opening up

ahead of us and

the week closing

in already.

And God in his

providence has

appointed this time

in this moment

that the gospel

would come before

you again.

that Christ in

his claims over

you would come

before you again.

That our

condition as

sinners would

come before you

again.

And again God

is calling in his

mercy, come to

my son.

Come to the

one who was

dead and now

was alive.

Come to the

one who gave

himself for

you.

The great

declaration of

Paul's earliest

letter to the

Galatians, the

life I now

live.

I live by

faith in the

son of God

who loved me

and gave

himself for me

and to give

himself for him

what did he

do?

He became a

curse.

That's what the

cross was.

It's an awful

scene.

It's a scene

that we have to

study and

survey but

friends let us

do so in awe

and wonder,

humility,

patience,

tenderness.

The son of

God, dead

on a cross

for the sins

of the world.

Him who was

no sin.

How is it put

in Romans in

chapter 8?

As Paul begins

to unpack this,

Romans 8 and

verse 32,

he who did

not spare his

own son but

gave him up

for us all,

how will they

not also with

him graciously

give us all

things?

The son of

God given

to death.

and he

died there

to complete

the work

the father

had given

him to do

in this

eternal

covenant,

this covenant

of redemption.

So maybe

you think

that it

doesn't apply

to you,

doesn't extend

to you,

maybe you

think you're

not good

enough,

maybe you

think you've

got time,

friends,

whatever you're

lining up in

your lines of

defense to

resist the

gospel call

in your heart,

I would urge

you to put

them aside,

listen to the

words you've

just sung

together,

and plenteous

redemption is

ever found

with him,

that's a

wonderful Old

Testament word,

that word

there,

plenteous in

the Hebrew

is rabba,

and it

speaks of

abundance,

and a

great abundance,

so there's an

abundance of

what?

Redemption,

and it's

ever found

with him,

and from

all his

iniquities,

he Israel

shall redeem.

What do we

need to do?

We need to

acknowledge your

sin,

and cry out

for forgiveness,

and come to

him for his

mercy.

Friends,

the Bible

nowhere delutes

or denies the

awfulness of

sin.

That's what the

world does.

That's what

cultural thinking

does.

That's what

world leaders do

who are not

interested in the

gospel.

They dumb it

down,

and they expect

and demand the

church to do

likewise,

to dumb down

the teaching of

the gospel,

not to talk

about sin,

not to mention

hell,

not to raise

the issue of

judgment and

God's eternal

damnation that

waits all those

who turn away

from him.

As the gospel

says,

whoever does not

obey the Son

shall not see

life,

but the wrath

of God remains

on him.

God is love

and light

and truth

and mercy

and wrath,

and God's

wrath will be

poured out

upon sin,

and unless and

until you come

to Christ,

and under his

cover,

and under his

righteousness,

the wrath of

God remains on

you.

That's what the

scripture tells

us,

and we'll be

tied to church

if ever we

move away from

this declaration

of good news.

I read the other

day a nice story

about Voltaire,

can't claim to

know much about

the man,

but I know he

was a 17th

century critic,

thinker,

philosopher,

writer,

and he had a

great career of

poking fun at

the church and

tearing away at

the tenants of

the church,

and as one of

history's best

known atheists,

he often stated

by the time I

am buried,

the Bible will

be non-existent.

A few years

after his death,

the Geneva Bible

Society purchased

his home and

turned it into a

print shop for

Bibles.

God will not

be mocked.

God had the

last word with

that man,

and we remember

his arrogance,

his atheism,

his emptiness,

and his

hopelessness,

his being

bound in by

this humanism

and this

atheism,

this pluralism

that said,

anything but

God,

don't bring this

message of

personal salvation

to me and a

need for forgiveness.

How dare you?

And what we have

in Voltaire is

this shaken

fist,

this arrogant

denial of giving

God his place

in our hearts.

And what does

God do?

He comes to us

again and

again and

again in

his gospel and

in his grace,

saying,

whoever believes

in him should

not perish but

have eternal

life.

And this is the

last thing.

What God has

done, a

statement of

fact.

What God is

doing, a

statement of

promise.

He's saving to

the uttermost

those who call

upon him.

Then there's

this last thing,

what God will

do.