I am the voice of the One, 17th May 2020

[Music] good morning and welcome and thank you for joining us again at our church at home service it's great to have you with us I have a few notices just to begin and then we'll worship God together the first notice is that the new sheet is available in the usual place Plitt do please pick that up read through that there are many important notices in there and articles also there is a new Bible study series introducing the book of Galatians which is available online and you can pick that up at the same place as the sermons and also the third notice is that after a short illness as Sheila McCulloch went to be with the Lord on May the 9th at 10:30 surrounded by her family Ursula was known to many people at Victoria Baptist Church and beyond for her missionary work with her husband Bernard in the Congo and for a service at Victoria in many different roles she was a lady of great dignity and generosity and she will be missed by very many people please do continue to remember to pray for her daughters Christine Silvia and Angie and for their grandchildren I'm going to read to you now from Psalm 100 and then we'll worship God together shout for joy to the Lord all the earth worship the Lord with gladness come before him with joyful songs know that the Lord is God it is he who made us and we are his we are his people the Sheep of his pasture and to his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise sing praise to him and give praise to his holy name for the Lord is good and his love endures forever his faithfulness endures through all generations [Music] the man says shake [Music] the oceans from [Music] angel de la cierva rejoice your people cry out notable the yet please shout your name shout your name filling up the skies in this praise and this bracelet we love to shout your name over at your name the morning pray I join it creation sister story [Music] Hey [Applause] hey Joseph I hear four enjoy your people cry holy Sh name shout your name the skies and this yeah we have to shout your name the little shower may shout your name the skies and this phrase and the sprays dolly we love to shout your name oh there is God we will praise you praise you as no like a god we will say [Music] my god we will place you praise you this nor like I got we will sing we will sing we will pray to raise you this no like [Music] shout your name shout your name filling out the skies and the sprays and this breaks we love to sound [Music] for the earth [Music] the skies and the sprays and this brain we love to shout your name the earth will shout your name shout your name really got the skies and this price and this ratio we love to shout to name yo'ii away we love to shout your name or don't [Music] Yaya way we have to shout your name our reading this morning is taken from John's Gospel chapter 1 and I'm beginning at verse 19 now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was he did not fail to confess but confessed freely are not the Christ they asked him then who are you are you Elijah he said I am NOT are you the Prophet he answered no finally they said who are you give us an answer to take back to those who sent us what do you say about yourself John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet I am the voice of one calling in the desert make straight the way for the Lord now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ nor Elijah nor the Prophet i baptize with water John replied but among you stands one you do not know he is the one who comes after me the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie this all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan where John was baptizing the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world this is the one I meant when I said a man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me I myself did not know him but the reason I came baptizing was water was that he might be revealed to Israel then John gave this testimony I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him I would not have known him except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me the man on who you see the spirit to come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God hi Stephen thank you for agreeing to lead our prayers this morning before you do that though I'd like to ask you a couple of questions the first concerning fact many people at church were praying for Faye during and before the lockdown and it would be great if we can have an update on her situation yes yeah we met there yesterday and she was very well and she sends her greetings to everyone in the church she as you know she had triple receptor negative breast cancer in October she had five months of chemotherapy and then six weeks ago she had surgery in London since then she's been recovering from that surgery and is feeling much stronger emotionally much better in herself and in beginning again to enjoy life a little bit she has sent her a note to the church to say how she feels about the the the support that the church has given her and she said hey dad this is what I'd like to say to the congregation thank you for all your prayers over the last few months Victoria Baptist it has meant a lot to me to know that you've been thinking of me and my family and asking God to guide us through my treatment with his love I have never felt alone in this journey and during the challenging part of the chemotherapy and the surgery have always felt so much love and kindness from those around me and those caring for me thank you again for keeping me and my family in your prayers we are full of hope for the future when she mentions Romans 12:12 to finish he says rejoice in hope be patient in tribulation be constant in prayer though that that was a lovely comment from her and we feel so enriched that her journey with the Lord continues and despite the difficulties she and the family have faced over the last six months it's so encouraging for us all I know you there things that you would like us to pray for Fay and the family and for Steve and for Andy even for James pray firstly for them and their emotional and physical health pray that Fay whose due to have her radiotherapy next week it's been condensed from three weeks down to one week because of the coronavirus and then following that she goes on to further chemotherapy for a few months so pray that that she gets a reduction you know that in the side-effects from from the treatments and that she remains strong and that she remains free from the virus over the next few weeks okay in a moment I will do that just one and then you can pray for the church okay but also I would like to ask you as a doctor yourself I'm sure lots of people at the church would be grateful just for your thoughts on the current crisis anything you want to say to us or tell us we would be helpful yes oh yeah I am retired but I can look at it with some medical knowledge and it is a fast moving picture but even though we have the reduction in the limitations what we can do in the lakh time to be honest I don't feel for most of us that the situation has changed until the vaccine is there we are all still at risk so those who are under 60 they are of a concern that if they get the infection they can become spreaders of the infection and for the over-60s we are still vulnerable from it it can be and we can have a difficult time with that Forrest's so continue to be cautious continue to look clearly at what risks you want to take and why you're taking them to stay safe States stay firm in what you've done over the last eight weeks don't let that all goes okay super well Stephen if you pray for us for our church our service and then I'll I'll ER pray for you guys and faith thankfully so let let us pray Heavenly Father there you are the one true God the one we can fully depend on the constant in our lives we thank you for sending us your son who died on the cross so we could have the hope of eternal life from the depths of this pandemic we bring before you Lord those from our church family and our local community who are anxious and depressed those who are unwell and concerned about loved ones those who are vulnerable because of underlying conditions those on furlough or have lost their income streams those who are now going back to work those who feel more isolated and lonely than ever before those who are bereaved and grieving for loved ones frontline NHS workers risking their lives daily those working in care homes shielding our loved ones our students facing study and exam uncertainty and our children who return to school in July and in June father be their leader comforter and protector be strength their shield and their resource be their security their safety and close companion we pray Lord for you to empower us to Joris in Hope patient in tribulation and constant in prayer amen and then we follow us pray for this family thank you for Stephen and for Helen thank you for Faye and to Steve and James and Naomi and we commit them all to you and ask a great blessing would rest upon them we pray for that these histology results that come back would be good news for the God and bring good news and blessing to this family we pray regarding the forthcoming radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments we pray that you keep each one of this family free from infections and complications and other difficulties that might arise we pray that this treatment would be completely and fully effective we long and pray father God for good health for fame we thank you that during this time you've been working in her life through this terrible thing bringing out good things that we commit them all to you as a family and we pray for strength for peace for help and for joy in Jesus name Amen amen [Music] you are here moving in our miss I wish I wash it you are here working in this place eyelash I worship you are here moving in armies oh I worship you are he working in this lush [Music] I worship issue we make America what promised keep lighting the darkness my god that is [Music] you are they make a miracle-worker promise keep light in the darkness my god that is who you you are he touching every I watch you I wash it you are he healing every eye wash [Music] I wish you are here you telling lies sir I wash I wash it you are here mending every heart I wish I was [Music] we make miracle I promise cape night in the darkness my god that is so you they make miracle work promise keep hiding the darkness my god [Music] that is who you [Music] that is [Music] you [Music] even when I don't see it you like even when I don't feel that you work it and never stop you never stop working you never stop you never stop working even when I don't see it working even when I don't feel it you're working you never stop you never stop working you never stop you never stop working even when I don't see it you like it even when I don't feel it you like it you never stop you never stop working you never stop you never stop working evil and I don't see it you like evil and I don't feel it you're working you never stop you never stop working you never stop you never stop working we make miracle work promise Cape hide in the darkness my god I'll is so you wrong way make merry promised cape died in the darkness like a goddess to you that is who you that is who you are that is who you [Music] but is who that is who [Music] Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden his garden a much tougher garden and whose obedience is imputed to us Jesus is the true and better able who though innocently slain has blood that cries out not for our condemnation but for our acquittal Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and going into the void not knowing whither he went Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the Mount but was truly sacrificed for us all while God said to Abraham now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son your only son whom you love from me now we at the foot of the cross can say to God now we know that you love me because you did not withhold your son your only son whom you love for me Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserve so we like Jacob only received the wounds of grace that wake us up and discipline us Jesus is the true and better Joseph who is at the right hand of the king and forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his power to save them Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people in the Lord new mediates a new covenant Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses who struck with a rod of God's justice now gives us water in the desert Jesus is the true and better job he is a truly innocent sufferer who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends is that a type see that's not typology it's an instinct Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people's victory though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk losing an earthly palace but lost the ultimate heavenly one who didn't just risk his life but gave His life who didn't just say if I perish I perish says when I perish I perish for them to save my people Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so we could be brought in he's he's the real Passover lamb he's he's the true temple the true prophet the true priest the true king the true sacrifice the true lamb the true light that your bread the Bible is not about you this morning we're continuing our series the incomparable Jesus we haven't quite got yet to the statements Jesus makes about himself but God willing we will next time this morning I want to look at you with this amazing passage about John the Baptist because it gives us a perfect introduction into the Ministry of Jesus and its impact for all of us I don't know if you have seen the controversial film Joker please don't take this as a recommendation it's a disturbing and violent film it's about a character called Arthur Fleck who's an afflicted misunderstood victim of serial abuse it's painful to watch one abusive encounter after another all the time his frustration and rage are building until at last he breaks and out it comes in a violent brutal attack on one of his abusers then instead of feeling regret he begins to feel powerful and he's reborn born again as Joker and then he begins to dance one of the most pivotal and memorable scenes of the film is him dancing down the steps between two streets in New York like a butterfly escaping from a chrysalis finally he's free and he's expressing his joy in dance he's born again a whole new person it's an interesting commentary on our culture a culture which says that the way to be free the way to dance is to express what's on the inside be yourself if you want to wear clothes that other people find strange then you wear them if you want to behave in ways of which other people disapprove then you behave that way because who are they to tell you what to do in modern culture the way to receive the approval of the people that matter is to express yourself now that's a significant break from what people did in the past and it's a treat from traditional cultures in our world today in traditional cultures the way you receive approval from the people that matter is not through self-expression but by self-denial for the good of the community for men in the past that was often found in military service so that you suppress your inner coward for the good of the community to have come through battle or to have been wounded in battle where the way to honor you denied yourself for the good of others for women it was predominantly through childbirth you suppress your own fear of pain and danger for the good of a community being a mother was what made people in traditional cultures dance it was the way to honor now understanding that helps us understand the world in which we live because we're not only modern culture is not only different from ancestors it's also different from people who live in traditional cultures today one of the ways we see that manifested most clearly is in religion or attitudes to religion a person from a modern culture who expresses themselves if they have religious doubts they express those doubts and they act upon them whereas a person from a traditional culture experiencing religious doubts suppresses those doubts for the good of the community so that in in modern Western culture individual freedom of expression is a higher priority than the cohesion of the community whereas in traditional cultures in the world today cohesion of the community is a higher priority than individual expression and you can see that those two are mutually incompatible and what's happening in our world is that the internet and global communications are forcing those two cultures into a collision with one another and that is uncomfortable for for everybody so which is right what does the Bible say which which is to be preferred modern culture the the to put freedom first individual freedom first or traditional culture which puts the good of the community first I think many people will suspect that the Bible favors the latter because the Bible was written in a traditional culture but that would be a mistake because though the Bible was written in a traditional culture it's not the expression of that culture the Bible's the Word of God which speaks to all cultures and what the Bible tells us is that the place human beings find their true freedom the thing that makes them dance is neither self-expression nor self-denial but it's found somewhere else entirely and this passage shows us where and I want to show you that by looking at three things firstly the signpost secondly the witness and thirdly the one the signpost the witness and the one the signpost the Old Testament is the signpost it is a book that points on almost every page to its own need for fulfillment the Old Testament is like a bride waiting for a bride groom it is like a pregnant mother waiting to give birth like a sign poster that demands a destination here is a signpost that demands a wedding if this sign posts I hope you can see it clearly if this sign post belongs to lily and Jacobs wedding day it makes perfect sense and is very helpful but if there is no Lilly and Jacob and if there is no wedding day then this signpost makes no sense and has no purpose that's what the Old Testament is like at the time of Jesus people reading the Jewish Scriptures saw them as a signpost to wonderful things to come signpost to a coming king the signpost to Elisha returning in power the signpost to a prophet who would teach God's people as Moses had done at the time of Jesus and John the Baptist expectations were high that the promises of the Jewish Scriptures were about to be fulfilled firstly the promise of a coming king a true king one of the most striking is in 2nd samuel chapter 7 God is speaking to King David through Nathan the Prophet when your days are over and you rest with your father's I will raise up your offspring to succeed you who will come from your own body and I will establish his kingdom I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever I will be his father and he shall be my son your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me your throne shall be established forever that's the promise of a king who will come and establish an eternal Kingdom Psalm 89 is another it says he will call out to me you are my father my god the rock my Savior I will also appoint him my firstborn the most exalted of the kings of the earth I will maintain my love to him forever and my covenant with him will never fail I will establish his line forever his throne as long as the heavens and dual and then there's a quartet of promises of a coming king in the Book of Isaiah promises and words that are familiar to many of us the Jewish Bible is like a signpost promising a coming king but not only a coming king it promises the return of Elijah see I will send you the prophet Elijah before the Great and dreadful day of the Lord comes and and in addition to those promises God's promise to Moses of one who would speak the words of God to his people as Moses had I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers I will put my words in his mouth and he will tell them everything I command him like the signpost points to a wedding the Old Testament is a signpost on every page that points us to Jesus Jesus not only fulfills over 40 Old Testament prophecies as the video showed us he is the fulfillment of one Bible story line after another to refuse to see Jesus as the one the Bible points to is like refusing to believe this signpost points to a wedding so the Old Testament is a signpost to Jesus John the Baptist is the witness John the Baptist's ministry was marked by both enormous popularity and being beyond the jurisdiction of the establishment to the equivalent of that would be to being on YouTube to being a sensation on YouTube imagined someone on YouTube announcing a new thing that God was about to do and attracting a huge following imagine everyday people connecting to see the latest thing that John the Baptist was saying and doing yet people from churches people from synagogues and mosques people from universities all being attracted to this figure on YouTube what would happen is that the political leaders the religious leaders and the establishment would become nervous and they'd want to know who he was and with what authority he spoke and that's what you see happening in this passage when the religious leaders from Jerusalem send out people to speak to John and ask him who he is so so they come to him and they the first question is implied they are you the Christ he it says in the passage he did not fail to confess but freely confessed I am NOT the Christ then who are you are you Elijah I am NOT are you the Prophet no he answered no I think you can sense their frustration the next line it says then then who are you tell us so that we can give an answer to those who centers what do you say about yourself and John said I am the voice of one calling in the desert make straight the way for the Lord I am the one who comes before the king and says behold the king is coming make way for the king move those things out the way clear the path the king is here the king is coming and John who doesn't say much about himself in this passage has a lot to say to us about Jesus I want to show you three things that he says it was about the one the first thing he says is Jesus is easily missed he says among you stands one you do not know in verse 27 he said I myself did not know him in verse 31 and he said I would not have known him except God revealed him to me in verse 33 I think when John is telling us that Jesus is easily missed it's an allusion to the story of the prophet Samuel going to anoint King David as king it's in 1st Samuel chapter 16 God told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem and there to anoint one of his sons as king now Jesse had eight sons and when Samuel saw the eldest Ely up he said to himself surely this is the Lord's anointed but God spoke to him and said the Lord does not look at the things man looks at man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart and having looked at all seven of the sons that Jesse had brought to him Samuel said are these all the sons you have and Jesse says well there is still one more there is still the youngest but he is tending the Sheep Samuel said send for him so he sent for him and had him brought in then the Lord said rise and anoint him he is the one the least likely by human judgment is the one that God chose there was nothing in David's appearance that would cause anyone to recognize him as God's chosen King and as it was with David so it was with Jesus despite the fact that in Jesus all God's promises to Israel were being fulfilled they were in a able to recognize him in fact a recurring theme in John's Gospel is not just the inability of people to recognize Jesus but the refusal to judge his claims fairly those who ought to have recognized him first were not only unable to do so but often they were unwilling to do so now isn't that true about our own society when you think about our society it's not just that our society as is unable to recognize Jesus it's also unwilling to consider the claims of Jesus fairly how many people can say that they have considered the claims of Jesus fairly and how many would say they simply preferred not to do so the first thing John tells us is that Jesus is easily missed the second thing he tells us is that he will baptize with the Holy Spirit Jesus is the one what that means is that Jesus is the one who will make us clean and Jesus is the one who will make us dance at this time of lockdown many people are doing DIY jobs and I want you to imagine that you've been painting something or perhaps varnishing something and you come to the Clapp time when you want to clean the brushes and all you have to clean them is in is cold water you could spend an awful long time trying to clean a paintbrush of oil-based paint using just cold water you need something else you need white spirit John baptized with water and his baptism couldn't wash sins away any more than water gets oil-based paint or varnish off a Burress you need an entirely different kind of baptism and Jesus is the one who will give it to you he will baptize with the Holy Spirit there is nothing so sticky nothing so dark nothing so hard set that the Holy Spirit can't make it clean when John tells us that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit it means that Jesus is the one who will make us clean forever Jesus is Lu and Jesus is the one who will make us dance the next chapter of this book begins with one of Jesus most famous miracles turning the water into wine maybe you're watching this this morning and for you you feel that your wine has run out perhaps it's you you struggling with anger or rage or shame or guilt you can't wash them away nobody else can wash them away but Jesus can wash them away he's the one he can make you clean and he will if you come and then lastly John tells us how Jesus is the lamb look the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world as far as we know though expectations at this time were rife about the promises of God being fulfilled no one was talking about the Lamb of God which is strange because the Lamb of God is right there front and center in some of the most important stories in Israel's history when Abraham and Isaac climbed Mount Moriah together and Isaac said to him father the fire and the wood are here but where is the lamb for the burnt offering Abraham replied God Himself will provide the lamb and when they got to the top of the mountain and it looked like Isaac would be sacrificed God provided a lamb and the lamb was substituted the lamb took Isaac's place and when that happened Abraham said about the place the Lord will provide later in Israel's history when the greatest and most terrible plague was about to fall on Egypt the Lord said to Moses each man is to take a lamb for his family take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframe on that same night I will pass through Egypt and will bring judgment when I see the Blood I will pass over you know destructive plague will touch you it was the blood of the Lamb that protected God's people and thirdly the prophet Isaiah speaking about a servant King to come said he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed he was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her Shearer's is silent so he did not open his mouth all of those lambs are signposts to Jesus he hadn't come to kill Israel's enemies as a conquering king but as a servant king to be killed by them that in his death he might bear the penalty for every single sin of his people that his death might as the Lamb of God he might be their substitute he might be their protector and by his wounds they might be healed he would set their free from the fear of judgement by bearing that judgment on their behalf in their place for those with eyes to see Jesus has done everything necessary to make his people safe forever the Bible is the signpost John the Baptist is the witness and Jesus is the one the true prophet the true king the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world what will make us dance not the self expression of modern culture nor the self denial of traditional culture but simply Jesus the one who gave himself for us the one who gives the spirit who will make us clean the one who turns our water into wine let's pray Heavenly Father thank you that you have done more for us than we could ever have imagined and more for us than we could have asked for open our eyes to see our need for Jesus and Jesus as the perfect answer for uh need grant each one of us the Grace and peace that Jesus brings and grant that he might receive through us the glory and honor do his name [Music] give me this to see things like you do god I love to you you're my house from Gibby West you know just what [Music] to give me this see things like you tell god I love to you are my help comes fries give me wisdom you know I just watched love you [Music] my four my days I to God [Music] ah [Applause] [Music] our God reigns forever my tastes have you got [Music] [Music] [Music] I got the almighty a little you got [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] forever oh my days hallelu you got [Music] I got you forever all my tapes pilot Oh God [Music] you we've come now to the end of our service thank you for joining us this morning I want to close the service now with these these words now to him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory Majesty power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord now and forever amen may the Lord bless you all you

Channel: Victoria Baptist Church

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Length: 55min 46sec (3346 seconds)

Published: Sun May 17 2020