Their seat. And a hush fell over the crowd. If there's empty seats in the middle somewhere, if you could squish in and make it easier for those that haven't found seats yet to sit, that would be much appreciated. I'm thinking that probably 90% of the people in this room have cell phones.
I I hope at least 10% of the younger ones don't, but that's beside the point. You've probably all heard these annoying alerts that come on your cell phone every so often. And they're going yang yang and you look at it and it's like a rainfall warning or it's a a hail warning. The other day I got one and and you're going to laugh at this one if you haven't seen it. It said water boil advisory for the village of Granom and the entire province needed to hear that. Very important.
Well, let me take you to some real warnings in scripture. I'm going to take you to the book of E Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 3, 16 and on. And Ezekiel says, "And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me, son of man, I have made you a watchman." And a watchman, by the way, is someone who watches over the city at night to make sure there's no enemies coming to attack.
So it says, "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, you shall surely die." and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity. But his blood I will require at your hands.
But if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked ways, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. So this warning is to all of us. It's to the believer that we are to share the gospel. As you're going to hear later on in the service, we have three young people being baptized and I'm very happy to say one is my granddaughter and they're going to share their testimonies and you're going to hear how they came to know the Lord.
The other one is for those people who have not repented and are not believers of the coming judgment. And so as you sit in the service this morning, if you're a non-believer, listen carefully. This is the day of salvation. Don't put it off till tomorrow. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your word. Thank you for reminding us of these things that we need constant reminders of.
We're bombarded so much by the things of this world that says everything is fine. Just carry on. But everything is not fine in this world. And we need to keep our eyes focused on you, the creator and the one who came and sent your son to die in our place. And so that those who are not saved still have opportunity because you died in their place. You died for their sins, for all our sins. And I just thank you, Lord, for that.
Thank you, Lord, for the three young people who are Lena and Caleb and Martina who are going to be baptized later today and professing their belief in you and sharing with us. I pray for them and I pray for the congregation that we would stand by them, encourage them, come alongside them in their walk. And I pray for the message this morning as well, Lord, that you would open our eyes and our ears to your word. Pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
Just actually just one announcement today. CYPP training is August 21st at 7 p.m. So if you're have any intentions of working with the young people in this church, you need to attend that. And I believe you can get a hold of Pastor Bryce on that issue. Is that right? >> Yep. Okay. And actually there's another one because I saw earlier on the board here it said something about child dedication. We have child dedication coming up and I am really pleased to say that that is very necessary in this church because we have a lot of children and that's a real blessing and I'm glad that they're in the service as well.
Why don't we take this moment to stand up and greet somebody in your close vicinity so we don't travel too far? If the ushers would come forward now and we'll take up our morning's tithes
And offerings. Let's pray. Lord, you are the creator of all and therefore everything we have is yours. And I just pray as we give back a small portion of what you've given us that that would be used by the leadership to further your kingdom. Give us wisdom and knowledge, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen. Have You'll take your Bibles and turn
With me to Acts 20:17-32. And Joanna Bri Brianna Johal, I just about got that backwards. We'll come and read for you. I'll be reading from the ESV. Now from Myitus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.
And when they came to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews. How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole council of God.
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Lord, I love to sing your praises.
I'm so glad you're in my life. I'm so glad you came to You came from heaven to earth to show the way from the earth to the cross. My dear from the cross to the grave. From the grave to the sky. Lord, I lift your name on high.
I lift your name on your praises. I'm so glad you're in my life. I'm so glad you came to save us. You came from heaven to earth to show the way. From the earth to the cross, my grave. From the grave to the sky.
Lord, I lift your name on high. You came from heaven to earth to shine away. From the earth to the cross, my death. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky. Lord, I lift your name on high. Lord, I lift your name up high.
>> Good morning, everyone. That text that you heard read from Acts 20 certainly epitomizes the lives of so many faithful saints and the life of John Knox is among them. We have been going through a cloud of witnesses series through Hebrews 11 but we have been interspersing those those stories with the occasional account from church history. And today we come to one of those the life of John Knox. On his deathbed in 1572.
He asked his wife to read to him from John chapter 17. And why did he ask that? He said to her, "It was here that I first cast my anchor." In other words, this was the text that the Lord used to bring John Knox to faith in Christ. What does John 17 read? Well, I won't read the whole chapter, but the first few verses of John 17 say this. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come."
Glorify your son that the Son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all that you have given him. And this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
This is a part of the text that the Lord used to bring John Knox to himself. We're going to read a lot of scripture here in a few minutes, but first, let me give you the thumbnail overview of his life. He was born a few miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1514 and died in Edinburgh in n in November on November 24th actually Caleb's birthday. But a little earlier than Caleb was born in 1572. His parents placed a high value in education and so they enrolled him in the Haddington Grammar School.
He entered later on the prestigious St. Andrews University in 1529. This would prove to be providential because it was there that he came under the influence and toutelage of a professor named John Major. John Major helped him grow in intellect in critical thinking and in logic during this season which would prove invaluable for him throughout the course of his life. He graduated from that university in 1536 and immediately was ordained as a Roman Catholic bishop in Dunlain.
He so excelled in that role that he became a papal notary. Now, if you're not familiar with what this is, a papal notary is a legal officer in the Roman Catholic Church that would sign official documents. Why does this matter? At this time, the Roman Catholic Church owned over half of the property, over half of the real estate in all of Scotland. In fact, they took in financially over 18 times more per year than the Scottish crown did.
And so to be the papal notary to be able to be the one to sign all the legal documents put you in a position of extreme influence. Now while the actual date of his conversion is unknown it's almost certainly that he came to faith in Christ through the preaching of a man named Thomas Guan. Anyone heard that name? I didn't think so. Remember back when we looked at the life of Charles Haden Spurgeon, he came to faith in Christ through the preaching of some unnamed elder in a local church where there was 12 people present.
If you remember back to the very first sermon series sermon in this series from Hebrews 11, we looked at those unnamed folks at the end of Hebrews 11 of whom the world was not worthy. Charles Haden Spurgeon came to faith under the preaching of someone who we don't know his name. John Knox came to faith into the preaching of someone whose name we don't know. Nameless, faceless, but not nameless and not faceless to the Lord. The Lord honors the preach the faithful teaching and preaching of his word even from those who are unheralded.
Well, upon this knowledged once he came to true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, John Knox said this. It pleased God to call me from the puddle of the papistry. That is to say, I can see the Roman Catholic lies for what they are, and I'm coming out. And he began to preach the sound and true gospel. But that put him in the crosshairs of the powerful Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. And so he along with others who were preaching the gospel had to hide for their lives. And so they began to hide in St.
Andrew's castle, but they were found there by the French in 1547 and taken into captivity. He was under French rule and in their prisons for 19 months before he finally was released, but not before his health was permanently damaged. Now, he couldn't return to Catholic controlled Scotland. And then so he went to England for this season because in this particular season, England was ruled by King Edward V 6th. Now if you know anything about King Henry V 6th, he was actually a very affectionate toward reformed theology toward the biblical doctrine that was being taught by Martin Luther and others.
And so he took a pastor in a small community there for a brief period. However, that was short-lived because shortly after that, Mary Tutor came to power, also known as Bloody Mary. And she was hunting Protestants, killing many. He was one of the last Protestants to flee the country and would shortly thereafter end up in Geneva, Switzerland. This proved exceedingly providential because it was there that he studied under a man named John Calvin.
And in fact, John Knox became the pastor of the Englishspeaking church in Geneva. You see, Geneva was largely French. John Calvin himself was from France. He was French. So, it was a French-speaking church in a French-speaking community, but so many English and Scottish folks were fleeing for their lives to Geneva that there was now this massive English population there and they needed someone to preach the gospel to them in English. So, John Knox became that pastor and he held that position until 1559.
During his time there, he married married a lady named Marjorie Bose who bore him twin sons and then immediately died thereafter. Now after during his time there in Geneva, a contingent came from Scotland to return to urge him pardon me to return to Scotland. There was a need for gospel preaching and so because he loved his homeland he returned to Scotland and he was actually surprised. There was a little warmth toward the gospel by the general population, but there was political dangers lurking.
He could see that Mary, Queen of Scots, and Francis II, the King of France, were gunning together for Queen Elizabeth's power and they were opposed to the Protestant movement. And so he being wise could see this. So he reached out to Queen Elizabeth himself personally to warn her of this danger. And he said to her, "If you will join and with the Protestants, we can hold off this evil regime." And so that is exactly what she did. And they did in fact hold off Mary, Queen of Scots and Francis II and their evil regime to try to topple the Protestants.
And through that victory, the Protestants were the dominant force in the nation of Scotland for a long time. It is through this that the gospel became the primary influence in Scotland for decades and it became rooted in Scotland. If you have Scottish ancestry and you have believers in your ancestry that go generations back, it owes a lot to the Lord's work through John Knox. It was during this time that he put together various documents that would protect the freedom of worship of the saints in Scotland.
Documents such as the first book of discipline and the book of common order among many others. He died in 1572 after years of faithful service. Principal Smeaten was the name of a man who was a contemporary of John Knox and he said this quote, "I know not if ever God placed a more godly and great spirit in a body so little and frail." John Knox famously said this, "One man with God is always in the majority."
That is true. Mary, Queen of Scots, said this about John Knox. I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of 10,000 men. And that's just touching the tip of the iceberg on his legacy. What do we what do we learn from a man of faith like that? As we consider what it means to live by faith, as we've been examining from Hebrews 11, well, there's a few things. One is disciplehip.
For us to grow in our faith, we need to be discipled and we need to be a people discipling others. This is biblical and it was modeled by John Calvin. He was a fine pastor, a fine theologian in his own right. But upon traveling to Geneva multiple times to not only learn from John Calvin, but to learn from many others, he became a more faithful and better pastor and shepherd and theologian. It equipped him in ways that he couldn't have imagined possible. He would go on to Martin Martin Lloyd Jones later would say about this about him that John Knox is the founder of English Puritanism.
Why? Because he was so equipped by being discipled and he was so fervent in discipling others. John Knox was not content to simply be poured into. He made it his life's mission to pour into others. Men like Patrick Hamilton and George Wishart and many others who would then go on to have a great gospel influence and they themselves would disciple others. By the way, brothers and sisters, this is the biblical pattern. This is how it is supposed to be. In 2 Timothy 2:2, we read this. What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
This is how it's supposed to be. What you hear when you're taught the gospel, you are then to take that and teach it to others who will then be grounded in the gospel better, who Lord willing will then take it and teach it to others and so forth and so on throughout the generations. This has been modeled for us throughout the scriptures. Let me take you to an example. Moses, did he ever disciple anyone? We we I'm using modern vernacular. They wouldn't have had the vernacular of disciple in this in this era.
But we certainly see it as directed by the Lord. Moses poured into Joshua. In Numbers chapter 27, listen to what we read here. Picking it up in verse 18. The Lord said to Moses, "Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.
And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urum before the Lord. At his word they shall go out and at his word they shall come in both he and all the people of Israel with him the whole congregation. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation. And he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses. And then as we move on into Deuteronomy 31, we read this in verses 7 and 8.
Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them. And you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. And then as we come to the end of Moses's life, listen to what we read here in Deuteronomy 34:5-9.
So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in the land, pardon me, in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Pior. But no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimemed and his vigor unabated. And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord commanded Moses. So all along the Lord had said, "Pour into Joshua." And Moses did commissioned Joshua. Moses did. He equipped him. And when the time came Joshua was ready to lead because he had been invested in by Moses as directed by the Lord. We see this not just in the Old Testament but in the New Testament.
In Acts chapter 16, Paul is going about his mission work. And listen what we read here in Acts 16 starting in verse one. Paul came to Derby into Lystra. A disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was spoken of, pardon me, he was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
And as they went to their cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that have been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. And so the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily. And then as you come to 1 Timothy 1, what do we read? Timothy is the son, the spiritual son of the apostle Paul because Paul took him and discipled him and poured into him. And then Timothy now was instructed by Paul to make sure you go and do likewise to others. This is the biblical pattern. In fact, in the great commission in Matthew 28, what did Jesus say?
Go make disciples of all nations. If we are going to be a faithful people, we need to take the faith the Lord has delivered to us and give that to others. Train them, equip them. This is biblical. Far be it from us that we would say we're content to be a healthy church now and just keep it to ourselves and then when the elders of this church die, we're just going to dissolve.
No, it should be that we are so faithful in discipling others that when if the elders are all off to a conference somewhere and we're in an airplane and the airplane crashes probably our Canada but we all go down that the church doesn't miss a beat because it's been so properly discipled. That should be the way it operates and that's our heart. And John Knox modeled that well. We want to be we want to do likewise.
Not only that, but we learn by examining his life about the importance of fearlessness. Now, when I say fearless, understand that no one on God's green earth has ever been fearless. You know what I mean by that? You can think of the most think of the most courageous people you can think of in the history of time. Let's not let's not presume that they had no fear. But what we can examine is the fact that even though they must have had fear, they moved forward and it appeared to the onlooking world that they had no fear because they kept going. Such was John Knox.
In August of 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots, decreed that Catholic mass was required to be observed at every church in Scotland. The following Sunday, John Knox said this. In our God, there is strength to resist and confound multitudes if we unfignly depend upon him, whereof hereto for we have had experience. But when we join hands with idolatry, both God's amicable presence and comfortable defense leaveth us, and what shall then become of us?
Wow. In other words, no, we're not partaking of the Catholic Mass because that would be to hold hands with idolatry. He knew, he had to know that this would put him in the crosshairs of Mary, Queen of Scots. It could lead to his arrest. It certainly could lead to his death. But such was his boldness that he said it anyway because it was important for the people of God to do what was right in God's sight. In September of 1561, about a month little over a month later, he directly confronted her face to face and he said this, "Wonder not, madam, that I call Rome a harlot, for that church is altogether polluted with all kind of spiritual fornication as well as in doctrine and as in manners."
Bold as a lion, this went back and forth for a time. And in 1563, a year and a half or two years later, he was again face to face with Mary, Queen of Scots, who at this point was now in tears because he continued to preach the biblical gospel. And he continued to stand against the Roman Catholic misting which she revered. And so she is standing in front of him apparently with tears in her eyes.
And he said this to her, "Seeing I have offered you no just occasion to be offended, but have simply spoken the truth as my vocation craves of me, I must sustain, albeit unwillingly, your majesty's tears, rather than I dare hurt my conscience or betray my commonwealth through my silence." In other words, you can go on crying. I'm not changing my position. That's bold. In every generation, the believer, the the faithful believer is going to require courage.
It's true. Where does our courage come from? Well, Matthew 28 in the great commission when Jesus is about to ascend in verse 20, the end of verse 20, the last thing we have recorded before he ascends to heaven, he says this, "Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. The Lord promised his presence with us.
If you remember, we looked at Joshua. He was put in p put in this place of power after Moses had died. And even though Moses had built into him and poured into him, you can imagine that even though he was equipped, you would still feel this measure of trepidation. You're now in charge of probably millions plural of people to lead them into the promised land. This was daunting. And in the course of it, we read this in Joshua 1:8-9. The Lord here speaking to Joshua. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened. Do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. What was going to give Joshua courage? God is with you. What did Jesus promise in Matthew 28? I will be with you to the very end of the age. That is what gives the believer courage. I know like John no said that one man with God is always in the majority.
One man, God being with me can go forward in the strength that he supplies. Even if I stand alone, God is so worthy. What is the worst that the world can do to us? If you are a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ in an increasingly dark world and you're feeling a sense of trepidation and fear, understandably, what is the worst? Think about this. The worst that the world can do to us, kill us.
That is it. And you might be sitting, if you're not a follower of Christ, you might say, "Well, that's a lot." Not for the believer, it ain't. Listen to what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1. He said this, "For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain." Why? If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which shall I choose? I cannot tell. I am hardpressed between the two.
My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better. So to the world, we can honestly say as believers, you want to kill us, go ahead. Gain for me. You want to let me live? Great. Gain for you because I'm going to preach God the Christ to you. So either way, it's gain. If I live fruitful labor, if I die, I'm home with Jesus. Praise God. That that understanding, that truth should give a sense of fearlessness among the believer.
I, as was once said many years ago, the believer is immortal until the Lord calls him home. Until the work is done that the Lord has called him to, he can go forth in the strength God supplies. John Knox knew this and he modeled it well. May we do likewise. One other thing we can learn from John Knox's faith about tirelessness. If I was to ask you, how many of you are tired? I would imagine we'd have a number of hands grow up. We had Abe said it well.
We have so many young families here with young children. It's wonderful. All of those moms and dads are probably living on coffee. Am I Can I get an amen? Right. That you're tired. It's understandable. And we're all tired probably in many different ways. I'm not talking about that kind of tired. When we talk about being tireless, we're talking about pressing on in the things that God has called us to. Did you know that the Bible does not speak about retirement?
That is not a biblical teaching. Now, that's not to say that with your your specific vocation that you might not cease or slow down at some point. Certainly, that will probably happen. But as it pertains to God's work, to the work of the Lord, we according to scripture are to keep our hand to the plow until he returns or until he calls us home. That is what we read in scripture and that was true of John Knox. He was one of the primary instruments in drafting the Geneva Bible.
Oftentimes it's attributed to John Kelvin and though John Kelvin had a part to play in it, the primary instrument was actually John Knox and draft and that took a lot of work. He continued to preach and to pray for his congregation right up to the last days of his life. He did not stop. He walked with a significant limp because of those days being imprisoned in France. For the rest of his days, he had a very difficult time walking.
So, he had a cane and he would often have to have someone else on the other side of him helping him, especially get up to the pulpit because he simply could hardly walk. But he was so passionate about making sure that people heard the gospel and he felt called to it that even though he had all those physical limitations, he felt a necessity to press on and serve the Lord as long as the Lord gave him breath. And the last few months of his life, his voice became weaker and weaker. And so in the cavernous auditorium that where they met, the people could no longer hear him.
They didn't have the blessing of amplification as we do today. And so he he decided to move himself to a smaller room in the church because he felt it was important for the people to hear the teaching of the word of God. And so in the smaller room, he could be heard better. As time went along and he knew that his he was on the last lap of his life and he was nearing the end, he was still seeking to minister to the congregation by by enacting a succession plan. He wrote a letter to a man named James Lawson who was 32 years old at the time and called him to come and shepherd that church.
He didn't want the church to miss a beat. He was caring for them until his dying day. That is how a servant of the Lord might must must live. If the Lord has given you a gift and use it. You know, it's an easy thing to have happen where we can fall into a worldly mindset in the church or we can say, you know, I've served the Lord. I've done my time. It's time for someone else to step up. The only problem with that, of course, is the Bible.
The Bible gives no such teaching. We are called to press on until he calls us home. Think about the Apostle Paul as he was writing to Timothy. Listen to what we read here in second Timothy. This is presumably his last letter. In fact, he basically says, "I'm knocking on death's door." And this is what he says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:6. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have loved his appearing. Tim Paul says, I have I'm at the end, and I have fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I I've I've carried on. I've endured. I've And even here, he's continuing to teach doctrine. If you read through second Timothy, he's continuing to teach.
Even at the very end, we read the same thing in Deuteronomy 33 about Moses. He continued to seek to bless the people even as he was fading away. This is the call for us. All of this is done by the strength God supplies. If you're seeking to serve the Lord in your own strength, yeah, you're going to probably pack her in at some point. But in the strength that God supplies and the energy that he gives to us, we can faithfully press on because God is faithful.
Do you know that in John 5, we read there that God is always at work. And then Jesus says, "And I am always at work." And we know that the Holy Spirit is continuously active. So the triune God is always at work. And particularly because we know that he is with us to the very end of the age, he is at work in the believer. If we know that, if we know that God is working in the believer, then we can press on because it's not our strength, it's his.
We must obey his commands until our last breath. Can you imagine saying, "I've obeyed God, but now it's time for me to go golfing and I'm going to do whatever I want." No, that's not what the Bible says. You obey him until you're dead. We must glorify him until our last breath, seeking to give him all the glory in our speech and our conduct and our way of living. We must commune with the Lord in word and prayer and fellowship until he calls us home. All of these things are enduring commands for us.
There is no limit to abiding with Christ. In fact, as we read here in John 15 in that famous passage about what it means to abide with Christ. Let me read for you. We read in 9:10 and 11. This is Jesus speaking and he says, "As the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept the Father's commandments and abide in his love.
These things I have spoken to you that my that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Not only are we to abide with the Lord now, our abiding with Christ actually goes on eternally. If you abide with the Lord, that's not going to end when you die. You're going to go into his presence for all eternity. So he says, "Abide in my love. Keep my commandments." This is part of a part and parcel of it. Living for the Lord's glory is part of abiding in him.
And there's no time limit to that. And so may the Lord give us a tirelessness in serving him, in honoring him, in glorifying him, in obeying him, and on and on and on it goes. We're about to hear in a few minutes testimonies of those who have been redeemed by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is our prayer that these three people will grow in disciplehip will increasingly be fearless in their walk with the Lord and will be tireless in serving him.
But not just these three. As you hear their testimonies and you're encouraged by them, no doubt, be reminded that this call is not just for them. It's for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. May that be our testimony and may God be pleased. So, Father, I pray that you would indeed encourage our hearts in these things. We pray that we would be disciples and that we would seek to disciple others faithfully in times of trial and hardship. Would you give us a fearlessness, that is to say, a courage to continue to serve you in the strength that you supply, knowing that you are with us.
And Father, we pray that we would not grow weary in serving you, but that you would give us by your enabling power, the energy and endurance to serve you all the days of our life, glorifying you and making much of you. We thank you for your presence with us. And we ask your blessing now as we continue on this morning in Jesus name. Amen. King of the praise to Christend.
Behold the wondous. The great behold.
In the su lamb victory. Jesus glorious. Praise the Lord. He is alive.
I will give to you. And fill me with your deserve to the king of glory I You're good and secure forever.
You deserve the glory. I rejoice. You deserve I am good Holy, holy, Lord God and good and praise.
Glory, glory, good gracious. You better handve.
The great joy I am Gracious. Well, we are excited today to have three people getting baptized.
If you're unfamiliar with baptism or you're not familiar with how we practice baptism here at our church, we we hold to believers baptism, it is the biblical pattern that we see. Those who believed were baptized. Repent and be baptized. That's the biblical pattern that we see throughout the scriptures, throughout the New Testament. Believe and be baptized as a a profession a public profession of your faith. It is an ordinance of the church. It is meant to be observed in such a way that the local church can support and come alongside these believers and care for them and minister to them all the days of their life.
We practice here baptism by immersion. Again, it's the biblical pattern. We see no other baptism in scripture. It's always by immersion. Why is that? I believe Romans 6 gives us some clarity on that. We read in Romans 6 this. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were there, pardon me, we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, we too might walk in newness of life.
So there we have this picture of baptism. What is it? Being buried with Christ in his death, being raised to newness of life in him, dead to sin, alive to God in Christ. And the the wondrous blessing for all those who are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ is found in the next verse. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. That's great glorious hope that we live in.
And so we are thrilled that these three have received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith over the last while we have met with them and we can as elders give testimony to their faith and we we agree that the Lord has indeed saved them by grace. And so we're going to start by asking Martina Morrow if she would come and share a little bit of how it is the Lord brought her to faith and then we will pray with her. So come on. Hello.
So when I was driving in today I realized that in my testimony I didn't include any scripture. And I felt bad. But it just so happened that a gave me a card with some scripture that I felt is very fitting with the rest of my testimony. So, I'm going to read that first. He saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5. So, I grew up in Toronto, but since both my parents were Croatian, I would spend summers with my baka in a small town called Poa.
My parents weren't practicing any faith, but they would identify themselves as Roman Catholic. My earliest memories of Jesus were seeing him in the church in Portugal when my back when my baka would take me to Sunday mass. She gave me my first rosary bead necklace and a figure of Mary. I still have both. But she died when I was very young, after which my parents split. My dad moved back to Portugal and my mom became severely depressed and forbade me from seeing any of my dad's family or him. My teenage years were mostly just my mom and I with my siblings that would come over on the weekends.
There was no faith in the house at all. All my family were addicts. My mom and my three siblings from our first marriage. They would we would all drink and party on the weekends. My mom raised me in her image idolizing money, power, and status. I was switched to the French international balorate program at a very expensive private school. Competed a tennis went to entering science at uft. Did research in Singapore, Boston at Sick Kids, and got into medicine at Queens.
My life was the definition of work hard, party harder. But nothing I did was ever good enough for my mom. No matter how many degrees I got, papers I published, she made it very clear that I knew that somebody else was doing better and achieving more than I was. Meeting Zach changed the trajectory of my life. I know now, although I didn't then, that Jesus brought Zach into my life. Zach was a believer since he was a little boy growing up in the church. After meeting him, my life started to change drastically.
I experienced a lot of physical and mental pain as I started to be forced to confront and let go of my sinful behavior. My physical health especially deteriorated, forcing me to give up my drinking, then let go of my pursuit of money, status, and power. I could no longer do what my mom wanted and was forced to really confront the fact that I felt all my worth was tied to my achievements. When CO hit, I found myself strongly disagreeing with the vaccine mandates and how patients visitors were treated in the hospitals where I was working as a medical clerk.
My father died during COVID with no visitors allowed. They didn't catch his lung cancer in time and no one was there to advocate for him. Due to this conflict and my health, it took me an additional year to graduate after going on medical leave. Residency programs in Ontario would also not accept me unvaccinated. The time on the time during my leave, I was living with Zach. He proposed and we got pregnant with Autumn shortly after. During that time while I was pregnant, my sister died of substance use. As soon as Autumn was born, I had an overwhelming need to go to church again.
I knew I had to raise her in faith. Also, I felt inner turmoil almost constantly and had an overwhelming need for peace, for the peace of God. A peace I had learned I was never going to find in the things of this world. We started going to church and it had a very strong impact on me. I often would start crying during worship. I seek help from the pastors. As my health continued to deteriorate, I was desperate for healing. I forget now how I came across it, but I started to look for how I could fix my own health. I knew I believed in God and Jesus, but I didn't understand rightly at the time.
So, I started to follow Echartole in a course in miracles and began the practices they recommended. My health spiraled further. Zach and I got married and became pregnant with Lucas. We moved to Alberta after I was accepted to a residency program here. I doubled my efforts practicing a course of miracles. It's all I did in whatever spare time I had. My health was at an all-time low. I was sleeping maybe two hours a night and I became suicidal, struggling to keep going for my kids. Then we came to Gateway Bible Church.
I believe it took hearing the sermons from August to February and countless prayers from many of you for me to actually return to the Bible and embrace the biblical sorry. The day I stopped the course in miracles and opened the Bible was the day I started my mass cell activation syndrome medications. I was up up until that point resisting the advice of my of my doctor and my health radically improved.
I started recovering from years of being sick while also being pregnant and nursing. I felt so much better and had more and more moments of true peace. Through Jesus, I've also been able to forgive my mom and understand better all the trials leading to my acceptance of him. I've also learned not to idolize romance, but instead about the purpose of marriage and how important Zach and I have been to each other in Christ. Jesus never gave up on me, no matter how stubborn I was.
I know I still have so much growing to do in Christ, but I feel now that I understand the fundamentals of who he is and that he died for my sins so that I can be saved by grace through faith and not through works. I just want to live my life for him in peace and not for man any longer. I feel very strongly that it is the right thing to do for me to get baptized today in all of given all of this and after praying on it. The last thing I want to say is that in this last month since I originally wrote this testimony, Christ's work in me has s surpassed all of my expectation and understanding.
He has 100% healed me physically. One day I just suddenly knew he had and I no longer needed any of my medications. I have been sleeping, working out again with my husband, running with my kids, eating in restaurants and I felt it was very important for me to add this in so that I can glorify him. He is so good and I just want to live my life for him, for his glory and in him. Thank you so much all of you for listening and for your support and prayers this last year. We have been so encouraged with with you, Martina.
Bryce and I where is there he is? We're over and and hearing you share your story and how the Lord brought you to a knowledge of him and is continuing to grow you in the Lord. It just has been such an encouragement. So, as we often do in our church here, not super long, but maybe if there is two or three folks that would maybe want to share something by way of encouragement to Martina, maybe it's a scripture, just to say, "Hey, we we're praying for you, whatever. Maybe if there's one or two or three that would like to encourage Martina, by all means, this would be a great time to do that.
You can just stand up where you are. I can wait it out. Place for now.
I also want to share a scripture with you. Maybe one you've heard before, maybe one probably all heard before, but it's it's always a fitting text to remind someone to press on. In Philippians 1, speaking to the believers, Paul says this. I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. He's faithful not only to begin the work in us but to bring it right through to him. This is how faithful our God is.
So would you stand together with me and let's pray for Martina at this time. Father, we are so thankful for Martina's life. We are thankful for what you drew her out of that you drew her out of the miry clay and you set her feet firmly on the rock of Christ. We are encouraged today, heartened with the fact that you were continuing to grow her and sanctify her and set her apart. And we pray that that would continue all the days of her life.
Father, we pray that you would grant her increasingly a peace that passes all understanding about the goodness of Jesus Christ. And so strengthen her as the days go on. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. I want to say before we get started that
Me and Matt wearing the exact same thing was not planned. So just got both got good fashion sense. Our next baptis very excited about came to me recently and she decided that it was time for her to be baptized and it's exciting especially at such a young age and so we're going to invite Alina Fair up here and she is going to give her testimony. I was born into a Christian family and I'm the second oldest.
Two years ago on Easter Sunday, Pastor Matt talked about Jesus dying because of my sedent. But my mom and dad told me that he died because he loved me and I became a Christian knowing that Jesus loves me so much that he even laid down his own life. A couple of years later, I realized that God wanted me to be baptized. When I told my parents, my mom read more about baptism in the Bible every night and of reads.
It talked about how the became a Christian and got baptized. I knew that God wanted me to be baptized. My dad also talked about it. A good verse that helped me not. It says, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want my soul. In path of righteousness for his name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff mees Awesome.
Get you to come right over here, Lena. We're going to do the same thing for Lena as well. If get two or three people, if you have any encouragements to say, you're welcome to as well or any scriptures as well. I think that's a good place to pause.
A verse that was given to me over and over again during, when I was your age is 1 Timothy 4:12. It says this, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, and impurity. You are never too young to make a profession of faith and to set an example for others. You're doing that today. Couldn't be more proud of you. If you could arise as we pray for Lena here and then we will baptize her.
Dear God, I thank you for this day and I thank you for Lena. Lord, I thank you that you have transformed her, that you have redeemed her, Lord, that she has put her faith in you. Lord, I pray that this would mark a point for her where she fully commits her life to you from here on out. That every action, every thought, and every decision will glorify you. And Lord, that you would guide her through every high and low of her life from here on out.
And Lord for also us as a church that this would mark a time where we can come underneath her, lift her up and support her through every stage of her life. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. That's super encouraging.
You know, if you stay long enough as a pastor in a local church, you get to experience some pretty neat blessings. The young man I'm about to baptize, I was here when he was born. I've known him literally since day one. Was did I do the child dedication for you, Caleb? Yeah. So, I dedicated Caleb and I have the privilege today of baptizing him. And next week, there's another significant event coming for him, too. But what a joy this is. And so, I'm going to invite Caleb Win if he'd come and share his story with us.
Lot of people. I was raised in a home that was heavily involved in the church. I was introduced to the gospel at a very young age. I grew up always, knowing the the Sunday school answers. I remember the night I'd give my heart to the Lord. My parents had asked me if I would like to surrender my life to God, and I was very interested. So they explained what it meant for me to do this and that it wouldn't always be an easy path. I prayed with them and asked Jesus into my heart. I was very happy that I could say I was now a part of God's family.
But I didn't fully understand what this really meant. In 2012, my parents made the decision to move from our home in Black Diamond to Sunny, BC for my dad to attend Miller College of the Bible. This is very exciting and very difficult. It was a huge change for my dad being gone over 70 hours a week for work to now spending much more time with the family. Through this time I became close with new friends and Miller students. The students were a demonstration to me of what it means to live out your faith.
In 2016 we moved back to Alberta. This is very difficult to leave many of the friends I had now blown close with in the home that I now grown to love. It was very tough moving back to Alberta. But I quickly made new friends again. Shortly after we had moved back to Alberta, I was accepted into the salt program back at Sunnybread Bible Camp. That summer I grew many solid Christian friends. I felt on fire for the Lord during this time.
In the winters, my faith would shrink and I would feel disconnected from the Lord. But then again, I would attend camp the next summer. This turned me into living a double life and attending youth groups and Bible studies, but not living any of it out. In 2021, my mom got diagnosed with cancer. I got very angry at God. I didn't understand why you'd let this happen to my mom. I began to pursue the things the world had to offer. I was drinking to fit in with my friends and eventually turned into a way of dealing with my problems. I started turning to worldly things to find joy in. Rebelled against God and my parents.
I started to realize towards the end of grade 12 that what I was doing is not honoring to the Lord and just how much I'd been living my life for myself in years prior. This is when I started to renew my desire for God and live my life for him. I attended Miller College of Bible that fall as reunited with close friends I had for my time spent in DC. Very quickly at Miller I realized how little I really knew about the Bible. Digging deeper into the scriptures I became aware of just how horrible a sinner I am. I grew my love for Christ, seeing how amazing it is that he can save a wreck sinner, how unbelievable it is that he can forgive someone like me that is just so full of sin.
Very early on at Miller, I grew very aware of a girl that I never knew I'd get from my wife someday. Before attending Miller, I had been told many times I wouldn't find my wife there, and I assured everyone that I would definitely would not. But God just showed his love for me and his plan that is just so much better than mine. By providing me with just amazing kind-hearted woman throughout the year I was blessed with a mentor that constantly questioned me and pushed me towards Christ would remind me that my walk with him was more important than anything else.
Through my time at Miller I found a new love for the Lord and was learning new things about God every day. In this time, God showed me his sovereignty in my life. And no matter what I've done, he's still always there in whether I see it or not. Coming back from Miller was difficult as I was now coming to where most of my friends were non-believers. This was challenging and I had to distance myself from some of these friends as I knew time spent with these friends would lead me back into temptation. Through this church, God provided a young adults group that I was able to attend and grow strong relationships with other believers and was pushed to grow my faith.
While I have only lived a short time, God has repeatedly showed me his faithfulness and the unchanging love he has for me. I've been so incredibly blessed with having an amazing soon to be wife, parents, and family around me that are centered around Christ and push me to strengthen my understanding of God. While I'm still a horrible sinner and fail every day, I thank God for his amazing grace and immeasurable mercy that I am reminded of every day. I'm walking out of evidence of God's forgiveness and saving the lost s. I'd like to share Romans 5 8-9 that God shows his love for us and that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. I was encouraging Caleb. Very thankful to see what God has done in your life and excited for the days ahead for you. Is there anything that any of you would like to to share with Caleb by way of encouragement? Okay, let's start there.
Hold on. All of them became So after
That, dealt with my father and have made me Now, God know God.
Because wealth and knowledge and I will give youalth and honor the king. Awesome. Thank you.
Well, Levi stole my verse. Thanks, Levi. But I'm gonna read it anyway. So you're being baptized today and next week you're being married and there's going to be in life in the Christian life and in married life. There's going to be moments of great joy. Most of the moments probably great joy but there's also going to be times of hardship. That's the reality of life. There's highs and there's lows. And so to go to that Romans 8 passage, this is something to anchor your heart and soul.
Says, "For I am sure." So there's a certainty built into this. I am certain, I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come what may, Caleb win will never be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That's a reason for hope. So come here, brother.
Let's let's pray for Caleb. Would you stand together? Let's pray for him. Father, we're so grateful today to hear of your redeeming, saving work in Caleb's life. We are thankful as Caleb testified to your sovereignty and weaving his life together in such a way that you are glorified and you are exalted in bringing him to the knowledge of you and to setting his feet firmly on the foundation of Christ Jesus.
We pray that you would always be the bedrock beneath his feet. We thank you for the truth that nothing can separate Caleb from your love through Christ Jesus. And we pray that whether times be easy or times be difficult that in all the days of his life, Caleb would be reminded of the gospel of Jesus Christ upon which he stands. And so strengthen him for the journey ahead. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. May be seated.
Just my heart to fear and my fears.
The grace of the hour of my chains are set free. My God, myior has And his mercy unending love.
Amazing. Is good to me. Were my shield and worship my sins.
His mercy. Amazing. The earth shall shine forever.
My chains are gone. My God, my ransome. Unending love. Amazing. Celebrated well the faithfulness of our God to draw people from darkness to light and to set them on the solid rock and the true hope that is not in this world but is in the Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ. Let us finish by reading first Peter 1. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Blessings on you. God bless. Have a wonderful week.
Transcribed automatically from YouTube captions, so names and words may be misheard.
