Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 11 March, 2018
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind ...” (Rom. 12:2)
Morning Service - 11:00 AM
Earnestly Contending for the Faith (5)
God’s Certain Punishment of the Ungodly
[download]
[youtube]
Scripture Reading: II Peter 2:1-10; Jude 1-8
Text: Jude 5-7
I. Three Examples Individually Considered
II. These Examples Collectively Considered
Psalms: 23:1-6; 69:19-24; 78:12-19; 95:6-11
Evening Service - 6:00 PM
Praying Regarding Our Wills
[download]
[youtube]
Scripture Reading: Romans 7
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 49
I. The Will of Man
II. The Will of God
III. The Will of Angels
Psalms: 84:1-6; 69:25-30; 119:33-40; 103:17-22
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services,
contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart
or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast:
www.cprf.co.uk/live.html
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
John Calvin on Jude 6: “We must also notice the atrocity of the punishment which [Jude] mentions. They were not only free spirits but celestial powers; they are now held bound by perpetual chains. They not only enjoyed the glorious light of God, but his brightness shone forth in them, so that from them, as by rays, it spread over all parts of the universe; now they are sunk in darkness. But we are not to imagine a certain place in which the devils are shut up, for [Jude] simply intended to teach us how miserable their condition is, since the time they apostatized and lost their dignity. For wherever they go, they drag with them their own chains, and remain involved in darkness. Their extreme punishment is in the meantime deferred until the great day comes.”
William Jenkyn: “In all ages God is the same. He hates the same sins in after-times which he hated in the former. Sodomy is now as abominable in his sight as heretofore; ‘He is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever;’ in him there is no shadow of change; he loves the same holiness now which he ever loved. How great a terror is this to those who live in those sins against which God has formerly declared his wrath! God will not go out of his way to gratify their lusts; no, it is the duty of the sinner to change: ‘If he turn not, he will whet his sword,’ &c., Psal. vii. 12” (An Exposition Upon the Epistle of Jude, p. 169).
Herman Hoeksema on Lord’s Day 49: “... we have the calling to submit to the will of God, to blend our will with his, to give him glory and praise in the midst of our sorrows according to the flesh, and to confess that he does all things well. In this case the third petition [of the Lord’s prayer] would mean, ‘Lord, give us grace that in this particular way in which thou leadest us we may walk in complete surrender to thy holy will’” (The Perfect Prayer, p. 110).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
Monday catechism classes:
5:45 PM - Corey & Katelyn (Beginners OT, Book 1)
6:30 PM - Angelica, Bradley, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Juniors NT)
7:15 PM - Alex, Jacob & Nathan (Heidelberg Catechism, Book 1)
Tuesday Bible Study meets this week at 11 AM to study the Feast of Tabernacles in Ezekiel and Zechariah.
Belgic Confession Class meets on Wednesday at 7:45 PM to continue our consideration of article 34 by studying Jeremiah and Ezekiel on the inclusion of children in the church in the Messianic age.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s Day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. R. Kleyn is “Boaz: A Willing Redeemer” (Ruth 3:11-18).
Offerings: General Fund: £808.60. Building Fund: £288.47.
Translation Additions: 2 Albanian (including the Heidelberg Catechism), 1 German, 1 Greek, 2 Hungarian, and a video with Hungarian subtitles added to YouTube.
Treasure Hunting (1)
Brian D. Dykstra
Proverbs 2:3-5: “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
More than fifty years ago, a group of men started Hope School. Some of these men were your grandfathers and great-grandfathers. They understood the need for a place where God’s children could be taught according to the light of the Bible. In order to have their own school, those men had to sacrifice many of the things of this earth. Yet they believed it was worth the effort to support this school because it was a place where you, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, could learn the knowledge of God.
That is the reason you are here in this school. You could go to public schools free of charge but you would not learn of God. You could attend a Christian school supported by another denomination which might be closer to your home but you would not be given the true understanding of God’s fear. You are here because here, as in few other schools, you can seek after knowledge and understanding in Jesus Christ.
It is not enough that you come here and learn things. If your parents and grandparents were interested only in having you learn things so you could have a job, almost any school could do that. If all you needed to do was to learn how to read, write and do math so you could have a job some day, this school might not have to be here. Yes, you must learn, and the teachers must teach you how to read, write and do math, but that is not enough. You are not here to learn the skills required merely to earn a paycheck.
Another reason people learn things is just because they are interested in something. There are plenty of people who do that too. People read about the stars, plants, animals, music or just read famous books and stories because they enjoy learning these things. Some people have learned enough about these subjects to have the job of teaching what they have learned and enjoyed to others interested in the same topic. Again, you are not here merely to do that. That is not enough. Would you like to get started on learning the needed skills to be a builder? That is not enough. You need to learn how to be a godly builder.
The knowledge you need to get here is the knowledge of God. You are here to learn how the Bible governs all of the different subjects you will be taught. There are different topics which interest you. You need to be able to see how the Bible governs these topics. Are you interested in the stars so that you can have that as a hobby? You need to learn what God’s Word says about the stars so that when you read a book or magazine about the stars, you will recognize the lie of evolution.
That is the type of knowledge you must seek here. Not only must you learn your different subjects, you must learn how the Bible governs these subjects. That is the knowledge and understanding of God. That is why this school was started more than fifty years ago, and that is why your parents continue to support this school. You must seek the knowledge of God here.
Verse four tells us to seek knowledge and understanding just as people look for silver or hid treasures. This is where a spiritual battle begins. We have sinful hearts. Unless God changes our hearts, we do not want to learn God’s knowledge and understanding. We still have to fight against our sinful natures every day.
To show you what I mean about our sinful natures, think about catechism. I have been around children at school for many years now. I have heard young, excited voices talking about how they couldn’t wait to do something or go somewhere. Strangely enough, I have never heard students eagerly discussing with each other how they couldn’t wait for the next catechism class. I have had to tell many students to put something away and get back to their work, but never have I had to take a catechism book out of a student’s hands because he just couldn’t put it down. By nature, we do not seek the knowledge and understanding of God. God must change our hearts for us and we must pray each day for God’s Spirit to dwell in us so that we seek Him.
The Bible tells us to seek this knowledge as a person seeks for silver or hidden treasures. I’m going to give you some examples of how long and hard some people have looked for silver or hidden treasures. Ask yourself if you seek for the knowledge of God as hard as these people look for earthly goods.
A recent issue of the National Geographic told of a man who lives in Massachusetts. He looks for sunken ships for a living. He finds them, dives down to them and takes the valuables which he finds there. He found a sunken pirate ship which was carrying treasures captured from 53 other ships. He searched for this pirate ship for fifteen years! Fifteen years! How many of us would have looked that long? Do we have that kind of dedication in seeking the understanding of God which is even more valuable than that sunken treasure?
Now for another treasure hunter. In Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Park there is an old prospector’s camp. A man lived there long ago who was digging for silver in a hillside. He met his needs of shelter and water by building a log cabin near a mountain stream. Uphill from his cabin there was a tunnel. I do not know how he dug his tunnel, but it looked as though it required an awful lot of work. What caught my eye though, was a large boiler he had near his tunnel. He used the boiler to separate the silver from the other rock he dug. He had gone through the trouble to haul that boiler way up to the mountains to look for silver. He could not just load it on a truck and drive it up there. He probably hauled the boiler on a wagon up a difficult, winding mountain path. It is not always comfortable weather living that high in the mountains. Yet he thought the effort and living conditions were worth it if he could find some silver. Do we go through that much trouble to seek the treasure of the understanding of God?
We have to search for that knowledge. That means we have to do some work. We cannot just sit there, do nothing, and expect to increase our knowledge and understanding of God. It is not something which other people can do for you.
When we search for something, we have to have an idea of where to look. A man who looks for treasures in sunken ships will not be in Africa’s Sahara Desert. The silver prospector will not be found wandering the halls of Chicago’s Sears Tower. The knowledge and understanding of God come from searching the Bible. We cannot expect to find the knowledge of God, if we only care to search the sports section of the newspaper or watch television and videos or play computer games. If we give the entertainment of this world too much of our attention, we will not find true treasure. Read your Bible.
Just as the treasure hunter and silver prospector were diligent in their searches, so must we be in ours. Those two men would not quit their searches until every bit of treasure was in their possession. They would gather everything valuable they could find, until there was nothing of value left there any more. We need to be just as diligent. We have to pay attention in church and catechism and school so that we get all the treasure available to us. Don’t be satisfied with just a little bit when there is so much treasure to be had! ... to be continued