Let us call upon the name of our covenant God together in congregational prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, we are hungry and we are thirsty, which is a testimony to our emptiness, for we are never filled of ourselves. We have no food that can satisfy, no drink that can slake our thirst. but must time and again come unto thee with our hunger and our thirst for thou to fill us. Father, we need the food and the drink of heaven, for there is nothing else that will satisfy. No other sustenance will preserve us and keep us, not the pleasures of this earth nor its riches, not the help or assistance of man, but only the food of heaven, the manna from above, the corn which must descend from thy windows and from thy storehouse, the food and drink which is Jesus Christ himself. We are hungry for his flesh. We are thirsty for his blood. And our hunger and thirst, Father, is a testimony not only of our emptiness, but of our unrighteousness. For in hungering and thirsting after Jesus Christ, we hunger and thirst after righteousness itself. For what have we here in our sojourn but our own unrighteousness? What have we here but our iniquity, our sin, our transgression? We carry with us that old man of sin who is dead and rotting and filthy and stinking, who has no good thing in him, so that when we consider our old man, we sigh and pine and say, what a ruin is our flesh. What a hopeless mess is our old man. There is no improving Him. There is no righteousness that will come out of Him. Our righteousness must be entirely of Thee, a gift, a bestowal, an imputation of another's righteousness. Indeed, the righteousness of Jesus Christ as our own. Father, we are hungry. We are thirsty. Not only is our hunger and thirst a testimony of our own emptiness and our own unrighteousness, but it is a constant reminder that we have nothing with which we can buy our satisfaction. We come unto Thee without price. We come unto Thee with no money. We see the milk and the wine and the water and the bread that thou hast for thy church, and there is nothing we can give thee to purchase it. It must be entirely given by thee to us, a gift of thy grace. We must receive from thy hand everything for absolutely nothing. And so we beseech Thee, Father, that Thou wilt feed us who are hungry, that Thou wilt slake our thirst who are thirsty, that Thou wilt give unto us Jesus Christ in His fullness and His riches and His abundance. We have tasted that Thou art good. We have seen it. We know it. For Thou hast told us in Thy Word of all Thy wonderful mercy, and Thou hast shown us that there is good news for those who are sinful, there is hope for those who are hopeless, and that good news and that hope is Jesus Christ alone. Fill us, Father, with our Savior. We pray that Thou will fill us in this night by the gospel of our Savior, that thou will open the windows of heaven to us and bestow upon us what no man could have invented and what no man could know except thou dost reveal it in the riches of thy mercy in Christ, that thou, who art the living God, hast been pleased to condescend to us creatures of the dust who have rebelled against thee and to have made a way through the blood of thine only begotten Son, unto Thee, so that He is the way and the truth and the life for us, and He is the path of life which Thou dost show unto us, by which we might have access unto Thee and enjoy Thy presence. We pray, Father, that Thou wilt fill us with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Guard our ears, which are so prone to hear what pleases us and to block out and To ignore what makes us nothing, wilt thou guard our ears and open them? And wilt thou guard the lips of thy servant, which lips are prone to speak lies? And to praise man and oneself. We pray, Father, that Thou wilt cause Thy servant to proclaim Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, and wilt Thou fill us, wilt Thou feed and nourish and save us by Him who is the bread of life. And wilt Thou send Thy Spirit to carry that food into our hearts to work by his mysterious operation to unite us to Christ and make us one plant with him, so that just as food enters into the body and becomes part of the body, that so the gospel of Jesus Christ may become part of us and we part of him. We pray, Father, that thou will give unto us this blessing, this rich and gracious blessing of thy mercy. And we pray, Father, that thou wilt feed us in the coming Lord's Day as we anticipate sitting down at the table of our Lord together and receiving from thy hand his body and blood as thou dost represent that body and blood in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. We pray that thou wilt nourish our hungry and thirsty souls by him. that thou wilt prepare us not only in this week, but prepare us all our days and always to be hungry and to be thirsty, to be empty of ourselves and to be filled with thee alone. We thank Thee, Father, for the riches of Thy grace, so that though it would have been enough for Thou to give us the preaching of the gospel, by which Thou dost declare unto us the mysteries of heaven and open up unto us all Thy mercies in Christ, that Thou hast been mindful of our frailty, of our unbelief, of our wickedness, of our, our, our corruption and all of its wickedness, and thou hast added to the preaching of the gospel a sacrament for the confirmation of our faith, that our faith might not stand in man, but that our faith, time and again, might stand in thee alone, for thou art our God. Thou art our shepherd through Jesus Christ, who doth tend to thy flock, who doth feed us and cause us to eat the green pastures of thy word, and with peace in our Savior to lie down by the still waters, thou dost restore our soul and how good and how blessed it is. We pray, Father, that thou wilt then give to us in this evening peace for our souls, the peace and refreshment and rest of Elam, that little patch of heaven that thou dost plant in the wilderness for thy weary pilgrims. We beseech thee, Father, that thou wilt refresh us by the fulfillment of Elam in the Lord's day, the day of rest, the day of refreshment, and in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the gospel of peace and the gospel that restores our souls. For this world is a wilderness. It is thirsty. It is dry. It cannot sustain us. There is simply no abiding place here, but thou has given us Canaan, heaven, and all its green pastures, all its milk and all its honey. Thou hast given us Canaan, and in the midst of our sojourn, dost give us foretastes that our thirst might be slaked, and our hunger might be satisfied, and we might rest ourselves in Thee. Bless us, Father, for we are Thy sheep and Thy needy children, and Thou art our God. We thank Thee, Father, that Thou hast brought into our midst also our sister from afar, We thank Thee for safety in her journeys as Thou hast brought her into our midst. We thank Thee for the blessed fellowship of these past days already. We anticipate greatly the fellowship of these days to come. Will Thou continue to knit us together from near and far. Remember also Thy people who, though not in our midst geographically and physically, are nevertheless one with us in the gospel. who listen in, who have questions about their future. We pray that thou will give them wisdom, that thou will continue to cause thy word to go forth with power, that thou will continue to use it to save and to bless thy people. Won't thou use the many means that thou hast given in the printed page, as well as in the live streaming, that thy people might be fed and nourished, that they might, in their wilderness, find a little patch of heaven in which to lie down and rest. We confess before Thee, Father, we are not wise in ourselves. There are many things that are beyond our comprehension and our calculation, and so wilt Thou in this too feed us and fill our emptiness by giving to us wisdom, indeed, the wisdom that is Christ himself. that we might know thee and understand all thy purpose and all thy will, and might serve thee in it. We thank thee, Father, that thou dost indeed gather thy church. We see what a storm blows in the world around us. We see what winds of false doctrine blow with gale force, as well as which blow deceitfully and gently in order to deceive the unwary. We pray, Father, that Thou wilt preserve us from that false doctrine, that Thou wilt give us the truth and establish our feet upon it, and cause the root of our life to be sunk deep into that truth that we might not be moved. And we pray, Father, that being united to our Savior together by that beautiful gift of faith and bond of faith that Thou dost establish, that we might also be united one to another, as members one of another, so that as a hand, or as an eye, or a nose, or a foot, or a various member in the body of Christ, we might not see ourselves as isolated and apart, but that we might rejoice in the fellowship that thou dost give us in the gospel. We pray that thou wilt preserve that fellowship, wilt thou give us that beautiful gift of the Spirit that is love, Thy love shed abroad in our hearts so that we know Thy unbreakable love for us, and then that we love Thee in response, and that we love one another, and with kindness and care look upon one another. Not every man looking upon his own things and consumed with his own things, but every man looking upon the things of one another. We pray, Father, that thou wilt give us this beautiful, fragrant gift and fruit of the Spirit, that is love, which is nothing more and nothing less than thy love, which thou dost work in our hearts. We pray, Father, that thou wilt remember us also in the rearing of our covenant seat. Wilt thou bless our homes as that rearing takes place there? and wilt thou bless our Christian school. We have marveled in this past week as we have come to the end of our school year and have gone through the graduation program. We have marveled at what thou hast done for every obstacle thou didst remove, obstacles that were humanly impossible to take away. Thou hast given us a school for the rearing of our covenant seed together, where we may assist one another in this high calling of the covenant of grace. We beseech Thee, Father, that Thou wilt watch over this institution in the summer months, for though the doors are not open for classes, Though the students are not assembled in their rooms with their teachers, nevertheless, there is much that takes place in these summer months. Remember the board and their decisions and all that belongs to the operating of the school. Will thou give them wisdom. Will thou remember also our administrator, continue to strengthen him for the task of seeing to the operation of the school. We pray that thou will remember our teachers in these summer months, that thou will refresh them as they turn their attention and their hand to other labors that thou hast set before them. We pray that thou will remember those also who give their sweat and their blood and their tears and their skin and their energy and their life, even for the maintenance of the building and preparation of the building for the school year to come. We thank Thee, Father, for what Thou hast given us. It is simply too much for us. We stand in awe at it. We are like those that dream. Our mouths are filled with laughter and mirth, the laughter of wonder at what Thou hast done. For Thou hast built our house. Thou simply hast built our house. Thou hast kept our city. And now, Father, in the days to come, continue to build it, and continue to keep it. For except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it, and except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. We pray, Father, also that thou will continue to remember the government officials that thou hast appointed. We know that all the powers that be are ordained of thee, and in this we find a great mystery, for thy ways are very deep. Thy ways are far above the ways of man, and we are so prone to forget that Thou art not like us, that Thou art not a man that Thou shouldst lie, that Thou art not a man that Thou shouldst think as a man. Thy thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and Thy ways above our ways. And so we beseech Thee, Father, that Thou wilt use the government officials in all of their various positions and callings and functions to accomplish thy purpose. We thank thee for government. We thank thee for the officials that thou hast given, as it is thy will that thanksgiving be made for kings and those who are in authority, and supplications might be made for them, that thy church might have a window to preach the gospel, that the preaching of the gospel might be countenanced everywhere by the ruling officials, and that we might live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. And we confess, Father, that there is much that is above us, We do not know all the machinations and all the workings that go on behind closed doors. There are many things that perplex us, and yet we know that thou art sovereign, and that thou art in control, that thou art the judge above all judges, and the king above all kings, and the Lord above all lords. And so we pray that thy will may be done, and that thou will cause thy good purpose to be accomplished, even through the government officials. Will thou remember those among the government officials who belong unto thee as thy children? Will thou strengthen them for their calling? Thou, Father, art good and kind to all of thy people. Will thou remember and bless thy people that thou hast also appointed to be magistrates? And we pray, Father, that thou will give to us hearts that honor those in authority, for in this day we behold many who despise government and who mock it and who find every opportunity to speak evil of dignities and those things that they do not understand. It is simply the culture in which we live. It is the mockery on everyone's mouth. We pray, Father, that Thou will keep us from that influence, that Thou will give unto us thanksgiving unto Thee for the government officials, that we might be subordinate to all who are in authority over us. And even if the case should arise again that we must disobey what the government commands, if they command that which is contrary to law and unlawful, according to thy word, that even then we may not do so with rebellious, hateful, bitter, spiteful hearts, but may do so with patience and peace, and may do so with submission unto thee, who art our God and the great King. Father, forgive our sins. washing them away in Jesus' blood, and count to us all his righteousness, which is pure, and blessed, and beautiful, and utterly lovely. We pray that thou wilt assure our fearful hearts of thy love, and that thou dost behold us not as we are in Adam, but as we are in Christ, thine only begotten Son, whom thou dost love. For he is thy beloved Son, and in whom thou art pleased. And wilt thou teach us by thy gospel, that so thou dost also see us, the members of his body. Wilt thou hear our prayer, give to us many good works, for the service of thy name, and as gratitude and the fruit of the salvation that thou hast wrought. And hear our prayer, for we pray in Jesus' name, amen. We worship the Lord now in the giving of our offerings. The first offering is for the building fund and the second is for the school fund. Psalter number 351. Our text this evening is Hebrews 12 verse 3. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. And we sing of that contradiction in stanza two, O Lord our God, thy mercy show, for man's contempt and scorn we know. Reproach and shame thy saints endure from wicked men who dwell secure. We'll sing both stanzas, both stanzas of 351. ♪ To thee, O Lord, I lift my eyes ♪ ♪ Hold up enthroned above the skies ♪ ♪ As servants watch their masters stand ♪ So to the Lord our eyes we raise, until His mercy He displays. To Thee, O Lord, I lift my eyes. O'er the ground of the skies, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O'er death's contempt and scorn we know, We are to change thy saints endure, From naked man who fell secure. Let proud contempt and scorn be no, O Lord our God, thy mercy show. To thee, O Lord, I lift my eyes, O thy throne above the skies. We turn in God's Word tonight to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. We'll read the first 13 verses of the chapter. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin, and ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, my son, Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If he endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if he be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure. But he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievance. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore, lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed. Thus far we read God's holy and inspired word. May he bless it to our hearts this evening. Our text is verse three. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Beloved congregation and our Lord Jesus Christ, as the writer to the Hebrews is writing this letter that the Holy Spirit inspired, he takes note that the Hebrew Christians to whom he writes are in danger of fainting and becoming weary. He writes about that in our text, verse 3, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. The Hebrew Christians to which the writer is writing were suffering. They were suffering grievous persecutions and grievous afflictions under the hand of Jehovah God. The afflictions that they were suffering were not yet afflictions of their flesh, and of their body. That is, they had not yet been put to death. Other Christians had been put to death by this time, but these Christians had not yet been put to death. They had not yet been imprisoned, although that would come for many, many of God's people in this time at the end of the apostolic era and going into the ancient period of the history of the church, but these particular Christians had not yet suffered in their bodies. And Paul calls that not yet resisting unto blood. Verse four, you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Nevertheless, the suffering of the Hebrew Christians was constant, relentless, and was in danger of making them weary. And as the writer to the Hebrews addresses them, this constant suffering comes up from time to time. For example, in Hebrews 10 verses 32 through 36, We read of their former days when they endured a great fight of afflictions against those who had not been converted as they were, and who fought them in that conversion. We read of them being made a gazing stock, that is, they were mocked both by reproaches and afflictions, so that hard words were spoken against them. They didn't go to jail yet, But they endured many hard words and reproaches, and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. They had compassion of, probably Paul, in his bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that in heaven they had a better and enduring substance. and they had need of patience, that after they had done the will of God, they might receive the promise. These Christians were suffering tremendously, even without going to jail, even without suffering torture, even without being put to death. There was constant, relentless spiritual battle in which they were engaged. And the Christians, under that kind of oppression, were in danger of fainting and were in danger of becoming weary in their minds. And the Apostle uses a word that could be translated there in our text as to be dissolved in your minds, which is a very vivid description of what might be happening internally to them. You think of a pill that you might dissolve in water, and before you dissolve that pill, it has some substance, it has some solidity, there's something to that pill, you can hold it in your hands, But then you drop it in the water and that pill dissolves and there's nothing left you can get a hold of. You can't pick it up anymore. You can't even find that pill and the substance of it. And that's the word the apostle uses to describe what these Christians were going through. They were about to be dissolved. When they had started out, there was some substance to their minds. There was some standing. They were bold. They were courageous. But after the constant, relentless gazing-stock and reproaches of men that they suffered, after they suffered constantly the spoiling of their goods, and after they became companions of them who were evilly treated and used roughly, they were almost ready to be dissolved." And so, the writer to the Hebrews addresses that church, and he has a solution. And that solution is in our text, and it's wonderful. The solution is this, consider Jesus. Consider Jesus. That's what he says. Consider Him. And the Him in our text is Jesus. Just as he had said in verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Consider Jesus. And this isn't the first time in this book that the writer says this. This is a refrain that he comes back to again and again throughout the book. Consider Jesus. He says that in Hebrews 3 verse 1. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." It's what he says by implication in Hebrews 7. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. That man being Melchizedek, but Melchizedek who was a type of Christ. So that there the Apostle again is saying, consider Jesus. In our text, Hebrews 12, verse 3, and then again in Hebrews 13, verses 7 and 8. to that mind that's about to be dissolved so that you can't even get hold of it and find it anymore. This is the solution to all the suffering of the child of God in the midst of this world. Consider Jesus. And you almost want to laugh. You want to laugh with joy, laugh with wonder at the simplicity of that Gospel, laugh with amazement at the grace of God. Consider Jesus. Of course that's the solution. To all of our weariness, to all of our pain, to all of our coming nigh unto fainting, consider Jesus. And when the Apostle calls us to consider Jesus in this text, he calls us to consider Jesus with regard to the contradiction of sinners that Jesus endured against himself. That was What was causing the weariness and the near fainting of these Christians, they were a gazing stock. They were reproached at every turn. They were mocked. They were told that their cause was empty. And they're ready to faint. And the apostle says, but remember, Jesus Christ, do you remember what he endured? Do you remember the contradictions and reproaches that were made against Him? And do you remember that those were your contradictions? That those were your words against Him, your reproaches according to your flesh? Now consider Him. He endured them. He endured them all. His cause was not overcome by those contradictions. His kingdom did not go down to defeat in those contradictions. His purpose was not thwarted by your sin in those reproaches against Him. and those reproaches that your old man still makes and will always make as long as you live on this earth against him. He simply was not defeated. He endured them. And the Apostle brings this up as the conclusion and the culmination of all these examples of those saints of God in Hebrews 11 who looked to Jesus and considered Jesus by faith and who were not disappointed in that object of their faith. Who did not go down to defeat, though the whole world was against them. Though they had to live in dens and caves of the earth. Though they couldn't possibly see the promise of God fulfilled in their own life. Nevertheless, they were not disappointed. Why not? Because of Jesus, who is the object of that faith. Because of Jesus Christ, who is the victor, and who endured all the contradiction of sinners against him. And now the Apostle says to remnant Reformed Church, you who are weary, you who are ready to be dissolved, you who are almost ready to faint, consider Jesus. That's the solution. Consider Jesus. and the contradiction of sinners that he endured against himself, lest ye be weary and faint in your minds. And so we consider that glorious Savior, that Jesus Christ, in sermon tonight. Let us consider this text under the theme, He that Endured Contradiction. In the first place, consider the contradiction of sinners. In the second place, consider our Lord's endurance. And in the third place, consider our renewal or our relief. He that endured contradiction. The contradiction of sinners, our Lord's endurance, and our relief, or our renewal. The text speaks of Jesus' enduring contradiction. And the word that is used there, contradiction, is a very specific word to tell what it was that Jesus was enduring all His life long. that contradiction means to speak against. Our English translation of that word is exactly right. It is the most precise, perfect word to translate what the Apostle says there. Because our English word contradiction is made up of two parts. The first part, contra, which means against, and then the second part, diction, which means to speak. so that a contradiction is a speaking against. And I think you would recognize the Greek word that that English word contradiction translates, the Greek word is antilogos. We might recognize that word logos, the second part of that, as the Greek word for word. In the beginning was the word, the logos. And the logos was with God and the word was God. And anti, we recognize as against, just like the antichrist is against Christ. So an antilogos is a word against, or a contradiction is a speaking against. And that speaking against, that contradiction, that antilagos is not merely speaking something that is the opposite so that now you have two choices. Here's what God said. Here's his word. Here's his diction. Here's his logos. Here's what he says. And then over here is the contradiction and the anti-logos and the speaking against. And now you get to choose which one you like between those two. That's not the way a contradiction works. A contradiction is not only against the Word of God, but a contradiction is meant to replace the Word of God. Just like the Antichrist is not merely against Christ, but he means to take his place. The Antichrist doesn't say to you, look, there is Christ. And now I also am Christ. I am the Antichrist. And now it's up to you to decide which one of those you like and which one of those you'd like to follow. The Antichrist doesn't leave any options. The Antichrist says, he's a fraud. I'm the real thing. I stand in his place. I am the Christ. That's the way contradictions work too. The contradiction is simply the lie. That's what the apostles are referring to here. This contradiction of sinners is the lie. It is the devil's no that comes against God's yes. When God says, thus saith the Lord, the devil comes with the contradiction, yea, hath God said. When God says his yes, the devil says the contradiction no. Or when God says no, The devil contradicts it with his yes. Contradiction is a speaking against. It is the lie that is always against the truth, but it is the lie that is against the truth in such a way that it seeks to displace the truth and to replace it instead with that lie. The devil never says, God has his yes and I have my no, now you choose. But rather, the devil says, there is no yes of Jehovah God. That word of God is false. And my word, my no, is true. That's the contradiction of which the text speaks. It is a speaking against. And that speaking against that Jesus endured had its source in the lies, constant assault against the truth. The lie never leaves the truth alone. It's never content to let the truth sit there, and be there, and exist there. The lie always seeks out the truth, and seeks to displace it. So that in the history of the church, the truth is always surrounded on all sides by the lie. And there come to be points in the history of the church, and maybe that's the main way the truth has existed in all the history of the church. There come points in the history of the church where you wonder, where is the truth? I hear the lie. I see the lie everywhere. Where is the truth? Where has God preserved it? The lie hates the truth. The lie must speak against the truth. It's the very nature of the lie to contradict the truth. So that at the beginning, when God spoke his word to Adam and Eve, the devil had to come there and say to Eve, yea, hath God said? Do you trust his word? Do you believe his word? Do you think that his word makes very much sense? Yea, hath God said? What was he thinking when he said what he said? And from then until this day, the truth is always swarmed by the lie. The truth is vigorous. The truth is life. The truth is healthy and strong. And the lie is like so many mosquitoes in the swamplands of northern Michigan, let's say, and so many biting flies that seek out that healthy, vigorous, strong animal and attack it. The lie swarms on the truth like mosquitoes and biting flies to steal away its vigor. The contradiction, the speaking against that Jesus endured is the lie that always speaks against the truth. And contradiction is a particularly oppressive form of opposition. The lie is not jail. The lie is not torture. The lie might lead to jail and to torture. The lie is not the suffering in the body, but the lie is oppressive nonetheless. Because the lie is intended to take that clear, rest-giving, lovely gospel of God and truth of God and so doubt about it. It's meant to come into your heart and steal away that Word that God has spoken. And it becomes exhausting to the child of God in the midst of all this contradiction, all this speaking against, all this lying. Jeremiah reported to the men of Jerusalem that Jehovah was against the prophets of his day Because those prophets would do exactly that. They would follow along behind the true prophet, and they would steal God's Word. And stealing God's Word in Jeremiah 23 does not mean plagiarism, so that these false prophets would not make their own sermon, let's say, and not come up with their own prophecy, but they would steal someone else's prophecy and make it their own. Stealing God's Word was not plagiarism. But rather, stealing God's Word meant that those false prophets went behind the true prophets, so that when God's Word, which was clear and true and resounded, had sounded into the streets and the hearts of the people, those false prophets would come along behind and take it back out. Oh, no, no, no. You mustn't believe what Jeremiah preached to you. You mustn't believe those things. Oh, no, no, no. We're not going into captivity for 70 years. Can you imagine such a thing? We're the people of God. It'll be two years at the most, and then He'll send us back. They went around stealing the Word of God. That's always the way the lie operates. That's what makes it so oppressive. The gospel of truth of salvation by the sovereignty of God through Jesus Christ comes. And immediately there are false prophets who arise in order to steal that Word out of your heart. Yes, yes, that's fine. You can talk about God's sovereignty. Let's talk about grace. Let's talk about Jesus. But don't forget your activity. Don't leave that out. Because if you leave that out, which is really the key thing, then you're not going to have any of those things that were promised unto you. The lie operates by seeking to replace the truth, and that's what makes it oppressive. When you see that contradiction in action, it's hard to believe. You see the truth, and it's so clear. It's so clear. And you think to yourself, now how can anyone speak against this? What could anyone say to undermine this? And then that truth comes into whatever forum it's meant to come into, whether it's a protest or appeal, or whether it's a sermon, that truth comes into the church or it comes into the assemblies, and there you find all manner of contradiction. A swarm of mosquitoes latching on to that truth and sucking its blood away. So that finally, after all is said and done and the dust clears, The lie prevailed, it looks like. In that institution, at least, the lie prevailed. The contradiction against the truth carried the day. That's the way the lie operates. And that operation of the lie is no accident. Because the ultimate source of that contradiction is God's sovereign good pleasure regarding the truth. God has determined the lie will operate this way, so that His truth appears more glorious. You look at that lie and you look at that truth. You look at the swarm of the lies and the biting flies that cover that vigorous truth. until you say, I can hardly see it anymore. Where did it go? And then, the truth shakes itself free and stands there yet glorious. That truth stands undefeated. The truth of God's Gospel never falls to the ground and is never trampled in the mud because it's His banner. The banner of Jehovah God. It always accomplishes its purpose. It accomplishes its purpose in the saving of God's people, snatching them as brands out of the fire. And it accomplishes God's purpose in the hardening of those who are not His. The Gospel simply never, never suffers defeat. Institutions might be defeated. Churches might die and become apostate. But not the truth. Not the truth. Not the Gospel of God. The Gospel of God goes from victory to victory through all the ages of the earth. Never mind that you can't see it. Never mind that I can't. Never mind that we become fearful. The Gospel never suffers defeat and always is victorious. There's this contradiction of the lie against that truth that God Himself has appointed that the truth might stand out in all its glory. After men raged, after men made all their inventions and rushed upon that truth to destroy it. Look at it. It stands there yet in all of its glory, undefeated. What a God is the God of the truth. And now consider this Jesus. who endured contradiction of sinners against himself. That contradiction was against him. All his life long, the word that contradicted his truth was the lie about him. And as soon as God would reveal the truth of who Jesus was, the lie would instantly swarm it and say, no you're not. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and then his family, after a time in that cattle stall, moved into a house in Bethlehem. And wise men from the east came to Herod because they had seen the star of Jesus in the east. and were seeking where was born him that is king of the Jews. And by that announced to Herod, the king is born. Herod's contradiction was, no he's not. He's not the king. Herod was astute enough not to blurt that out. Herod was crafty enough to have some secret plot whereby he pretended to want to worship this king so that the wise men would go to that place where he was and then come back and report to him and he could kill them. But Herod's response, all the same, to the report of who this Jesus was, one who is the king is born, was, no, he's not. That was his contradiction. And when Jesus would preach the Gospel and identify Himself as the Savior of His people, the opposition was always, no, you're not. When He said in John 6, I am the bread of life, which if a man shall eat, he shall live forever. I am the man that come down from heaven. The response of the Jews was, no, you're not. How can this man give us His flesh to eat? That was contradiction. The lie that was meant to replace the truth so that those who might think about this, Jesus here finally is someone who can fill us and feed us. We've been so hungry. Now, they would have that doubt, so is He really who He says He is? How are we going to eat His flesh after all? And when Jesus in John 8 said, I am the light of the world, Then the response of the Jews was, no you're not, you witness about yourself and your witness is not true. So that those who would hear Jesus speak of light and be so relieved that finally they who were blind and who all their life had to sit in darkness could finally see the salvation of God come to them. would have that doubt sown in their heart. Maybe he's not who he says he is. After all, he does witness about himself. Doesn't he? And we need the witness of another to corroborate that what he says is true. Again and again and again, the contradiction was you're not who you say you are, so that even when Pontius Pilate unwittingly put as the superscription and the charge Above Jesus' head as He was being crucified, this is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. The chief priests came to Pilate yet and said, take it down because He's not our King. Always the contradiction of the lie against Jesus is you're not who you say you are and therefore you cannot do what you say you can do in saving your people from their sins. And now the grief of the child of God is that that contradiction of sinners against Jesus is your contradiction and mine. That's your word of your unbelieving flesh that says in response to the gospel of Jesus Christ that He is the bread of life. No, He's not. He's not going to be enough. He's not going to feed me. I need something else. He's not what He says. Or when He says, I am the light of the world, a light that finally shines upon you so that you can see God, you can see His kingdom, which you were blind to before. Your unbelieving flesh says, no, He's not. No, He's not. Beware, you're going to be deceived. When the gospel is proclaimed, that salvation is entirely free. That salvation is of Jehovah, entirely of His sovereign will, by His sovereign grace. Your flesh says, no it's not! Because that doesn't leave any boast for me. And I must, at all costs, have my boast. Or when the Word of God comes and says that the worship of the church is also of the will of God and not of the will of man, then the flesh of man says, no, it's not. My will will rule in what pleases me in the worship of the church. Go through the whole truth. Go through the whole Bible. Go through every doctrine. Your heart and mine, your flesh and mine by nature, contradict Him. Speak against Him. so that the contradiction of sinners against himself that he endured was not merely those unbelieving Jews and those Sanhedrin members in his day, but is your contradiction and my contradiction. That's the consideration of this week, too, as we prepare to come to the table of the Lord where He has given a meal entirely freely of the greatest riches that one could ever imagine. There's the bread of heaven and the wine of heaven, the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, represented by the bread and the wine of the sacrament. There's the meal that is Christ. How are you going to get to that meal? Is it going to be this, that you say, well, I did a good job this week of not contradicting Him? And I kept my flesh pressed down far enough this week so that when my unbelieving heart reared up, I was right there to smack it down again. That's not how you get to that table of the Lord. The way you get to that table of the Lord is through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. What are you? You're empty. You're a contradictor. You're an antilogos. You're a speaker against by nature, and I am. It is only by the grace and mercy of Jehovah God that such as you and such as I can have that truth and that body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider by yourselves your sins and the curse due to you for them and see that your salvation lies entirely outside of yourself in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the contradiction. That's the speaking against. And your Lord? Your Lord endured it. Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself. That word endured is a rich word. That word is full of gospel comfort for the people of God. That word endured means persevered, but it means persevered in such a way that there was not an inch of retreat, not an inch of receding. The Lord endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself without giving an inch. They swarmed him like biting flies, like a swarm of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. Those lies that opposed the truth. And he didn't give an inch. He stood there and endured that contradiction of sinners against himself. They said to him, whenever he would say, I am, they would say, no you're not. And he did not concede a single line of their, no you're not. He maintained He is the Light, though they said to Him, Your witness is not true. Your witness is not true because You witness of Yourself, and in the mouth of two witnesses it must be established. And Jesus said, My Father witnesses of Me, and I witness, and My works witness. There's Your witness of who I am. I'm the Light. And when they said to Him in response to He being the Bread, No, You're not. He said to them, you don't believe this, but it's true nevertheless. He that eateth My flesh hath life and shall never die. And except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, ye shall perish in your sins. It is the Spirit that quickeneth the flesh, profiteth nothing. I am the bread of life. I am the salvation and nourishment of your soul. He never backed down, not an inch in His proclamation of The truth. His cross too was not a backing down. His cross was a running to the battle. His cross was His valiance and His courage for the cause of God and His truth because the cause of God was the salvation of His people in the blood of Jesus Christ. So that though it cost Him His very life, though it cost Him the curse of God weighing down upon Him, He went to that cross, having loved His own, He loved them to the end. There's your Lord and the truth standing valiant and firm, enduring the contradiction of sinners against Himself. And with regard to your own contradiction, He endured that too. Not in this sense, that He became the great example, though Jesus Christ certainly is the example of God's people, so that now what Jesus did, enduring all kinds of reproach, you do too, enduring all kinds of reproach. But Jesus endured your contradiction by enduring the curse of God for your contradiction. All your lies, All your know-your-nots. All your flesh's unbelief. He took on Himself and bore the eternal curse for it. There's not a single one of your know-your-nots that can take you away from Him. Not a single one. Because He endured your contradiction of sinners against Himself. All your wavering. All your fear. All your weakness. He took on Himself. and endured the curse of God against that contradiction of sinners against Himself. You're free of it. Free of all that ruin of your flesh. Free of all that unbelief. So that though you carry that unbelief and that ruin with you until the day you die, you're free of it. Through the Lord's enduring the contradiction of sinners against Himself. And the Lord endured that contradiction of sinners against Himself, all that lie against Him that the truth of the Gospel might be established for you and for your comfort forever. When the Lord endured that contradiction of sinners, that means He overcame the lie of those sinners. He overcame the lie. Have you ever seen that? in operation, isn't that lovely to behold? That here's the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which you didn't know, and I didn't know, except the Lord revealed it. And here's the lie of man. And though that lie works in such a way to deceive so many, that truth stands out so brilliantly and so boldly That standing out of the truth isn't because you suddenly became so wise and I became so wise. It's not because you and I suddenly are better than all the people who are deceived by it. But that standing out of the truth is because the Lord endured the opposition, the contradiction of sinners against Himself. Those lies can never overthrow the truth. The truth of the Gospel. The truth of God's love in Christ. Those remain forever and ever and ever. And in this life, it's our privilege to see evermore by the grace of God how that truth shines over against the lie. And forever and ever, to all eternity in heaven, that truth will stand out as so glorious, sparkling and bright and shining over against the darkness of the lie that always spoke against it. The Lord Jesus Christ endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself. And that is relief. That is renewal for the Church of Jesus Christ. You live in a world that is being drowned in lies. You live in a church world that's being overcome with lies, institutions that are falling left and right by the lie. That's the day in which we live, these last days, this end of the world. As the Lord said, behold, I come quickly. But in the midst of all of these lies, the truth endures. The Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel cannot be overthrown. And there is relief for the church. If there were not this guarantee of Him who endured the opposition, the contradiction of sinners against Himself, you'd faint. You'd dissolve. What would you do if this Gospel were not sufficient? What would you do if Jesus Christ was not enough? For His church and His people, what would there be to do? What despair! But the lie and the contradiction does not overcome. For Jesus endured that contradiction of sinners against Himself in order that you not be weary and faint in your minds, and you not dissolve like that pill in the water. but that you stand upon this gospel and have courage in the midst of this sojourn. What a solution. What a solution that can only be divine to this problem of our weariness. Consider Jesus. By faith, look at him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. lest ye be weary and faint in your minds. And so, as you come to the table, consider that Jesus, amen. Our Father, which art in heaven, we thank thee for the gospel of our Savior to us. We thank thee for thy mercy, which is overwhelming. When thou didst turn our captivity We were like them that dream. Thou has filled our mouth with laughter and our songs with mirth. For thou has been our God and has delivered us from all the lie through Jesus Christ and has delivered us even from our own contradiction of him and our own ruinous flushes lies concerning him and our own unbelief. Will thou establish our hearts and give us the relief and the peace of this gospel. and bring us to thy table, hungry and thirsty, and feed us with Jesus' body and blood, for Jesus' sake, amen. Psalter number 280, number 280. What is there but to bless Jehovah? The four stanzas, all four of 280. O'er death we must escape. All His mercies to proclaim. He forgives all our trespasses, heals our sicknesses and pains. He redeems me. ♪ Mercy's bounty ♪ ♪ Satisfies my glory quest ♪ ♪ So that I, the tired and single ♪ ♪ Now can look in her bliss ♪ ♪ Righteous is the Lord in judgment ♪ of Christ, to his people he turns after, may his goodness manifest. May the Lord, his full of mercy and compassion for his class, ♪ Those who anger and abundant ♪ ♪ In His grace and tenderness ♪ ♪ He will not be angry always ♪ ♪ Nor will He forever try ♪ ♪ Though we all have sinned against Him ♪ ♪ Still his love and grace abides ♪ ♪ As the heavens are high above us ♪ ♪ Great is love to us and through ♪ ♪ God has teached how blessed is he ♪ As a father loves his children, feeling pity for their foes, show the Lord to those who fear him, mercy and love. ["We Wish You a Merry Christmas"] ♪ Christ be our Lord and Father's God, eternal King of kings ♪ ♪ Whom the ends of limbo tend, earth-born in a hundred years ♪ be his great and glorious name forevermore. Amen. And let his glory fill the earth from shore to shore. Amen. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. Amen. you