evening by singing together hymn 1057 the tune is Schiller 898

light of those whose dreary dwelling borders on the shades of death come and thy bright beams revealing dissipate the clouds beneath the new heavens and earth's creator in our deepest darkness rise Scattering all the night of nature, Pouring day upon our eyes.

Hymn 1057 Tune Schiller 898

Let us read together from the Holy Word of God the book of Genesis and chapter 1 and we'll read down to verse 3 in chapter 2. The book of Genesis chapter 1 reading down to the third verse in chapter 2.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and void and And darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good. And God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters called he seas, and God saw that it was good. And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth, and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after his kind. And God saw that it was good, and the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, for seasons, and for days and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and it was so. And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. and the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open and firmament, open firmament of the heaven. And God created great whales and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every wind fowl after his kind, and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind. And it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind. And God saw that it was good.

And God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed. To you it shall be for me, and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life. I have given every green herb, for meat, and it was so.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day. from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it he had rest from all his work which God created and made.

May the Lord bless the reading of his own precious word and grant unto us the spirit of real prayer.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is an art, an art to come, we bow before thy glorious majesty, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the one and only true Lord Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength and wisdom and understanding, We pray that thou would impart unto us this evening a spirit of true worship, that thou would send thy spirit in his heavenly power and divine unction, that we may hear the word of the Lord and that the word of the Lord may be sealed into our hearts, that we may receive the engrafted word.

All do hear us, Lord. and grant that the word of the Lord may have free course and that thy name may be honoured and glorified to those here in the sanctuary and also to those that listen online and do grant thy rich blessing and thy divine unction and power and give us hearing ears, seeing eyes, understanding hearts for Lord everything must come from thee.

We are poor, barren, empty creatures of the earth, born in sin and shape and in iniquity, and unclean and unrighteous altogether. Since Adam by transgression fell, on spiritual things we cannot dwell, and we depend on thee, Holy Ghost, to grant us a spiritual mind, a spiritual understanding, spiritual ears and spiritual eyes, and a spiritual tongue to speak. Oh, do grant these rich blessings unto us, Lord. We humbly beseech thee.

I said in thy word where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I. We pray that we may prove that this evening hour as we gather round thy word, that we may hear the word of the Lord, and that it may take deep root in our hearts, and that it may bear fruit in our lives to the great honour, glory and praise of thy holy name. We pray to be made more spiritually minded. We pray that thy word may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, to guide us in the way of righteousness and of truth. Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven, and we thank thee for it.

We do pray, most gracious Lord, that it may be with us here as we gather, as it was with the dear apostle in the Thessalonica, for our gospel came unto you, not in word only, but in power. in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance. We pray that it may be so even tonight as we gather round thy word.

That which I know not, teach thou me, and grant us humility and love, and grant us submission to thy heavenly mind and will. Grant us the Spirit of Christ, not my will, but thine, be done. O

Lord, we do pray that we may be submissive unto thee, unto thy holy word, unto thy ways and to thy truth, that we may be humbled under the mighty hand of God, that thou would exalt us in due season.

We pray, most gracious Lord, that was to remember us then as a church and as a congregation, remember our brethren, the deacons, give wisdom, give grace, give help in all matters, remember. Remember our dear brother and sister in Holland and graciously bless them there, that they may hear the word of the Lord, that their souls may be fed with that living bread, which cometh down from heaven

Remember each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship and grant that we may be drawn closer together in the sacred bonds of Christian love and union and communion. We pray, most gracious Lord, that we may drink more fully, more deeply into that sacred spirit of adoption and that we may experience what the Word of God declares, for God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Lord, we pray that that may be our blessed portion, that we may have that sacred realisation that we are the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty, and that we may have that sacred spirit of love as brethren and sisters in Christ, and that we may walk together in love and union and communion. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst deliver us from all the works of the flesh. We read of them in thy holy word, and we feel them in our own hearts. Those works of the flesh, the uncleanness, the unrighteousness of the flesh, we pray to be delivered from it

And we pray, most gracious God, that thou wouldst remember the little ones and the children that gather with us, put thy holy fear in their hearts, in their young and tender gears. Remember the dear young friends, remember them with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people, and visit them with thy great salvation. and graciously guide and direct them in all matters and bring them to living faith in Jesus Christ and guide and direct them in all the paths of providence. O Lord, we do beseech thee. Lord, we do pray that thou will supply our every need according to thy riches in glory by Christ Jesus and enable us to seek first the kingdom of heaven and thy righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Lord, do grant that it may be so.

Lord, we do pray that thou would remember parents and give grace and help and guidance and direction in all matters, that they may bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

And Lord, we do pray that thou would that graciously remember all in the midst of the journey of life and graciously guide and direct and deliver us from temptation, whether they be the temptations of the world and the ways and the fashion of it, or whether it be the temptations of Satan as a roaring lion or as an angel of light, we pray to be delivered from his power, and that thou wouldst grant us that wisdom that cometh from above, which is first pure and then peaceable.

We pray for grace to fight the good fight of faith and to lay hold of eternal life. O Lord, do remember us, we humbly pray for thy great namesake.

We pray, most gracious God, that thou in thy precious mercy would look upon us, have mercy upon us, look upon this village, have mercy upon this village, send out the light and truth of the gospel, grant the application of thy word to the hearts of poor sinners, grant an ingathering, grant the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan and the setting up of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners.

Grant that we may be delivered from the spirit of Antichrist that so pervades in the day in which we live. O Lord, bring to naught the counsels of the ungodly. Remember thy people in the Ukraine and deliver them from evil, O Lord, we beseech thee.

And gracious God, we do pray that thou wouldst remember those of us that are now in the evening time of life's journey, and remember us with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people, and prepare us for that great change that must come, we do humbly beseech thee.

We do pray that we would see and realise that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth that he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. O gracious God, we do pray that we may ever wait upon thee, the sovereign ruler of the skies. Ever gracious, ever wise, all my times are in thy hand, all events at thy command. Lord, bring us then into submission to thee. We do humbly beseech thee.

We pray O Lord, for the little horses of truth up and down the land, wherever thy servants stand, wherever thy people gather, we pray that thou wouldst send out thy light and send out thy truth and return in thy power and in thy glory, in thy Zion. Remember our own little part of Zion, our little group of churches, and graciously bless us, Lord, and build us up and renew and revive and instead of a declension may we see a building up.

Lord do hear us we humbly beseech thee and pour forth thy blessed spirit and grant that fresh and divine anointing of thy spirit upon all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion that there may be signs to follow the preaching of the word.

And we pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, that thou would send true labourers into the harvest. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake and have mercy upon us.

And Lord, remember our nation. Turn back the tides of iniquity and graciously hear the cries of thy little remnant.

that sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. Give wisdom and guidance and directors to our leader and grant, Lord, Thy gracious blessing upon the King, the blessings of Thy free grace, of Thy everlasting mercy to him and the royal household, we do humbly beseech Thee.

O Lord, Thou art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. We thank thee for every mercy, every favour, every blessing. We thank thee that thy mercies to each one of us is new every morning, and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for Jesus Christ, for the glory of his name, for the fullness of his grace, for the wonders of redeeming love, We thank Thee for the power that brings salvation. We thank Thee for the Word of God. This is the Word by which the Gospel is made unto you. It's here we have the revelation of our God, of our Father, of the Son, of the Holy Ghost.

And we would thank Thee for Thy Word and pray that tonight as we look into Thy Word, that thy word may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, and that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened. Oh, we thank thee for the incarnation of the Son of God, for the holy life he lived, for the holy law he fulfilled, for the bringing in of everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for the precious sin atoning sacrifice of Calvary, where sin has been put away, where divine justice has been satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. We thank thee that he died for our sins and rose again for our justification. He shed his precious blood, all that precious blood of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst make it precious to us this evening hour

We thank thee that he's a risen saviour, that he has swallowed up death in victory, that he hath put away sin by the offering of himself, that he has made a new and living way into the holy place. We have a great high priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, and we desire, O Lord, a spirit of thankfulness for these wonderful mercies and blessings. He can do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. Be with us now, O Lord, as we return to thy holy word, and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding, we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Let us now sing together hymn number 726. The tune is Heathlands, 886.

Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter that we read, the first chapter in the book of Genesis, and we will read verses three, four, and five for our text. Genesis chapter one, verses three, four, and five. And God said, let there be light, and there was light and God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness and God called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day. I think in this first chapter of the book of Genesis we read and God said 11 times and of course this is God's account of the creation of the earth. It's given to us by Moses who the Lord inspired to write the divine passages of scripture He was moved by the Holy Ghost and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost the things that he wrote here concerning the creation that God had made.

I always feel it's a very sublime beginning to the Word of God. In the beginning, God. In the beginning, God. And again, that passage of the opening chapter of the Gospel according to John has a very similar beginning concerning the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word, that of course is the Son of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was nothing made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.

In the beginning. In a sense it means from everlasting. The sense of the word there, in the beginning, it means before all things, before anything was made. And as we read in the Holy Word of God, from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God, thou art God. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." That divine act of God the Holy Ghost moving upon the face of the waters. I take it to mean that God created matter. part of that matter was water. And it was the Spirit of God that brought order to that matter that God had created.

And this is what is set before us in this chapter, how the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land earth and the gathering together of the waters called his seas, and God saw that it was good. You see, and God said. In the Psalm number 30, or 33 rather, I think it is, we have set before us there the creation of the world, how that he spake, that is, Jehovah spake, and it was done. God spake. He didn't have to do anything. His voice, if you look at Psalm 29, it says the voice of the Lord is powerful. You see, it's the voice of the Lord. It's the power of God. He speaks and something is done.

So we read in Psalm 33, verse 6, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap. He layeth up the depths in storehouses. You see, by the word of the Lord were the heavens made. He spake. God spake. In verse 9. And for He spake and it was done. And He commanded and it stood fast. This Eternal God. This Almighty God. The Majesty of Heaven. He made all things. He made all things. not only that he sustains all things and in the word of God we read that he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will all things and then in the Romans he says all things work together for good to them that love God and the other called according to his purposes all things.

We tend to have a very narrow view, if we're left to ourselves, that it's only those things that are a great blessing and that bring us comfort and joy. But no, he says all things. There are those things that make you sad. There are those things that cause a cloud to come into your life and cause despondency. But it's among those all things is the God of heaven. Jesus said it is through much tribulation that you shall enter the kingdom. Much tribulation. There'll be losses, there'll be crosses, there'll be perplexities, there'll be sorrows, there'll be afflictions, there'll be troubles, there'll be trials. But it's among those all things that work together for good to them that love God and who are called according to his purposes.

If we had a clearer view of the sovereignty of God, of the power of God, of that word that we read in the book of the Revelation. Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigning. We wouldn't be so troubled if we had a clearer view of the almighty power of the eternal God who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

One hymn writer says, doesn't he, eternal wisdom ne'er designed to give thee always joy. No. They're those things that cause sadness and grief. And when the Holy Spirit, working in the heart, discovers our sinfulness, discovers the corruption of our heart, of our very nature, that will cause much trouble. It will cause great trials, great perplexities, to see and to know and to realize these things.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, let there be light. and there was light. You see he speaks. It is done. The sun is in the heavens. The moon is in the heavens. Notice it seemed to stand out to me today when in verses 15 and 16 let them be for lights you see these see God said in verse 14 let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night and let them be for signs and for seasons for days and years and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and it was so and God made two great lights.

It's often said today by scientists that study planets that the moon and the sun are stars but if you look carefully here of what is written in God's holy word God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day and over the night and to divide the light from the darkness and God saw that it was good and it says he made the stars also the end of verse 16 He made the stars also. The Word of God makes a distinction between the sun, the moon and the stars. The greater light to rule the day, the lesser light to rule the night.

And God said, let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. And God divided the light from the darkness. and God called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day.

We read in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined into our hearts with the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shined in our hearts. Christ is the light. Christ says in John's gospel, I am the light of the world. I am the light of the world. In Malachi, Christ is called the son of righteousness, S-U-N, the son of righteousness.

God commanded that light to shine in the darkness of this world, just like he commanded the earth and it was created, he spake and it was done, so in the spiritual world, because of man's disobedience, because of man's sin, because of the breaking of the holy law of God, Man was plunged into darkness. Man lost communion with God. It was a awful fall when Adam and Eve fell into sin. And they knew that they were naked and they hid themselves. They were plunged into sin. When God came in the cool of the day, Adam, where art thou? and he was afraid of God. There was nothing to be afraid of before. He could talk with God face to face, but now he'd fallen into sin. Now he'd broken God's law, God's commandment. God had said to him, the day that thou eatest that of thou shalt surely die. What a solemn curse, what a terrible curse came upon man when Adam fell.

When Adam by transgression fell, he ruined all his future race. The seeds of evil once brought in, increased and filled the world with sin. Now, sin and Satan, et cetera, they're all spoken of as the as darkness in a spiritual sense. Darkness. And darkness after Adam fall, darkness ruled. So much so that in the days of Noah, God brought a great flood upon the earth and destroyed man from off the face of the earth and preserved a little remnant in the ark. The mercy he preserved that little remnant in the ark. You might say, why? Why the mercy? Because if that hadn't been so, there would never have been a Jesus Christ. There would never have been a way of salvation. There would never have been a door of hope open wide in Jesus' bleeding hands and side. That's why Noah was saved. That's why the Lord instructed Noah to build that ark. I've got no doubt whatsoever that there'd never been a ship like that upon the earth.

And those that came by Noah mocked him, scorned him. And he told them, he said in scripture he was a preacher of righteousness. He told them that God, because of the sin of man, God was going to destroy the earth with a flood. And they laughed at him. And Jesus said, as in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the son of man. What does he mean? The earth will be full of violence and wickedness and evil. And when you speak to men and women of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they'll laugh at you. When you say that there's gonna be a day of judgment, they'll laugh at you. just as they did to Noah. There's nothing new under the heaven, my beloved friends, but the Lord preserved a people and God said, let there be light and there was light.

You see, and God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts. Has he shined in your heart? Has he shined in our hearts with the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing when that light shines into our hearts. When instead of darkness, there is light. Instead of bondage, there is liberty. Instead of being in a state far off, you're made nigh. Instead of fearing God, you love him. You love him. Your heart is filled with love. Heaven-ward, God-ward, that's not natural. Man fears God. But the gospel of the grace of God in Jesus Christ brings a sinner to love God. And that light shines into the heart.

You see, just as the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters in the creation of this world, we need the Spirit of the Lord to move upon the face of the waters of our hearts. Unless He does, we should be in darkness and bondage. We cannot be delivered from the darkness that we're in by nature, except by the Spirit of God. No man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. And that's when that light shines. This glorious light of the gospel of the grace of God. And God said, let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. Now, you know, my beloved friends, these things all have a gospel application. God divided the light from the darkness. When a poor sinner is called by divine grace, and the light of the truth of the gospel shines into their hearts, and Christ is made precious It divides us from the darkness, from the people of this world that love not our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and in truth. There is a dividing line.

And then we're having, in the Word of God, the friendship of the world is enmity to God. And God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness. There's a dividing line. There's a separating line. The Lord's people are called a sanctified people. I understand that in the original meaning of the word saint, it means a sanctified person. Now what is a sanctified person? One that has been divinely called and quickened by the Holy Ghost. That is a sanctified person. They're brought to see their need of salvation. They're brought to see the need of Jesus Christ. This is all the divine work of the Spirit of God in the heart of the true believer. And it's a divine command from God that performs it

and God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness and God called the light day and the night he called night and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day you know the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Thessalonians. He speaks there very clearly in the fifth chapter of the first epistle to the Thessalonians. He speaks very clearly, very beautifully of this light and this darkness. He says in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 4

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. That's the day of judgment. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for on helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us.

That's what makes us. the children of light, because Christ died for us. What a mercy, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as ye do.

See, this separating work, the Spirit, the sanctifying work of the Spirit. There is one aspect of the word sanctification which means separation. The Lord will separate us from the world that lieth in wickedness. So when you're in the company of the world you feel like a fish out of water, you do not feel at home, you do not feel comfortable, you feel uncomfortable. See that is the divine work of the spirit in the heart. And John in his first epistle, he speaks there so solemnly of the work, that separating work of the spirit in the heart, of the true believer, separating them from the world. Are we separate from the world? This is one of the marks of divine grace, when we're separated from the world. In the first epistle of John chapter 2, and it says in verse 15, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

See my beloved friends, this separating work of the Spirit, in the heart of the true believer. This separating work is not like the Pharisee who separate themselves, who think they're better than everyone else. This separating work of the Spirit humbles us. It humbles us. It makes us to feel our own personal sinfulness. It makes us to feel the sinful corruption of our hearts, of our nature.

You see, my beloved friends, it's like we've already said, the true believer in the world is like a fish out of water. Now, we're in the world, we have to live in the world, we have to work in the world, But as the Lord Jesus says there, in the world but not of the world. We have to live here on earth. We have to live with our fellow creatures.

And the light that shone in Jesus Christ was the light of divine grace. We read right through the New Testament, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And look at that grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. his love, his kindness, his compassion upon poor, needy, wretched, helpless, hopeless sinners. How that he went about doing good, how that he constantly had compassion upon the multitudes that flocked after him, how that he healed the sick, Open the eyes of the blind and open the ears of the deaf and cause the dumb to speak and the lame to walk.

This is the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is. And it's something that we're to follow as being believers in Jesus Christ and followers of Jesus Christ. We're to do those things that he did. were to emulate what Christ did in loving our neighbor as ourself, in always doing good, in always doing kindness, in having compassion upon those that are out of the way. And when we see our neighbor in need, we help them in their need. That's what Jesus did. That's what Jesus did. He didn't stand in judgment on them. He had mercy on them. He delivered them.

You know, we've often pointed out to you how with Bartimaeus, when he was by the wayside crying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me, the multitude said, be quiet now. But what did Jesus do? He stood still. He heard the beggars knock. He heard the cry of that poor blind man. who couldn't see his way. He had mercy on him.

Look at the parable of the Good Samaritan. It's wonderful, the illustration, the Samaritan there is Jesus Christ. He came right where the man was, the Levite walked by on the other side. So did the priest. But the Good Samaritan, now the Jews, They despised the Samaritans. But Jesus gives that illustration. And what does he say at the end of that illustration? Go and do thou likewise. To hear the cry of the needy and to help those that are in distress. and to deliver those that are in great need. That's what we should be about. That's what our lives should be about. That's what the life of Jesus Christ was. That was central to the whole of his life.

And this is why he says, I am the light of the world. And God said, let there be light. And there was light and God saw the light that it was good. God saw that glorious light in the person of his son, Jesus Christ, and it was good. The eternal father, he looked down upon our Lord Jesus Christ in the way he lived, in the love and compassion that he had toward his fellow creatures here upon earth. And he saw that it was good. Why? Because in that is the fulfilling of the law. Jesus fulfilled the law. He went about doing good. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. That's the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the light that shines.

But you know it says, doesn't it? Jesus said, didn't he? Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil and so therefore the holy life the pure and holy life of Jesus Christ exposed their own wickedness and evil therefore they hated him and if we live godly in Christ Jesus the world will hate you too

and God said let there be light and there was light and God saw the light that it was good And God divided the light from the darkness. And that is indeed what he does with his children. He divides the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and we've just read in Thessalonians, you are the children of the day, we are not of the night. Are we children of the day? Do we walk in the light of his countenance?

That lovely word isn't there in Isaiah chapter 60, arise and shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For darkness shall cover the earth, et cetera. It is a beautiful prophecy of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. When that glorious light shines in that holy life, And where that glorious light shines in the law fulfilled and honored and magnified in his glorious person, in his perfect obedience. And that glorious light shines in his submission to his heavenly father's will.

When the father laid upon him the iniquity of us all, and he suffered and bled and died for the sins of his people. He offered a holy, pure and spotless sacrifice. This is the very heart and centre of that light, my beloved friends, that shines in Jesus Christ. He laid down his life for his friends. He said, I have power to lay my life down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

He suffered and bled and died for our sins. which is read in the Thessalonians, who died for us. What a light there is that shines when he died for our sins, when he shed his precious blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, that cleanses us from all sin. What a light that shines in that glorious, precious blood of Jesus Christ, the cleansing power of Jesus, the son of God, of his precious blood for as much as you are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, no, but with the precious blood of Christ. What a light shines there.

What a light shines on the resurrection mall when the angels roll back the stone and Jesus rises from the dead and the angels said, he is not here, he is risen. See, it says, doesn't it, in the word of God, he hath destroyed death and him that had the power of death. I say, what a light that shines on the resurrection morning when Jesus destroyed death and him that had the power of death and brought light and immortality to light through the gospel.

There's a glorious light that shines in that risen savior who has put away sin by the offering of himself. Or as the apostle says, he rose again for our justification. That means He left all our sins in the grave. Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more, justified. Therefore being justified by God. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, justified by faith. Where in the risen Saviour, in sin put away, in that precious shed blood, in that Saviour that has now ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. What a glorious light shines in our great High Priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. What a light there is that shines there.

And God said, let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. and God divided the light from the darkness, and God called the light day, and the darkness he called night, and the evening and the morning were the first day.

May the Lord have his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn 544, the tune is Auburn, 734.

By nature can no man be just, since all are conceived in sin. No room is now left us to boast, for works cannot God's favour win, but such who in Jesus believe are justified freely by grace, united to Jesus their head, he's made unto them righteousness.

Hymn 544, tune Auburn, 734.

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each both now and for evermore. Amen.