Let me just make, before we get
started, because I don't want to forget, let me just make a
few announcements. The next order of things, there's
three things. We're actually busy this time
of year. I'm usually not away this often, but on October 30th,
so the 29th through the 30th, there is a conference in Louisville,
Arkansas that I've been invited to preach at and Most of us are
going down there, so I don't have anyone to preach here. So
we're not going to have services on the 30th of October. Got that,
Judy? I don't want you to show up and
then be like, where is everybody? So yeah, October 30th, we won't
have services, unless something changes, but I don't see that
yet, it's a little close. Then the other thing, we just
found out today, we thought that we had escaped the spaghetti
dinner at this place this year, but they just put this out that
on Sunday, November 6th, right during our time slot, they are
having a spaghetti dinner. Yeah, yeah, it might be a little
rowdy, but yeah. I mean, I guess that's another
option. We could always try and come in way earlier, but I think
they're going to be preparing. It's going to be really tough.
So what we do in that case is we usually get the library over
there right behind the McDonald's, is that? Yeah, so there's a little
library, a nice library there of Nixa. That's where we're going
to meet in one of the side rooms. It did happen one time where
they did not unlock the doors for us. They didn't show up.
So if that happens, then we'll maybe go somewhere. But that's,
we'll know that in the first hour. So if you give me your
number. If you're going to come in the second hour, Judy, just
give me your phone number and I'll text you if there's any
issues with that. I can do that. So again, so next,
no, next Sunday we're here. All's good. Lord willing, we're
here. Then there's the conference,
so no services here. And then the sixth will be in
the other place. And then we come back for a normal
service. No, we don't. Then it's the conference. So
in this one, and I'm going to give this to you, there's our
conference schedule of the 12th and the 13th for November, and
who the speakers are. They're all gospel, faithful
gospel pastors, and they preach the gospel to everyone gathered
here together. So I'll give you this one. So
you have this schedule there. Oh, thanks. I appreciate it. And then, I think, is my number
in there? I don't even remember. I'm going to let you up. And
again, I totally did not go live, so I'll have to tell my mother.
Yeah, you're good. Let's begin our second service
by standing and singing 209, grace greater than our sin. 209. Marvelous grace of our loving
Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, Yonder on
Calvary's mount outpoured, There where the blood of the Lamb was
shed, Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse
within. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all
our sin. Sin and despair, like the sea
waves cold, Threaten the soul with infinite loss. Grace that is greater, yes, grace
untold, Points to the refuge, the mighty cross. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse
within. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all
our sin. Dark is a stain that we cannot
hide. What can avail to wash it away? Look, there is flowing a crimson
tide. Whiter than snow you may be today. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse
within. Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all
our sin. ? Marvelous, infinite, matchless
grace ? ? Freely bestowed on all who believe ? ? You that
are longing to see his face ? ? Will you this moment his grace receive
? ? Grace, grace, grace ? God's grace, grace that will pardon
and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God's grace, grace
that is greater than all our sin. Thank you. Caught me by surprise. I thought
I had all the verses. Sometimes it's nice to do acapella. Morning, everybody. I'm going
to read Ezekiel 19. Ezekiel 19 Moreover take up a lamentation
for the princes of Israel and say what is thy mother a lioness? She laid down among the lions.
She nourished her whelps Among the young lions and she brought
up one of her whelps and it became a young lion and learned to catch
the prey it devoured men and The nations also heard of him.
He was taken in their pit and they brought him with chains
unto the land of Egypt. Now when she saw that she had
waited and her hope was lost, then she took another of her
whelps and made him a young lion. And when he went up and down
among the lions, he became a young lion and learned to catch the
prey and devoured men. And he knew their desolate palaces
and he laid waste their cities and the land was desolate and
the fullness thereof by the noise of his roaring. Then the nation
set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread
their net over him. He was taken in their pit. And
they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of
Babylon. They brought him into holds, that his voice should
no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. Thy mother is like
a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters. She was fruitful
and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong
rods for the scepters of them that bear rule. And her stature
was exalted among thick branches, and she appeared in her height
with the multitude of her branches. But she was plucked up in a fury.
She was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her
fruit. Her strong rods were broken and withered and the fire consumed
them And now she is planted in the wilderness in a dry and thirsty
ground The fire is gone out of a rod of her branches which had
devoured her fruit So that she has no strong So she has no strong
rod to be a separate rule. This is a lamentation and shall
be for a lamentation Father we come to you again thankful
this morning for having a place to come and worship. And Father,
we're also thankful that you have given us optional places
to go when it's necessary so the message can continue to be
preached regardless of where we meet. And Father, we are thankful
to have our pastor back. We're thankful you got him to
Montana and back safely. And Father, we ask that when
we travel to Darvins that you give us traveling mercies and
get us there safely and back. Lord, we are just so looking
forward to an opportunity to hear the gospel from men we haven't
seen in a long time and some men we've never met. Father,
we just ask that it be a good time of fellowship. Lord, we
also ask that you watch over our conference coming up, Lord,
that you bring those men in safely, and that you make it again another
good time of fellowship with some friends we haven't seen
in a while. Lord, we just continue to ask that you raise this congregation
up to the size that you want it to be, whether it be 10 or
10,000. Lord, we just ask that you continue to help us grow,
and we ask that you always continue to watch over our pastor as he
struggles to study and put the messages together. And Lord,
we just ask that you continue to watch over and care for us
in Christ's name. As you remain sitting, let's
sing 314. I am thine, O Lord. 3-14. Sorry, I got the wrong one here.
Here we go, let's try this one. I know, Lord, I have heard Thy
voice, and it told Thy love to me. But I long to rise in the
arms of faith, and be closer drawn to Thee. Draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer,
blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side. Prosecrate me
now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine. Let my soul look up with a steadfast
hope, and my will be lost in thine. Draw me nearer, nearer,
blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer,
blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side. O the pure delight of a single
hour that before thy throne I spend. When I kneel in prayer and with
thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend. Nearer, nearer,
blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died. Come ye nearer, nearer, nearer,
blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side. There are depths of love that
I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea. There are heights
of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with thee. Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed
Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side. Thank you. Boy, I love that last
verse. There are depths of love that
I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea. There are heights
of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with thee. Yeah. Look forward to that day. We shall
see him as he is. Okay, brethren, let's go back
to Genesis chapter one. Genesis 1, our text being verses
14 through 19. It's the fourth day. While you're turning there, I
want to repeat a few things that we declared in the first hour.
That all of creation declares Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Each day of description is a
declaration of the gospel whereby the Lord Jesus Christ has reconciled
his people unto himself. I won't go into as much detail
as we did in the first one on this, but we see the summary
of creation so far. Day one, we see a picture, a
type, declaring Jesus Christ come in the flesh. He is the
light of men. He is the life of his people. Day two, we saw declared the
death of Christ as the sin atoning sacrifice whereby he made a covering. That firmament pictures the covering
of the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have life. Day three, we see
that appearing of the land which declares to us the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. When that land came up out of
the watery grave, it declared the Lord Jesus Christ is risen,
that we are justified of the Father in Christ. And day four, we see the ascension
or exaltation of Christ. And that was our focus in the
last study. And we saw also there a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the husband of his bride. He is the bridegroom. He is the
son. The son pictures him. It looks
to him. It points to him. And we, as
the moon, the church, is a reflection of his light and his glory being
declared in the earth. Now this hour we're going to
focus more so on the sun, the moon, and the stars as witnesses
of Christ's light. As we said, when Christ ascended
to the Father, when he returned to the throne, He did not leave
himself without a witness in the earth. In the same way that
the sun and the moon and the stars were given as a witness
of that light which God brought forth on day one, so Christ has
not left us without a witness but has given us many witnesses
which all testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that we are
given the Holy Spirit And what does the Spirit do? He testifies
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has completed his word. We
have the Old Testament and the New Testament, completed by the
apostles. And what does that do? It testifies
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he has brought together his
body, the church, gathered them together in one, What does the
Church do? She testifies of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's given witnesses to his people
to call them out of darkness and to bring them into the light
and salvation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so these
are what's declared on the fourth day. Let's read our text now
with this in mind, verses 14 Genesis 1 14-19 And God said, Let there be lights
in the firmament, in that covering of the heaven, to divide the
day from the night, and let them be for signs and 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 now we see almost a repetition
of what was said. Verse 16, And God made two great
lights, and 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. I've titled this message, Not
Without a Witness. So let's see now the sun and
the moon and the stars which are spoken of in verse 16. Before
we get there I just want to cover some language used in verses
14 and 15 that I want to highlight because they do show forth, they
do declare the work of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the
hearts of you his people who now by his glory and power do
believe him and trust him. Let's read first verse 14. Just
verse 14, 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, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. All right, so these lights, we're
told, were given to divide the day from the night. One of the ways that our Lord
shows his glorious power in our hearts is to divide us, to separate
us unto his light and power. Dividing us from the darkness
which we have inherited in Adam. enmity which is in our hearts
by nature. Christ has divided us from that
enmity that we might be reconciled, to reconcile us to the Father
and to give us fellowship with our God. And so His love separates
His people out from that death and darkness and brings us into
light and to the life that our God has freely given His child
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior even said when He
spoke to those Jews, yet in darkness, He said, follow me. He said, he that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He shall have life. He shall
have light. He will not walk in darkness,
because God's power is what drew him out of the darkness, and
it's God's power which gives him life and preserves him in
that life, so that he beholds the Son. No longer is he trusting
in the yoke of bondage to save him, he is now trusting in the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ who has provided everything
for him. And so the scriptures speak of
our Savior calling Him the Day Star. the day star which scatters
the night, scatters the darkness, driving it from his people, and
he rises in the hearts of his people who behold the servant
of God, who look to him and believe him. Turn over to John 12. Let's see this in John 12, and
we'll pick up in verse 35, and we'll work our way down to verse
41. So John 12, 35, here he is, the light of men,
the light, the life, and he's speaking what the Father sent
him to declare. Then Jesus said unto them, he's
speaking to the unbelieving Jews, yet a little while is the light
with you. Walk while ye have the light. He is there in the flesh. Walk
while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he
that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye
have light. While Christ is here in the flesh,
he is saying, believe in the light, that ye may be the children
of light. These things spake Jesus. and
departed, and did hide himself from them. So we see here a division
which Christ makes. There were a people who heard
Christ and they followed Him. Those eleven disciples and the
few others which heard Christ and followed Him, it's because
He had done a work of grace in their heart. And we see here
that left to ourselves this nature is so corrupt, so vile. So unbelieving and will not hear
the truth that left to ourselves, we will not believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. We need a work of grace, the
power of God working in us to deliver us from the bondage of
death and sin and darkness and ruin. And it's only by the grace
of God in the Son, Jesus Christ. There were many others there.
But Christ left them, and He did hide Himself from them, rather
than delivering them from darkness. And we see, Lord, that's not
what You did for me. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for
your grace. Otherwise, I, too, would have
been left right there in that prison, shut up to the things
of God. I never would have heard you.
I never would have believed you. I never would have followed you.
I would have stayed right there. It's all to the praise and glory
of His grace done for sinners of His choosing. He says, verse
37, back there in John 12, 37, but though he had done so many
miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. You see, he did those works before
them, not in them. That's the difference that he's
made in you. He's done this work of grace, the miracle of grace
in giving you life, working that in your heart. Working that in
you, whereby you do believe in Him. And so again, we see it. Who makes the difference? God
makes the difference in you. He makes the difference. Stay
right there in John 12, or hold your finger there, but let's
go over to 2 Corinthians. I just wanna show you this, and
then we're gonna come back to John 12. 2 Corinthians 4, starting in verse 3. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 3 through
verse 6. Paul says, we're preaching the
gospel to every man. We're preaching it to all. And
he says, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost. in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. They're kept
in that blindness, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your
servants for Jesus' sake. What Paul is saying right there
in verse 5 is, we're not preaching the flesh. If we preach the flesh,
if we preached works in the flesh, you'd hear us. All would hear
us. They'd have no problem with that.
Man doesn't mind when you tell him what to do for God, what
he can do for to save himself. Man has no problem with that.
But no, we don't preach ourselves. We preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. He is salvation. We exalt him. We lift up the banner of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and he draws out whom he will from death and
darkness. For God, here's the power, for
God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And that harkens back to what?
the creation, God who brought light out of nothing, the uncreated
light, and brought it to bear on that dark world, showing that
God would be gracious to a people there. That's what the Lord does
in our hearts. Where there's nothing but darkness,
he shines the light of Christ there and gives light and power
in our hearts. All right now, so let's go back
and Christ says it right, well he brings it out here in John
12, John 12, 38 now. Why did this happen? Why were
they shut up and why did Christ depart and hide himself? That
the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, and he was
led by the Spirit and wrote as the Spirit led him, which he
spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath
the arm of the Lord been revealed. because salvation is a revelation. It's a revelation of God's power
and grace in dead sinners, giving them life, making them to hear
and to believe. Therefore, because God didn't
reveal it to them, they could not believe because that Isaiah
said again, he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart
that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with
their heart and be converted or turned and I should heal them. These things said Isaiah when
he saw Christ's glory and spake of him. Which refers back to
Isaiah 6 if you want to go and read it later today. Isaiah 6
when Isaiah, being a religious man, And he was a very religious
man. He had already started preaching
the word. But then one day came, and he saw Christ seated on the
throne, his train filling the room, so that there's no other
kings, no other lords, but the Lord Jesus Christ alone. That
fits there. And Isaiah, seeing, beholding
Christ. And I think this would be true
when we see him. He saw his sin. He then saw what a sinner he
was and cried out, I am a man of unclean lips. I was so religious. I thought I knew so much and
then I saw the Lord and I knew right then and there my lips
are unclean and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips and he trembled. And he was afraid, and he feared.
And that's what the Lord does for every sinner whom he saves.
He makes us to see, I'm the sinner. How can I stand before the holy,
true, and living God? God, have mercy on me. And the
Lord did that, right? He took the coal off the altar,
the altar being Christ, the coal being Christ, and touched his
lips. and he was cleansed of his sin and could stand before
God and serve him. Now, there's a time and a season. We see this also in the language
there where it says, let them be for signs and for seasons
and for days and years. There's a time and a season when
God's sovereign power and glory will come upon a sinner in the
time of his choosing, in the day of his grace for them. And they'll live when he brings
that salvation they shall live and they will cry out Lord Help
me Have mercy on me Lord don't pass me by as blind Bartimaeus
cried Lord don't pass me by save me help me save me give me sight
Lord and Everyone who ever cried to the Lord for help and mercy,
he never turned them away. What a comfort. Everyone who
ever said, Lord, help me, he helped everyone because it was
his grace that drew them sweetly to himself to behold, I need
him. He's the one and the only one
that can save me. Lord, save me. And he helped
everyone. Now back in Genesis 1.15 we're
told there, Genesis 1.15, and let them be
for lights in the firmament, a light in the firmament of the
heaven, a light in that atonement which Christ has made to give
light upon the earth and it was so. When our Lord and Savior
was here in the flesh, He shone above the brightness of the sun
for glory. And yet man left to himself.
He refused to hear Him. He didn't believe Him, and He
took Him and crucified Him, thinking He was doing what He would do.
But it was all according to the will and purpose of God, to do
for His people what they could not do, to make an atonement
for their sins and so we see the wisdom and power of God and
this wisdom is justified of all her children who do hear and
who do believe because the power and grace of God is working mightily
in chosen sinners whom he will be gracious to and merciful to
and giving them life and so when Christ ascended right when the
light When the light returned to the Father, there was darkness
in the earth. That light was gone and there
was darkness in the earth, but he did not leave himself without
a witness. And so we read in 1 Thessalonians
5, 4 and 5, so that he, brethren, are not in darkness. You are
not left in darkness. That day should overtake you
as a thief. Ye are all the children of light
and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of
the darkness. Why? Because God has divided
us. He has separated out whom He
willed and brings them into a knowledge of the salvation of the Lord
Jesus Christ and what He has done in putting away your sins
and making you righteous in Himself to stand faultless before the
throne of Holy God. And so we declare this Savior,
this salvation, because there is no other Savior, there is
no other salvation, we declare Him. And Peter tells us in 2
Peter 2.19, we have also a more sure word of prophecy. Whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until
the day dawns. till the Lord Jesus Christ is
raised in your heart and the day star arise in your hearts. Hear the word. Where else could
you be? Where else could you go? There's
no other salvation being declared but where the Lord gathers his
people to hear this word that they be fed with the bread of
heaven because he and he alone is salvation. He is the nourisher,
the giver, the provider, the life giver. He's all and made
all unto his children, unto his sheep. Now, this is the witness
which our Lord has given us and we see this in the lightbearers.
Let's read 16 through 19 once more now. work our way through
this half. And God made two great lights,
the greater light to rule the day, that would be the sun, and
the lesser light to rule the night, there's the moon. 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 so the sense here is that
God did not leave himself without a light bearer, without light
bearers to bear witness of the light of God, to continue to
declare God's purpose to be gracious and merciful to a people here
on this planet, which he had made. When that light came, it
said, God has a purpose here. If He left it in darkness, that
couldn't be said, but He brought forth that uncreated light to show that He will be gracious
whom He will be gracious, and show compassion upon whom He
will be compassionate, and to be merciful to whom He will be
merciful." And so what do we see here being pictured in these
lightbearers? The sense is that they show us
the witnesses which the Son has given to His people to shine
light upon the earth, to give a light to show us our God, to
declare and turn us to the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, He
gave His Holy Spirit to give you life. In Galatians 1 verse
2 it describes the earth being void having no form, being void, and
in darkness. And so Christ gives the Holy
Spirit, who comes and gives life to his people, which is filling
that void, because there was no spiritual life in us in Adam.
When we sinned in Adam, we died spiritually. We were void of
all spiritual life. The Spirit is given. who takes
the seed of Christ the incorruptible seed of Christ and gives life
to his people whereby in that new man we do believe and call
out upon him and trust him and so that void is filled and he
completed the written word by his apostles so that by this
word there's light shining in the darkness there's a light
declaring our God and Savior and We see him gathering together
his church through the preaching of the gospel so that they are
gathered together by Christ and formed into a body, the body
of Christ. He filled the void, made a body,
and gave them light. driving away all that wrath of
God which rested upon the earth before that light came. And so
these light bearers are witnesses to give light upon the earth. And every one of them testifies
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only do we see two great
lights which show us Christ and his church, but here we also
see types. The first one we'll look at is
the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost. Our Lord said in John 16, verse
seven. Let's go to John 16. Let's just
see it. John 16, verse seven. He said to his disciples, nevertheless,
I tell you the truth. It is expedient, or it's profitable
for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter,
the Holy Ghost, will not come unto you. But if I depart, I
will send him unto you." Okay, now look at John 15. John 15,
verse 26. But when the Comforter is come,
whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of
truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. He testifies of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's by the Spirit poured out
upon us that baptism of the Spirit whereby I do see and believe
the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the Spirit I have no
life. Ye must be born again. And that's not something I do
for myself. That's the gift of God. That's the grace of God
pouring out his spirit upon whom he will, causing them to live,
to breathe, to hear, to confess, and to cry out, the Lord Jesus
Christ is my all. That's the baptism. You confess
along with all his saints, not my righteousness, Lord, not my
works, Don't receive me in what I've done, receive me in Christ. He's all my salvation. He's all
my hope, all my righteousness. I have nothing apart from Him. And so that's what the Holy Spirit
does. He testifies of Christ. No, don't
look to the law. No, don't look to your works.
Look to Christ. Don't look to your sin. Don't
look to those things. Look to Christ. Trust Him. Follow
Him. He leads thee into all light,
into all righteousness. Follow Him. Stay upon Him. And so, again, that first day,
how do I describe that light that God brought forth on the
first day when God said, let there be light? And it never
says that God made the light on that first day. He said, let
there be light, and there was light. God brought forth that
uncreated, eternal light, the Son of God upon the creation. How do I describe it? How do
I understand it? Well, the Lord gives us the Holy
Spirit who gives us an understanding and light to see and to behold
who the Savior is and what he has done for me, a sinner. We see him, right? It says, of
Christ who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no
man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to
whom be honor and power everlasting, Amen. So there's a mystery here
about that light, isn't there? Just as there's a mystery about
the Lord Jesus Christ until he is made known and revealed to
you. Before then you may be religious,
but all Jesus is then is just a religious figure. It's just
another, another trinket in the good charms of man's fleshly
religion. But when the power comes and
gives you life, then you behold, wait a minute, he's everything.
Christ is all. Colossians 3.11, Christ is all
and in all. And so we see here that on the
first day, that light, all I do know, all that is said in the
scriptures is that that light allowed there to be an evening
and a morning. And every day there was an evening
and a morning. And while that seems like a mystery
to me, now I can look up in the sky and I can see the sun and
I can see how this thing works where there's an evening and
a morning each and every day. He's given us a witness of how
that was, when he would appear and hide himself, and appear
and hide himself. And so it is that we have this
witness, and that's what the scriptures tell us about the
Spirit. He shall testify of me. Though you're in darkness, the
Spirit will testify of the Lord Jesus Christ and bring you out
of that darkness into the light to hear what Christ has accomplished
for His people. When I see the sun, I see the
brightness of incredible light, and I have an understanding that
things do live and grow. Just the other day, I had a plant
in a pot outside, and I heard that there's coming a fierce
cold wind. I think it's tonight that's going
to just frost and kill things if you leave them out there.
Bring them in. But if you bring them into the garage and you
forget about them, they're going to die. Put them in a window
where there's sunlight. And we have an understanding
of that. Well, so it is that Christ is the light. He is the
warmth. He is the power that gives life
to His people. Without Christ, you will die
in your sins. He is the Savior. Look to Him. Stay in Him. Call out, Lord,
keep me. because so many hear for a time
and fall away. Lord, keep my wandering heart
ever looking to your Savior, to your Son, ever looking to
you, Lord. And so it is that the Spirit
does that very thing, regenerating you, giving you life to look
to the Son. And he gives you that power in
the day of his power, and you believe. And we see this, how
the Lord does it. We see in the wintertime things
die, And then in the spring, they come back. I have a garden
bed out there, and I don't have to plant Swiss chard anymore.
It just comes back each year. Same thing with kale. It just
comes out of the ground, out of nothing. Suddenly it pops
up and starts growing and getting bigger. That's what our Savior
does. We are dead in trespasses and
sins, but when He gives life, He springs that life forth, and
fruit comes, born of the Spirit, unto our God, to His praise and
glory. declaring, this is the work of
my son. So the spirit is given in the
day of grace, the day of grace. Next, we have the moon, picture
of the moon. And the moon here is a type of
the scriptures. What do I mean by that? All scripture
testifies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior said to the Jews,
the unbelieving Jews, in John 539, he said, search the scriptures. Why? Because in them you think
you have eternal life. But here's what you're missing.
The scriptures testify of me. All the scriptures speak of and
declare the Lord Jesus Christ. So that we see at the very beginning
of the ministry of Christ, we're told in John 145, Philip findeth
Nathanael. and saith unto him, we have found
him of whom Moses in the law and all the prophets did write,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. The scriptures spoke
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then at the end of his ministry
on the earth, when he had risen from the grave and appeared unto
his disciples in Luke 24, 44, and 45, he said unto them, these
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which were written. in the Scriptures,
in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me. Then opened he their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures." When you see Christ,
whether you see Him there or not, but you know He's there.
If I can't see Him, I still know He's there. It's because the
Spirit has given you understanding to understand the scriptures.
To know this is declaring the Lord Jesus Christ to me. Not
how I saved myself, but how He saved me. by His glory and power. And so though we find ourselves
many times here in the night of darkness, and we go through
dark times and difficult times and through many troubles and
adversities and difficulties, go to His word. Open this word
and look for him, praying, Lord, help me to see my Savior, to
see again the comfort of your word of what you've done for
me through your Son, Jesus Christ. Why? Because thy word is a lamp
unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119, verse 105. Christ is the light. He is the
one in whom we walk, seeing and understanding that this is all
to the praise and glory of my God, and though he slay me, yet
will I praise him. He does all these things to His
glory and power. He is the light of men. Then
finally, He made the stars also. What are these? These are the
ministers which are given to preach that gospel light, to
declare the Lord Jesus Christ the churches to speak of him
right the stars in the scriptures revelation 120 are We're told
these are the ministers of the gospel. It says the mystery of
the seven stars All right, seven being a completion not literally
seven But the exact number of all God's ministers which thou
sawest in my right hand the seven stars are the angels of the seven
churches of the seven churches so those stars there are are
the angels, the ministers of the gospel. They're preaching
the gospel to sinners in darkness to feed the sheep with the bread
of heaven because he and he alone is the salvation of his people.
Some stars, they were near in Jerusalem and these spread out
under the heaven to the farthest reaches of heaven. How so? They were driven there by God,
according to the purpose of God. Some by persecution were driven
out of Jerusalem, carrying that word wherever they went. Some
went because they were missionaries, given the spirit to go out and
preach the gospel to the Greeks in the Gentile nations. And this
is what our Lord said in Acts 1.8, exactly what he said in
Acts 1.8. If you want to see it there,
Acts 1.8, Speaking of these stars, He said to His disciples, Acts 1.8 But ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and
in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth." God spread
them out as little lights whereby they do minister and preach and
declare what Christ has done for them and what he's done for
all his people. so that they are bearing testimony
to that glorious light of him that created them and made them. See that there? So we see the
sun, the moon, and the stars all testifying to, all bearing,
reflecting that light of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said in
Matthew 5.16, let your light so shine among men That light
being the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they may see
your good works, which is the work of the Spirit in you, bearing
forth that fruit of the Spirit, that faith, which is wrought
in you by the gift of God. You go and you declare that faith
and glorify your Father which is in heaven, the one whom sent
the Son to save his people from their sins. to bring you out
of darkness into the kingdom of His glorious light. So today
is the day of grace. Hear His word. Seek Him. Believe
Him. Call upon Him. Beg for His mercy
because He freely gives life and light to all who ask Him.
In fact, you have life because you're already seeking Him. It's
a sign of His grace and mercy to you. And so these lights were
given for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. In other words, just as we saw
in the first hour, the Lord, the Son completes a circuit.
And what He's saying to us is that one day, These things are
all going to be rolled up like a scroll. The sun's going to
go dark, the moon will turn to blood, the stars of heaven will
fall from the sky, and this will all be rolled up like a scroll,
and it'll all pass away, because the day of His wrath is come. Today is the day of grace. Call
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe Him. Trust Him. He's
a merciful and gracious Savior. Amen. All right, let's close in prayer
and then we'll have a hymn be dismissed. Our gracious Lord,
we thank you, Father, for your grace and mercy. We thank you, Lord, for the salvation
that you have freely provided in your Son. We thank you, Lord,
for sending the Spirit, giving us your word, establishing your
church. to proclaim, to bear witness,
to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, to bear that light upon
the earth. Lord, we thank you. We thank
you for your grace and mercy. We see what sinners we are in
ourselves and the need we have of Christ and the all-sufficiency
that is given in him freely to your people. Lord, thank you.
Thank you for not hiding yourself from us and going away from us,
but for being merciful to us, undeserving sinners. Lord, help
us to hear these things, to believe these very words, to continue
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray and
give thanks. Amen. Let's all stand and sing, 224. I know whom I have believed.
224. I know not why God's wondrous
grace to me he hath made known, Nor why unworthy Christ did love
redeem me for his own. But I know my happy leavin' And
am persuaded that he is able To keep that which I've committed
Unto him against that day. I know not how this saving faith
to me He did impart, nor how believing in His word brought
peace within my heart. I know whom I have believed in
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed
unto Him against that day. I know not how the Spirit moves,
convincing man of sin. Feeling Jesus through the Word,
creating faith in Him. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed
unto Him against that day. I know not what of good or ill
may be reserved for me Of weary ways or golden days before his
face I see But I know my happy leavin' And am persuaded that
he is able To keep that which I've committed Unto him against
that day. I know not when my Lord may come
at night or noonday fair, nor if I'll walk the vale with Him
or meet Him in the air. But I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He is able. To keep that which I've committed
Unto Him against that day.