Let's commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 303. The tune is Lausanne,
944. Jesus, lover of my soul, let
me to thy bosom fly, while the raging billows roll, while the
tempest still is high. Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
Till the storm of life is past, safe into the haven guide, O
receive my soul at last. Hymn 303 Tune Lausanne 944 To tell it of thy soul Let me
to thy bosom fall ? Round the raging billowed road
? ? All but dead and still is fine ? ? I'll be alright, take
me home ? The richly primed soul and heart. The refuge have I done, and I
have the soul of King. Give up, leave me not alone,
? Still stand protector for me
? ? All my trials I will escape ? ? All my trouble with thy grace
? How I keep incessantly With the
shadow of thy face. O Christ, that all I know, all
in all in Thee I find. Raise the golden children of
age, heal the sick ? And plead the fight ? ? I am holy and I
am ? ? I am full of righteousness ? The people of Sinai, all among
them are of truth and praise. Endless grace with thee is bound,
Grace to conquer all my sin. Let the beating streams of hell,
They can't keep me pure with this. There are nights I'm held
in awe. In existence of me. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Paul's epistle to the Ephesians and chapter
5. The epistle to the Ephesians
chapter 5. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also have loved
us. and hath given himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. But fornication and all uncleanness,
all covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh
saints, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting,
which is not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger,
nor unclean person, nor covetous man, which is an idolater, hath
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no
man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore
partakers with them, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are
ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for
the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth. Prove in what is acceptable unto
the Lord, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them. for it is a shame even
to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved
are made manifest by the light, for whatsoever doth make manifest
is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are
evil. Wherefore, be ye not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk
with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving
thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. Wives submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the
head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church. and
he is the saviour of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word that he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men
to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his
wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth him, even as the Lord
the Church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let
every one of you, in particular, so love his wife even as himself
and the wife see that she reverence her husband. May the Lord bless
the reading of his precious word of truth and grant unto us the
spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, bow before thy great and glorious
majesty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We desire, O Lord, a spirit
of true worship, a spirit of true prayer. Thou hast exhorted
us to make your request known unto God by prayer and by supplication
with thanksgiving. And we pray that we may be enabled
to do so, that we may have poured upon us that spirit of grace,
the Holy Ghost, to give us real, true spiritual desires and longings,
and that we may wrestle with thee. Wrestling prayer can wonders
do, bring relief in deepest strains. Prayer can force a passage through
iron bars and brazen gates. O Lord God, we thank thee, that
it is so, and that we have proved it to be so over many years. And we pray that thou wilt draw
near to us. We're not worthy, Lord, we're
sinners. We're the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. We're
born in sin and shaped in iniquity. We have a corrupt nature, a filthy
heart. Lord, we pray to be delivered
from that corrupt nature. and from that filthy heart, and
that we may, O Lord, be exercised in the spirit of the inner man,
that we may be able to put off those works of the flesh and
to put thee on, O do enable us by thy spirit and grace so to
do. Deliver us from temptation. Deliver
us from the power and dominion of sin. Deliver us from the enemy
Lord, when he comes in like a flood, whether as an angel of light
to deceive us or whether as a roaring lion to devour us, we need thee,
O Lord, to graciously deliver us and to graciously be with
us and to go before us in each untrodden step. Lord, we pray
that tonight, as we gather round thy word, in the pulpit and in
the pew, we may be led of the Spirit of God. For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. And
may we have that witness of thy spirit with our spirit that we
are indeed the children of God, the sons and daughters of the
Lord God Almighty. May we be enabled by thy grace
to come out from among them and to be separate and to touch not
the unclean thing, and I will be a father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord God Almighty. We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst
go before us as a church and as a congregation. We pray, O
Lord, for our brethren the deacons, and that thy blessing may rest
upon them. We pray for our dear brother
and sister, away from us at this time, and that do be with them,
O Lord, we pray thee, and that thou wouldst remember us as a
church and as a congregation, and that pour forth thy spirit
among us, that we may truly worship thee, and that we may truly follow
thee and serve thee in our day and in our generation. Lord,
we do pray. that thou in thy precious mercy
remember this village, that we may see precious souls gathered
in, that the word of the Lord may have free call in this village,
in the surrounding villages and hamlets, many, many, many precious
souls may yet be gathered, and that we may see thy work and
thy power and thy glory the fulfilling of those wonderful gospel promises,
I will bring thy sons from far, and thy daughters from the ends
of the earth, and they shall come from the north and from
the south, and from the east and from the west. Lord, we long
to see such a day. We long to see the prodigal's
return. Lord, this is thy work. Let us
see thy work and thy power and thy glory as thou usest to be
in the sanctuary. And as thou not promised us,
I will work, and who shall let it? Let us see the fulfilling
of thy promise. Let us see the in-gathering of
precious souls. O Lord, we do beseech of thee,
we pray, that the word of the Lord on the front of the chapel
may be richly blessed, as those that pass by that the word of
the Lord may enter their hearts, that we may see thy wonderful
power and grace in this. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
remember the little ones and the children as they're brought
into the sanctuary. We thank thee for them. We pray
that thou wouldst bless them, teach them, lead them in their
young and tender years, bring them O Lord, to thy feet, in
the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Remember
the young friends, bring them to living faith in Jesus Christ,
and make them true followers of thee and of those who through
faith and patience inherit the promises. Deliver them from temptation,
deliver them from the power and dominion of sin, Deliver them
from the allurement of this vain world, which has to death 10,000
hurled. Grant them, O Lord, we pray thee,
a partner in life's journey. We do humbly beseech thee. We
lovingly commend them to thee and to the word of thy grace,
which is able to build them up and to grant them an inheritance
among them that are sanctified. Lord, we do pray Remember parents
and give them wisdom and grace and help in the bringing up of
their children and graciously bless them indeed in their own
souls. We do humbly beseech them. Lord,
how many pitfalls there are to turn aside. Gracious God, how
many allurements there are. And we pray that We may each
be delivered from those allurements, but may it please thee to allure
us unto Jesus Christ. I will bring them into the wilderness
and I will allure them. We pray that it may be so. And
thou hast said that thou would draw them with the cords of a
man, or we pray that thou would draw them in and through our
Lord Jesus Christ unto thyself. Lord, we thank thee for that
wonderful soul-sustaining scripture that there is one God and one
mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
his life of ransom for all to be testified in due time. We pray, most gracious God, that
thou, in thy precious mercy, who are to remember each and
every one in the midst of the journey of life. And Lord, we
pray that thou wouldst graciously work, and let us see thy work,
and let us see thy power, and let us see thy glory in the gospel,
in the day in which we live. We live in a day, O Lord, when
there's a great falling away. Oh, we do pray. that thou wast
arised, that thou wast made bare thine holy arm, that thou wast
worked mightily and powerfully and effectually. May there be
those, O Lord, that have perhaps never entered a house of prayer
before, that know nothing of the word of God, and they may
be gathered in. They may be brought under the
living power of the living gospel of the living Christ. We do humbly
beseech thee. We pray that thou wilt be with
those of us that are in the evening time of life's journey. And we
pray, O Lord, that as the outward man perisheth, the inward man
may be renewed day by day for thy great namesake. Lord, do
hear us and prepare us for all thy will concerning each one
of us. Prepare us for that great change
which must come. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform,
for it is all of grace. Remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Set them
free, set them at liberty. Remember thy servants that are
taken up pastorates and graciously go before them and bless them
and grant good success to their labours. that it may be down
to the honour, the glory and the praise of thy great and thy
holy name. And, O Lord, we pray thee, the
great Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers into the
harvest. Many of thy servants, O Lord,
are of a great age, and we pray that thou wouldst raise up yet
some young men to stand upon the walls of Zion. We thank thee
for what thou hast done, and pray that thou wouldst continue
to work mightily and powerfully and effectually, that instead
of seeing chapels closed, we may see them opened and new places
of worship, new churches formed. Lord, there's nothing too hard
for thee, there's nothing beyond thy power. Oh, we humbly beseech
thee to hear the cries of thy little remnants, Turn us again,
O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine. Let thy hand be
upon the man of thy right hand, the Son of man, whom thou madest
strong for thyself. O Lord, we do thank thee for
every mercy of thy kind providence. We do thank thee for our house
of prayer, and that we thank thee for the supply of all our
many returning needs, and we thank thee that most gracious
God, for thy gospel, for thy grace, for the glories of Christ,
for the wonderful mystery of God manifest in the flesh, for
that sacred sin atoning work that he has accomplished on the
cross of Calvary, in putting away the sin of his people, in
bringing in everlasting salvation, in dying and rising from the
dead for our justification. We thank thee for the holy life
ye lived as a man here upon earth, and the holy law ye fulfilled,
and honoured and magnified. We thank thee that everlasting
righteousness has been brought in. We thank thee, Lord Jesus,
that thou hast now bodily ascended into heaven and sit us at the
right hand of our Heavenly Father. We have indeed an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Lord, we do thank
Thee for the wonderful glories of Christ. May we look a little
into those wonderful glories tonight, into that fullness that
there is in Him. Be with us, Lord, as we turn
to Thy Word. and come and touch one's lips
with a live coal from off the heavenly altar as we ask for
Jesus Christ saved. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 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. Alleluia, alleluia Sing hymn
to our Lord, sing hymn, sing ? The truth is coming close to
me ? ? Oh, first and last day of faith
? ? I'm such a weak piece of TV ? ? And justify freely thy praise
? ? Give thanks to Jesus and Him ? ? He's worthy of deep love
and praise ? The Lord is the light of the
dark, and brighter, and brighter shall shine. O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
? This is your life, it is here
to stay ? ? The symbol of pride and rejoice
? ? When God made you a worthy choice ? ? In challenge and times
of strife ? And Jesus, who through life is
gone, therefore is all praise and thanksgiving. O'er heaven and earth, holy,
good, and strong, Our equal to Jesus, the Lord. ? When I met Thee at Sinterklaas
? ? And great was the day and the place ? ? When we met in
the world to meet ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the fifth chapter, in the epistle to the Ephesians,
and read in verse 14 for our text. Ephesians chapter 5, verse
14. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. Wherefore he saith, that's the
key word to this text that is before us, he saith, God says. This is actually a quotation
from the prophecy of Isaiah and where the prophet speaks of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that's found in
the Isaiah chapter 26 and the verse 19. And it speaks
of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thy dead men shall
live. Together with my dead body shall
they arise. What wonderful words of grace
prophesied by the prophet. And it's Christ that is speaking
here. Thy dead men shall live together
with my dead body, shall they arise, awake, and sing. Ye that dwell in the dust, for
thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out
the dead. So the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, because I
live, ye shall live also. The Apostle says that I might
know him in the power of his resurrection and it's this power
of the resurrection that needs to be put forth in our hearts
by the Spirit of God, wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest
and arise from the dead Christ shall give thee life. In Revelation
chapter 20 we read there concerning the first resurrection and it
says in verse 6, blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power,
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with him a thousand years. The first resurrection. What is the first resurrection? It's the new birth. And that
is what we have in our text. Awake thou that sleepest. Awake
thou that sleepest. This first resurrection. and the second death shall have
no power upon those that partake of the first resurrection, upon
those that are born again of the Spirit of God and brought
to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And experimentally, this is what
happens. Wherefore he saith, awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee Light. Christ will give thee light.
There's power in the voice of Jesus Christ. There's power in
the voice of God because Jesus Christ is God. He's the eternal
Son of God. He's called the Word of God because
he speaks the mind of God, because he opens the mind of God to us.
That is why he's given that title the word and the word was made
flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory
as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth
and he is speaking the the apostle is quoting him from isaiah wherefore
he says christ says awake thou that sleepest and arise you know
my mind Isaiah the chapter 60 is a chapter that
has been made exceedingly precious to me over many years and it
commences that chapter 60, arise shine for thy light is come and
the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee behold This is speaking
of the true believer of the Church of God. Behold, the darkness
shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the
Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon
thee. And the Gentiles, see, Isaiah
here prophesies the call of the Gentiles. And the Gentiles shall
come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising,
Lift up thine eyes round about, and see, all they gather themselves
together, they come to thee. Thy son shall come from far,
and thy daughter shall be nursed at thy side. See, the light shall
shine, arise. It's when the Lord sends forth
his Spirit, and quickens precious souls. You think of the Great Awakening
and the preaching of George Whitefield and others also. And, you know,
the days just preceding the Great Awakening were very dark, very
dark days. They really were. Zion was minister
and brought love. But the Lord raised up godly
men, godly preachers to go forth with a, thus saith the Lord,
to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. And many, many, many
souls were awakened. Only heaven will know that the great prince of preachers,
George Whitefield, how many souls that were converted under his
ministry. He used to preach to tens of thousands of people. Wonderful, you know, friends.
John Berridge was another contemporary with George Whitefield. I remember
reading that gathered in a field up in Bedfordshire near Ashwell
and five o'clock in the morning Berridge was preaching and there
was reckoned to be 5,000 people there. See a wonderful time,
a great awakening. How we need that awakening. How
we need as the Lord's people for him to awaken us as well.
and to stir us up. You think of how the Lord worked
in the day of the building of the second temple, and Haggai
the prophet, how he challenged them, thus saith the Lord, consider
your ways. Consider your ways. Arise and
build. Ye say the time of the Lord is
not come for the house of the Lord to be built. He said, my
house layeth waste. How can you be complacent with
my house laying waste? Arise and go up into the mountains
and gather the wood, et cetera, for the building and the stones
for the building of that second temple at Jerusalem. And we read
in Haggai, and the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel,
the governor of Judah. And the Lord stirred up the spirit
of Zacharias and the spirit of Joshua the high priest, at the
preaching of Haggai the prophet. Oh my dear beloved friends, may
there be such a day in which we live an awakening, an awakening
among the Lord's people. You think of that word in Solomon's
song, I sleep but my heart waketh. Who is the spouse of Christ?
It's the spouse of Christ. He loves her with an everlasting
love, but she was asleep. What about you and me? Are we
asleep? Or are we burdened and are we
travailing? That the Lord might arise in
Zion. That the Lord might bear his
holy arm. That the Lord might work. As
he says himself, I will work. And who's your letter? I will
work. Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. All blessed and holy is he that
hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath
no power, no soul that has been quickened
into life by the blessed spirit of truth and brought to saving
faith in Jesus Christ. None of them could be lost. The
reason that they've been quickened is because Christ loved them
with an everlasting love and because he redeemed them
when he was crucified. He lived a life that was pure
and holy Upon a life I did not live, upon
a death I did not die, hangs my everlasting all. On the life of Christ, on the
death and resurrection of Christ. That is where our everlasting
all is. It is in what Christ himself
has done. And if we just read in Isaiah,
together with my dead body shall they rise. It's a wonderful promise
of the future resurrection of the Lord's people. When they
die, they will rise again into everlasting life. I love what
the hymn writer says, the grave, this is the grave of the believer. The grave is but a downy bed
that's lined with love and blood. A downy bed for the believer
to sleep. To sleep in the grave until the
resurrection morn. And when the archangels trump
shall sound, then the dead in Christ shall rise first. And
we that are alive and remain shall meet the Lord in the air.
But my beloved friends, do not forget that if you and I live
and die, having never been born again of the Spirit, we shall
succumb to the second death. It's only those that have part
in the first resurrection. Upon such, the second death hath
no power. Have you been born again? Have
you been brought from spiritual death into spiritual life? It reminds me of the words that
were spoken to Jonah by the ship's captain. And in the first chapter
of Jonah, a great storm came after Jonah went on
that ship. Jonah 1 verse 4, But the Lord
sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest
in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the
mariners were afraid and cried every man unto his God and cast
forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten
of them. But Jonah was gone down into
the sides of the ship and he lay and was fast asleep. You know friends, that's where
we get to when we get like Jonah, rebellious and backsliding. Fast
asleep spiritually. Jonah was literally asleep. He
was unaware of the great storm and tempest that surrounded him.
And you and I are like that unless the Lord awakens us. And the
So the shipmaster came to him and said unto him, What meanest
thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if
so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. Arise, O sleeper, call upon thy
God, awake thou that sleepest, or that that the Lord indeed
may put forth the wonderful power of his Holy Ghost into our hearts
and that it may be effected in us. Awake thou that sleepest
and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light. Light
and life are often joined together in Christ. We find it in several
places in the Word of God, where light and life are joined together. My mind, just for the moment,
it goes to those first five verses of the Gospel according to John,
and how the Apostle John, speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, he
again uses these these two things, light and life. 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 not anything made that was made.
This is the glorious person of Jesus Christ. In him was life,
and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in
darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. That glorious light that
shone in Jesus Christ, in his discourses, in his holy life,
his sinless life, his perfect life, that life that he lived
was a light. It was a glorious light. We read
in the Gospel of John chapter 8 and verse 12, then spake Jesus
again unto them saying, I am the light of the world. He that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life. You see, it's called the light
of life. This wonderful light. What a
mercy if you and I have seen the light. Some have a clear revelation
of that life. They can see clearly the glorious
person of Christ, his precious blood and righteousness, what
he has done. They see him as their almighty
saviour. Sometimes I've explained it to
you like this, it's like the children of Israel in the wilderness.
And when those fiery serpents came and bit them, and whoever
was bitten died, they were venomous snakes. Deadly snakes. And the Lord said to Moses that
he was to take a brazen serpent, just like those ones that were
biting them, and he was to lift them up, that serpent up. Now
the camp of Israel was very large. We often tend to think it was
a tiny little camp. There was probably two million
people there. 600,000 men plus women and children
came out of Egypt. It's probably 2 million people
or more. So it was a large camp. Now, he lifted up the serpent
in the midst of that camp. There would have been those just around that serpent. They
would have clear views of that serpent. They would see all its
features. but there were those who were
right on the periphery of the camp. They couldn't see the minute
features of that serpent, but you know friends, they looked
and they lived. What an illustration that is
to us of spiritual experience. Some of the Lord's people had
very clear, distinct views of the glorious person of Jesus
Christ. They can tell you what they've
seen. They can say how precious he is. But there are others that
are like those that are on the periphery of the camp of Israel,
and they couldn't tell you the details of that serpent, but
they looked and they lived. It may be with you. You cannot
perhaps express clearly what you see in Jesus Christ, but
you've looked and you live. You love him. You desire to see
him. You desire to see more of him.
You're like that woman who pressed through the crowd, if I might
but touch the hem of his garment. You know, that's a soul that
is like that. It's a soul that is awakened.
And I tell you, you will not be satisfied until you touch
the hem of his garment. until you draw that virtue out
of him, you won't be satisfied with just being a seeking soul,
you want to lay hold, you want to touch, you want to feel the
virtue of Christ, you want to feel something of the power of
that virtue, the virtue of his precious blood that cleanses
from all sin, the virtue of that glorious everlasting robe of
his righteousness that covers our nakedness, That's what you
desire. And so we find then, in these
illustrations that we find in scripture, the different experiences
of the Lord's living family. Some are led more deeply than
others. Some have clearer views of Christ
than others. Some have a clearer view of their
own wretchedness and wickedness and sinfulness. And then the
Blessed Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus unto them as the Way, the
Truth and the Life. And they follow Him. They follow
Him. They desire to follow Him. They
do follow Him. They lay aside those things that
hinder them. Let us lay aside every weight.
You see, an awakened soul does that. It's a soul awakened to
their lost condition. awakened to their wretched condition,
awakened to their helpless condition, they are. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. Awake thou that sleepest. Oh, that we might know that awakening
power of our Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts. In our hearts. I think it's in
the prophecy of Isaiah. I can't remember where. And there
are, I think about three verses. Awake, awake. Awake, awake. You know, Moses when He was speaking
to the children of Israel on the banks of the river Jordan
before he was to leave them and they were to pass over. He said
this to them, O that thou wert wise and wouldst consider thy
latter end. Have you been awakened to what
your latter end is? It is appointed unto man once
to die and after death the judgment. Have you been awakened to that?
To realize that you've got to die? To realize that you need
to be prepared? To realize that when you die
there is a day of judgment? Has the Lord awakened you to
that? And to consider it? And has it
brought you to prayer? To seek? Because where that sanctifying
work of the Spirit of God is, that these things will bring
you to prayer, they'll bring you to seek, they'll bring you
to search, they will. Wherefore he saith, awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. This glorious light You know,
there's a lovely word, isn't there, in the prophet Malachi,
in the last chapter of the Old Testament. Unto you that fear
my name shall the sun, S-U-N, shall the sun of righteousness
arise with hailing in his wings. Has the sun of righteousness
arisen? Do you see him? Do you behold
him? Now Bunyan says about Pilgrim
when the Lord awakened him and he showed him that this city
is appointed unto destruction and he began to make his way
out of that city and his wife and his family they hung on to
him. They said that he's gone mad. Why is he doing this? He's gone
mad. if you think Bunyan wasn't a religious man so this would
have been something that was quite a shock to his wife and
his children and as he illustrates in the Pilgrim's Progress they
hang on to him saying no and he ran from them he put his fingers
in his ears. Life! Life! Everlasting life! Why? Why did he do that? Because
he was awakened. He was awakened to his lost condition. He was awakened to the fact that
this world will be burned up with fire and all these things
shall be dissolved. He was awakened to the fact that
it's appointed unto men once to die and after death to judgment. And then we read that he met
a man called Evangelist, and of course Evangelist, in Bunyan's
case, was John Gifford, the minister of the Baptist Church in Bedford. And what did he say to John Bunyan? What did Evangelist say to the
pilgrim? He said, see on Wicket Gate? And the pilgrim answered, no. Then he said to him, see yon
shining light? I think so. You go, evangelist,
you go to that light. See that light is Christ. I am
the light of the world. God who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness has shined into our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. There is this One God and one
mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. I am the light of the world.
What a light shines, my beloved friends, in the glorious person
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that light, it shines brighter
and brighter. It says in the Proverbs, the
pathway of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day. The perfect day is when the soul
reaches heaven. It shines more and more. What
does that scripture teach us? Here a little, there a little. Line upon line, precept upon
precept. It shines more and more. unto
the perfect day, when the Lord the Spirit opens the word of
God more and more, when the Holy Spirit gives you to feel your
helplessness more and more, and then he leads you to Jesus Christ
to see that he is the strength of Israel, that he is the way,
the truth and the light, that Jesus is the way to God, that
Jesus is the way to bliss, in this way the saints have trod
down from Adam's day to this Christ the light of life the
light of life and when this light shines into the heart it gives
life that's what it means the light of life and when this glorious
light shines in the heart when the blessed spirit works faith
in the soul when when the light that is in Christ begins to shine. You know, unto you that fear
my name shall the sun of righteousness arise. You know, the sun doesn't
just pop up suddenly, does it? It gradually comes up. If you
watch the sunrise, it gradually comes up. And to me that word
there in the Malachi, it seems to intimate that. The dawning
of a day, the dawning of a day. But unto you that fear my name
shall the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings
and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves. of the storm. The Son of Righteousness, and
you shall go forth. Where do you go forth? Toward
that sun. Toward that sun. But there's
another scripture there in the latter part of the third chapter
of Malachi. And again it speaks to these
precious souls that are awakened. Then they that feared the Lord,
Malachi 3 verse 16, then they that feared the Lord spake often
one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a
book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared
the Lord and that thought upon his name. How low the Holy Spirit
comes, and that thought upon his name. Who in this chapel
you think on the name of Christ? They thought upon his name. You
see a beauty in Christ. You see the light of life in
Christ and that thought upon his name. What does he say here? And they shall be mine. Saith
the Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my jewels I shall
be mine. They'll be the Lords forever
that thought upon His name, that feared the Lord, that spake often
one to another. See how low the Lord comes? It
reminds us of that word in Jeremiah. And, yea, I have loved thee with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. The evidence that the Lord loves
you with an everlasting love, he draws you. You're drawn. You're drawn to Christ. You see
a beauty in Christ. You see a love in Christ. You feel that love in your heart
and you feel drawn. Now, the word of God instructs
us, we love him, because he first loved us. We love him because
he first loved us. What a wonderful, precious truth
that is, isn't it? You feel an affection, a desire,
that thought upon his name, they shall be mine when I make up
my dreams. See, the drawing to Christ is
the evidence that you're loved with an everlasting love because
you're drawn to Christ. Wherefore he says, awake thou
that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give
thee light. He'll give you light in his word. David, he says, doesn't he, in
Psalm 119, let thy word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto
my path. And the more you search and read
and meditate in the Holy Scriptures, the more light the Holy Spirit
will give you. Then opened he their understanding.
Then opened he their understanding. And it's as you read the Holy
Scriptures and pray over the Holy Scriptures that the Lord
opens your understanding. He awakens you to things that
are in the Word of God. And He reveals things unto you,
step by step, gradually. And He draws you into spiritual
things, step by step, gradually. You know, there's a follow in
him. Be followers of me as dear children. Or as the Apostle Paul says in
the Corinthians, that they were to follow him even as I also
follow Christ. That's what we're to follow.
The Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now in the context here, He says,
Wherefore, he saith, Awake thou that sleepest and arise from
the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye
walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time,
because the days are evil. Wherefore, be ye not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord is, Be not unwise,
but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk
with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.
Speak into yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. These are exhortations. Giving
thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of the Lord. You know that is walking circumspectly. Or in another place he says,
walk in love. Walk in love. It's a wonderful
thing when we're enabled to walk in love. In the previous chapter,
the chapter 4, the Apostle, he speaks there concerning walking. He says about the Gentiles and
how they walk, verse 17, this I say therefore and testify in
the Lord that he henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, the
vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is
in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past
feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness and
to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so
learned Christ. If so be that ye have heard him
and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. that you
put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which
is corrupt. That's our old nature. According
to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind and that you put on the new man, that's the new man of
grace, that you put on the new man which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore, putting away lying,
speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members
one of another. Be ye angry and sin not, let
not the sun go down upon your eyes. My mother was a very godly
person. She died when I was still young,
but I always remember if we argued as children, she would always
quote this scripture to us. let not the sun go down on your
wrath. What a wonderful example that
is. Neither give place to the devil,
let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labour, work
and with his hands the thing that is good that he may have
to give to him that need it. You see these things my beloved
friends, they're written for our instruction. Verse 31 of chapter 4. Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking
be put away from you with all malice, and be ye kind, one, one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven
you. And then in the beginning of
this chapter, Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children,
and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given
himself for us an offering and a sacrifice for a sweet-smelling
savour. Wherefore, he saith, awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing hymn 726. The tune is Norricum 887. Christ, whose glory fills the
skies. Christ, the true, the only light. Son of righteousness, arise.
Triumph all the shades of night. Dayspring, from on high be near. Daystar, in my heart appear. Hymn 726, Tune Norricum 887. Christ is born in Bethlehem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ
is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born
in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born
in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ
is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ
is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born
in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ
is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethlehem, Christ
is born in Bethlehem, Christ is born in Bethleh This spring from on high, fair
near, Day-star in my heart appear. Love has given me sight, ? The comforter of the grave ?
? Joyous hymns of rejoicing ? ? Fill my heart with themes I sing ?
? Till I in my life have found ? ? Have found Christ, and know
my God. ? ? Is it really so? ? He is Son of Man, He is the Limb
of Sanctuary, He'll make me clear and see divine, Gentle all my own belief. All and all I saw this day, Shining
through the perfect light. 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
forevermore. Amen.