Our next service
Our next service will broadcast live on:
Sunday at 17:30 BST.
“What time is that where I am?”
9:30 PDT; 10:30 MDT; 11:30 CDT; 12:30 EDT; Brazil 13:30 BRT; 16:30 UTC; London 17:30; Berlin 18:30 CEST; Moscow 20:30 MSK; Dubai 20:30 GST; Mumbai 22:00 IST;
… and it is now Monday in:
Singapore 00:30 SGT; Beijing 00:30 CST; Tokyo 01:30 JST; Sydney 02:30 AEST; Auckland 04:30 NZST
Is it time yet?
Our upcoming Bible passage is:
Isa 50:10 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
Isa 50:11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
An introduction to this week’s sermon:
Believers Walking In Darkness
Believers are the children of the light and walk in the light. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. He has lightened our path with His gospel so that we may say, ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path’ (Psalm 119:105). However, this does not mean dark times do not ever afflict the Lord’s people. In truth, we often walk in darkness when under the circumstances of life we lose sight of the Lord and miss His presence in our soul.
A call to examine our heart
The prophet Isaiah asks us, ‘Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?’ Actually, it is the Lord Himself who is asking this question. He enquires of His people in His office as Redeemer and Mediator of the church. The Saviour goes on to instruct believers what to do when such dark times occur and how they are to be corrected and remedied.
Care from the Great Physician
Our Saviour is always faithful to His church even when we are unfaithful to Him. In His human nature He sympathises with our weaknesses and is touched with the feeling of our infirmity. He knows what we need when earthly troubles cloud the Sun of Righteousness from our gaze and darkness hides the light of Christ’s countenance. To such a man He says, ‘let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God’ (Isaiah 50:10).
Stay upon your God
In tomorrow’s service we shall consider what it means to fear the Lord and obey His voice. We shall take special notice of the Lord’s instructions to those who are true Christians and yet feel anxious when they walk in darkness. We shall examine what it means for a believer to return again to trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon His God.
Amen
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 667
Safety in Christ. Phil. 4. 19; Heb. 13. 6
W. Gadsby 10s
1
Immortal honours rest on Jesus’ head;
My God, my Portion, and my Living Bread;
In him I live, upon him cast my care;
He saves from death, destruction, and despair.
2
He is my Refuge in each deep distress;
The Lord my strength and glorious righteousness;
Through floods and flames he leads me safely on,
And daily makes his sovereign goodness known.
3
My every need he richly will supply;
Nor will his mercy ever let me die;
In him there dwells a treasure all divine,
And matchless grace has made that treasure mine.
4
O that my soul could love and praise him more,
His beauties trace, his majesty adore;
Live near his heart, upon his bosom lean;
Obey his voice, and all his will esteem.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 103
The Imputed Righteousness of Christ. Isa. 61. 10
Count Zinzendorf trans. by J. Wesley L.M.
1
Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
2
When from the dust of death I rise,
To take my mansion in the skies,
E’en then shall this be all my plea:
“Jesus has lived and died for me.”
3
Bold shall I stand in that great day,
For who aught to my charge shall lay,
While through thy blood absolved I am,
From sin’s tremendous curse and shame?
4
Thus Abraham, the friend of God,
Thus all the armies bought with blood,
Saviour of sinners, thee proclaim –
Sinners, of whom the chief I am.
5
This spotless robe the same appears,
When ruined nature sinks in years;
No age can change its glorious hue;
The robe of Christ is ever new.
6
O let the dead now hear thy voice;
Bid, Lord, thy banished ones rejoice;
Their beauty this, their glorious dress,
Jesus, the Lord our righteousness.
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