The Light of Creation and the Light of Christ I'm going to start the sermons in the beginning, I'm going to start with Genesis 1, it's 1 to 4, you don't have to turn the screen, you've got a few places, Genesis 1 says, and the earth, 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, and then comes these amazing words, God said let there be life, and just like that there was life, and God saw the life that was good, and John chapter 1 was with God, this is Jesus, and the word was God, all things were made by Him, but Him was not anything made that was made, Him was life, and the life was the light of men, shine it in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not, and just like in the beginning of time God said let there be light, like that light just suddenly appeared, so when that little baby child Jesus came into the world, in the midst of the donkeys, and the cows, and the shepherds, that little baby was like a light that suddenly burst into a world of darkness and sin, I use the illustration, it's a bit like when you walk into a very very dark room, and it's pitch dark, and you can't see a thing, you just turn the light switch, and the whole room, so it was when Jesus came into the world, the light shined it in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not, but 1 John 2 verse 6 says, he that saith the staggering words, he that saith he abided in him, in Jesus, ought himself also so to walk, even as Jesus walked, we ought to shine as Jesus shined, Matthew 5, I love Matthew 5, you know that famous portion from verse 13 says, ye are the salt of the earth, that the salt of lots is savour, wherewith shall it be salted, it is then for good for nothing, these are terrifying words, but to be cast out, and to be trodden on the foot of men, ye are the light of the world, not Jesus, Jesus is in heaven, and is in your heart, a city that is set on a hill, cannot be hidden, only Satan can, like a candle, and a stick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify our father which is in heaven, and I say, if you can imagine, the salt of lots is savour, in which Christians, you and me, people everywhere, started to hide their lights under a bushel, sin would become more and more, people would start to blaspheme the name of God openly, without fear, churches would become a place of entertainment, but you know, you don't have to imagine a place like that, or a time like that, or a world like that, all you have to do is look around you, we are living right in that world right now, and Christians everywhere, hiding their light under a bushel, the salt of lots is savour, there are two ways, that I can see that you can shine Jesus in this world, here the light, the one is you can walk Jesus, and the other is you can talk Jesus, and obviously you can't talk about Jesus before you walk Jesus, or else you are a hypocrite, but let us examine first the first one, walk Jesus, 1 John 2 verse 6 says, as I have said, he that saith he abideth in him ought himself, this is a command, so to walk even as he, Jesus, walked, not less, not more, this is only 7, I suppose that is your grade 9, let's see, that was 8 years ago, I stood up in my class, and they gave me an opportunity to speak to the boys, they gave each boys opportunities to speak, and I spoke about Christ, I told them of Jesus, I can't remember exactly what I said, but I know this, I don't think they had ever heard it before, and they were staggered, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he came to save us from our sins, and I remember walking from that class, seeing the boys staggered, God in his mercy did that, and I did a very stupid foolish thing, I walked to the next class, and I went into that class and I did a sin, I won't tell you what it was, it was a stupid thing, a Catholic boy came to me and he said, Roy, and I said this was shame, he said, Roy you, you said those things in that other class, and now look what you are doing now, I tried to undo what I did, but then the Catholic boy said something staggering, he said, no don't, don't worry, I am glad you did it, so I didn't have to be convicted anymore, it's no use talking about Jesus if you don't walk Jesus, you will just send people to hell, and my dad talks about him, the holiest man he ever knew, I used to sit on his knees, I remember one thing, his face shone, I can't remember much of what he said, but I remember that his face shone, a person came, my dad uses the illustration, a person came from England, the son of John George Govan, a holy man, but this boy was backslidden, he did not choose the God of his father, he was in the world, he came to South Africa, and on the pier there, he did a staggering thing, like most of us, we give him tracts, or say, you are going to hell, or, let me tell you about Jesus, he didn't sign the gospel, representative of Jesus, all he did, when he talked about normal stuff, first he was angry, he thought this man must be sent by my father, he had to tremble, by the time he left that place without, I don't think one word had been spoken about Christ, he said, I am going to seek God, that a man can be so holy, or so easy to preach Christ, so easy to shout out the words, God died for you, but how can you, people, come to Christ, if you can't show them Christ in you, the words, God doesn't joke, God never jokes, and he never lies, God said, be ye holy as I am holy, and he did not joke, this is the standard, he that sayeth he abideth in him or himself, also is so to walk, even as Jesus he walked, could we turn to 1 Corinthians 13 verse 1, you all know the passage, Jesus walked the walk of love, of charity, these are staggering words, I am sure you have read them many times, though I speak with the sons of men, and of angels, and have not charity, which is a special type of love, I am become a sounding brass, or as a tinkling cymbal, it goes on to say later, though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, profiteth me nothing, nothing, if I have not love, but this love, well, it's not giving money to the poor, because the Catholics do that all the time, it's not having a lot of zeal, many unsaved people have a lot of zeal, this love is not the love that a father has for his son, it is not the love that you have, those of you who are married to your wife, this love, is the same love that Jesus Christ had on the cross, when he was nailed to the cross, with blood falling to the ground, he said these words, father forgive them, for they know not what they do, God said in John chapter 18, the same love that the father has for the son, he says he will put that in you, the same love, that same love that God the father has for Jesus, he will put in you, and I can ask you, I can give you an example of one of these people who had that love, you all have heard of John Wesley, he brought nearly the whole of England to God, in a mighty revival, it lasted over 50 years I think, he had charity, he didn't have the love that a mother has for her son, that's wonderful, but he had charity, because when he came to towns, they knew that their bottle stores and evil places would close down, as revival came down, and those shop owners and people of the town didn't want it, so they came and they threw him over cliffs, and in one place, they stoned him, and stoned him, and stoned him, and stoned him, until they left him for dead, lying in the stones, with blood dripping from him, but you know what he did, so easy for us to go out and give out a few cracks, he didn't just, oh I'll go to another place, he thought he was dead, he picked himself up with the blood dripping, and he crawled to that town, and he said to them, with love, with charity, come to Jesus, and God brought those people, stopping with the people who stoned him, to their knees, and they found Jesus, and let me ask you a very odd question, do you have this love, or is your love only the type of love that will give out a few cracks for a few souls, now and then, 1 Corinthians 13 verse 1 says, though I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am becoming a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal, though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing, John Hyde was another person who had this love, once in a train he was speaking to a little boy, and this little boy, he was telling him about Christ, he said, oh come to Jesus, and the boy looked up in his face, and he said, he was very cheeky, I want to tell you all he said, he said, so many people have told me about Jesus, I suppose people get in tracks or something, or thought about Jesus, he said, it's rubbish, I'm going to my friends, John Hyde didn't stop there, he pleaded, and he pleaded, because he loved this child, and he pleaded, and he pleaded, and then tears ran down his face, even though it was a boy he had never met before in his life, and the boy said, I'm leaving, and he went to another room, and the train left, John Hyde stayed in that station, but the next day I think, the train came back, along with the little boy, he stepped out, and someone, someone asked him, why have you come back, he said, I could not forget his tears, and you know something, beforehand, many people had told that boy about Christ, but this was the very first person, ever, who loved that boy so much, that he cried over him, speak with the tongues of men, and the angels, and have not love, shout from their rooftops, come to Jesus, nothing, well, there's two ways to shine Jesus, and one is to walk Jesus, and the other is to talk Jesus, obviously you can't talk about Jesus, if you don't walk Jesus, there's an infamous video I think, says, he that wears soles is wise, very wise, and if you read, in John 15 verse 2, it says, every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, he is Christ, every branch in me, Christ, that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, a very godly woman, she once said, what is the fruit of a Christian, and everybody says, fruit of the spirit, love, peace, joy, she said, no, no, wait a minute, that's the fruit of the spirit, what is the fruit of a Christian, she took out a, mentioned an apple, she said, what is the fruit of an apple, it's more apples, it grows into a tree, might be a bit wild, more apples grow, I don't want to become doctrinal, but I don't want to be one of these, every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, you know, in our country, we've got basically the richest gold that is in the world, but in America as well, there were these things called gold rushes, terrifying things, someone finds gold, someone here is about a thousand miles away, everybody just comes, and tries to find gold, and get rich quick, let me ask you something, if you heard of gold in your backyard, if you heard that there was a ten thousand dollars, make it a million, buried one foot deep, backyard, how many of you would go right to trouble and dig it up, as soon as possible, how much more important is the soul, I can guarantee you, I say this to people, that if you offered me all the gold in Africa, or one prayer, just one prayer of a godly woman, I'd choose that one prayer, you know why, because that one prayer, might bring someone to Christ, and throw away that money, I don't want it, there's a very godly woman, she's married to what we call an Afrikaner, but last year she almost died, she had cancer in the spine, and it got worse and worse, and eventually she went to hospital, and the doctor said she's going to die, doctor said she's going to die, it came to the point where we all expected her to die, but let me ask you a question, it's so easy, we have charity, it's so easy to give out tracts on the street, it's so easy to shout, talk to people about Jesus, it's not that hard, but what will you be doing, do you truly love people, what will you be doing when you die, my granny as she was dying in her bed, all she could say is, are you saved, doctor, are you saved, doctor, are you saved, I speak to the things of men and angels, and I'm not loved, I have nothing, my granny didn't die, she said she knew, but then they said to her, you're never going to walk again, I've got a prayer club, I told you about it, and she was in her bed, and I said to her, do you want to give me a prayer request, and you know something, even though her legs, she couldn't move them, she didn't say my legs to be healed, I asked her to pray for that, she didn't mention that, she said, Roy, just one thing, that souls might be saved, that's all she said, Miss Dobby of South Africa, if you want to meet Christ, come to South Africa, and I'll show you Miss Dobby, 87 years old, I don't know if you can meet the Godly woman, but something funny happened to her one day, 2 years back I think, she was holding a pot of water, boiling water, and she fainted, poured down her body, she woke up in pain, and they took her to hospital, and she was in hospital for 7 months, oh I love this woman, she's part of the prayer club, but you know she didn't just, in this agony and pain, think, oh Lord, what are you doing to me, she just took it as another opportunity to win souls, and she was in this bath, this bath, and agony in this bath, as her burnt body was in this warm water, and this black woman in South Africa had to wash her, and you know she didn't say to her, Jesus Christ died on the cross, Jesus Christ, it's all wonderful stuff, and you must say it many times, but she didn't have to, she was Christ, she lived Christ, all she said to this woman was, as she was lying in the bath in pain, do you know, and the woman looked down, and said no, she said the same, do you know Christ, the woman looked down and said no, I think the next day she said again, do you know Christ, and this time the black woman looked down and said no, but then the next day something wonderful happened, she said do you know Christ, and the black woman said, yes, isn't Christ wonderful, preaching Jesus, if you can't show them Jesus in your life, all say I long, I long, when thousands of people came out and screamed to the front, and got saved, but you know what I long for, I long for Deo Moody, hey you had to pay to get into a church in those days, some of the churches, he brought the drunks from the street, and he paid for them to sit in the church, though I speak with the tongues of men, and angel of love, nothing, he left the president of America, while they were walking down the street, he left the president, I long for these days of such a man, to speak to a drunk on the floor, about Christ, the president had to walk on, how precious to you are souls, but as most souls who walk past you, perhaps one day I'll give them a tract, I can't remember, I was staggered, I wish you could go to that place and see why I was staggered, the first mission station in South Africa, and I was standing beside one of the godliest people you could ever meet, I saw on the wall, faces, pictures of the missionaries, at this first mission station, in a row, and I could not believe my eyes, I saw, what pity, war Macfarlane, their faces shining, I saw people with love in their eyes, and as I read the words on their lips, tears came down my eyes, I remember reading these words, one by one, their seats were emptied, one by one, they passed away, here the circle has been broken, will it be complete some day, can we turn to Psalm 12 verse 1, about the fact that there are less and less godly people in the world, truly godly, who love with charity, who when they are stoned will get up and come back with love in their hearts and say come to Christ, who when they are dying will say doctor, doctor, are you saved, it's in the Bible too in the old days, help Lord, for the godly man sees it, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.