The Sun

Please turn to Genesis chapter 1 please. Genesis chapter 1 and let's start to read at verse number 14. Genesis chapter 1 and verse number 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 years and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and it was so and God made two great lights. The greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also and God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day and over the night and to divide the light from the darkness and God saw that it was good and the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And we all know that that is the creation of the sun and the moon. Now let's go into the New Testament to the Gospel of Mark please, chapter 1. The second gospel in the New Testament and we're going to read about something that is unique alone to the Gospel of Mark. No other gospel will open this way and no other gospel will close this way.

Mark chapter 1 and let's look at verse number verse number 21. I just sort of want to show you that in from verses 21 down we have a 24 hour 24 hour period in the life of the Lord Jesus and it's very busy. Verse number 21 of Mark chapter 1 and they went into Capernaum and straight on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught and then as he's teaching verse 23 and there was a man and there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit and he cried out saying let us alone and I think we're all familiar with what happens there the Lord Jesus heals this man.

Come down to verse number 29. As soon as they leave the synagogue and forthwith when they were come out of the synagogue they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John and Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever and we all know what happens there as he heals this woman and then suppertime arrives verse number 32. This is after supper now the close of the day and at evening and here's what I want you to notice when the sun did set they brought unto him all that were diseased and them that were possessed with the devils and all the city was gathered together at the door and he healed many that were sick of divers diseases and cast out many devils and suffered not the devils to speak.

Now chapter 16 please. Mark chapter 16. So we have the sun setting in Mark chapter 1 and Mark chapter 16 starts with the sun rising and we know that this is after the burial of the Lord Jesus.

Mark chapter 16 verse number 2 and very early in the morning the first day of the week they came on to the sepulcher at the rising of the sun and they said among themselves who shall roll away us the stone from the door of the sepulcher. Verse number 6 and he said unto them the angel be not afraid you seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified he is risen he is not here behold the place where they lay him. Now finally Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 and let's look at verse number 10.

Romans chapter 8 verse number 10. And if Christ be in you, speaking to us believers, the body physical body is dead because of sin but the spirit and I believe that should be a small s your human spirit my human spirit is life because of righteousness but if the spirit of him the Holy Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. Down to verse number 19.

For the earnest expectation of the creature and that word really means the creation don't don't get narrow-minded in thinking that it's just this earth that we're on it's the entirety of God's creation. Verse number 19. For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation or the revelation the bringing forth of the sons of God for the creature the creation was made subject to vanity emptiness not willingly but by reason of him God who has subjected the same in hope.

That's an interesting little word there. Verse 21. Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now and not only they but ourselves also which have the firstfruits of the spirit even we ourselves grown within ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body.

Now that's all we're going to read I know that might appear to be an awful lot of reading but I just read in the Old Testament and quickly in Mark just to pick up the little bit about the sun. This time of year always causes me to think about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and I know for many a number of weeks ago we celebrated well the world celebrated in a general sense the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and I was enjoying these thoughts about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus as I saw the morning Sun come up over the horizon and that is a figure of the resurrection and as that Sun came up it's a wonderful picture but really what I want to leave with you this morning at the start of the conference is I want you to come with me back into the book of Genesis and it must have been quite an event when God created the Sun and the moon. I want you to think with me for the for the first time when the Sun rose up from the horizon and the rays of the Sun fell upon a creation that was perfect there was no sin everything was fresh from the hand of God day number four day number five there's going to be some more things that are going to come from the hand of God and then eventually day number six more things are going to come and I want you to look at it from the Sun's perspective as it looked down upon this wonderful beautiful creation and then all of a sudden as that Sun went around and went through its cycle and came up again on day number five and then day number six and then the Sun witnessed man being formed and so on and so forth then there came a day when the Sun came up for the first time and it looked upon a fallen man sinner and a fallen woman and it had to witness God come down from heaven we all know the story very well and I'm picking up the expression in Romans chapter 8 where that as soon as Adam who was the head fell creation did not fall with him God actually came into this creation and we know the conversations that took part with Adam and Eve and Satan and so on God as a result of the sinfulness of man God then took creation and he placed it under the bondage of sin death permeated the whole thing according to the words of the Old Testament for the first time the Sun didn't shine as bright the moon didn't shine as bright all the stars and and everything that God had made it just didn't shine as bright as God had originally intended but the thing is this God did God put something into creation he subjected it in hope you know we might take for granted this type of year we have witnessed the leaves that fell off the trees we've witnessed the winter season everything just laid still in death so to speak now we look at all the the buds on the trees we look at all the plants that are coming up and all the little you know tulips and what all those things are called I hope we don't take that for granted that is actually the hope that God put into creation he actually almost put a mark into creation of the coming day when Jesus Christ would go into death and come out of death and all for thousands of years creation if we if we could if we had the ears to hear I saw this gentleman over here putting headphones on some people that had some difficulty hearing if we could pick up the Word of God and put the headphones on our ears and go outside and just listen to creation right now for thousands and thousands of years creation has just been under the bondage and the weight and the effects of sin and there's nothing but a just a heavy groan that ish and echoes continually 24 hours a day just ascending up into the heavens creation in all its vastness just groaning when are we going to be delivered and you know what they look at they look at you and I that's Romans chapter 8 they see the wonderful Liberty that we've been brought into as a result of the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ and our simple faith in Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that has quickened made alive our soul and spirit and he contrasts in Romans chapter 8 the body is still dead because it's in as you look up at me here today this body is in death it's dying every second of every day but inside this body my soul and spirit is life it doesn't possess life it's not a verb there it's a noun in Romans chapter 8 I have as a result of salvation the very life of God in me and creation looks at that and that's why it says in Romans chapter 8 the earnest expectation of the creation I'm sure some of you have been following that's over now the Olympics and you know those you ever seen those short runners or whatever runners and and and they put their fingers right down to the line they want to get as close to that line without going over they want to be right there because every split second matters and as they as the gun is put up in the air you've seen them as they just hunch over and every muscle in their body is just waiting for that bang and what do they do they take their head and their head stretches out and looks to the finish line I wish I could see creation right now that's what it's doing it's just waiting with such expectation it's got one eye on us they've already come into the wonderful Liberty the bondage of sin has been broken and then it has one one eye looking straight ahead and it's waiting for that bang when's that gonna happen oh my the millennial reign when Christ is given his rightful place and the bondage of sin will be broken did you realize you're you're into the greatest thing that could ever happen you know we sort of get into this we sort of get into this lax a daisy oh we're going to meeting oh oh I'm saved and we get so used to we get so used to the fact that we're saved on the road to heaven God give us help to never never lose sight of what God has done what God is doing right now and the tremendous prospect the future you know you go into the world you've been to all the writings of mankind there is no light there's no hope utter total darkness is all that this world can offer people we have a gospel message we've got a word from God that not only in this wretched creation under sin and all its darkness it's almost like we've got a nuclear bomb just sitting inside of us ready to blow up the power of God life and light and we're being watched creation watches and just longs it just sighs oh I want to be delivered I'm sure you can relate to that that's what Romans chapter 8 goes to to explain further you ever sometimes you ever sometimes get so sick and tired of your wicked heart and you just oh God take me home to heaven you ever think like that get me out of here I'm looking forward to the day when this wicked heart of mine what the Bible calls the flesh it's completely gone and my little mind can just try to apprehend everything there is to know about my Savior no hindrances nothing to throw a roadblock in when my little heart can just in all whatever love is there could just full and all its fullness can just flow out toward Christ no restriction this is the terrible how you can be in the most holiest place gathered to the Lord's name right in the morning meeting enjoying someone's worship enjoying thoughts you had that morning and the old wicked heart just shoot things into your head destroys the whole thing I'm looking forward to an eternity and I can enjoy my Savior in its fullness because the Spirit of God that has quickened my soul and spirit he's inside of me and he's just waiting for the command to quicken this lump of clay never to decay again you know I read you know I read in Mark in Mark chapter 1 just to switch gears now there was a time when the Sun for thousands of years as I've been saying it always rose upon this earth in all its sin must have been quite a thing you know Mark chapter 1 when the Sun rose up and it started to set and you know what it set upon it set upon the Son of God working into the night all these people affected by sin the whole city the Bible says they all came to the door and they knocked on the door and the compassion of the Lord Jesus he couldn't just touch one or two as the Sun set into the into the West it witnessed the labors the workings the busyness of the Son of God as he moved and he touched every single one of them now you come ahead after the public ministry of the Lord Jesus is done do you know what else the Sun witnessed there was a morning when the Sun came up in the east and for the first time it looked upon an empty tomb risen the hope that was in creation now the antitype Christ himself has come and for the first time creation could look at a man God's Son into death he lay still in death he broke the bonds of death he defeated sin he defeated the devil and look I have no scripture for this but I like to think that the Sun shone just a little bit brighter that resurrection morning and the Sun came up and looked upon isn't it wonderful wonderful that he is not there he is here if he was still there he wouldn't be here isn't it wonderful that we serve a risen Savior he's conquered everything so dear child of God I don't know what is going on in your life I don't know what trials you're in the midst of I don't know what pressures are on you whether you be in school or or university or workplace or or all of this I want you to try to get your eyes off of this groaning creation I want you just to listen to them I want you to look where it's looking I want you to get your eyes upon your risen Savior yes it's the Bible is true you know he is coming back don't you ever let the world almost get you shy to the point where well I really can't say I believe the Bible you know I was telling Murray about this I was with Jesus with the Lord's help I was witnessing to a man I actually was in a room with a with a dear Muslim man and his beliefs and there was another man he was well he was united he didn't really know what he believed and still doesn't know what he believes and then there was this other man that came by and of course he heard me talking about the Bible and it is the absolute why did he ever get fired up oh dear he had his hands waving in the air he was just he was almost coming out of his body you can't say that that this is the absolute authority in this world well I said what's your absolute it's just the ideas of men we float we change that's why I told him I said don't take any offense but I said that's why you folks don't know what you believe everything changes and I kept coming back I knew I hit a soft spot don't back away from the soft spots when you get them keep hitting the trigger and I left that man with one thing listen sir this book is what's gonna judge you it's gonna judge everybody and I can read it cover to cover and I can put my absolute confidence upon it well he didn't like that either yeah let him blow off all he wants God has the final say may we all be encouraged with the truth in it