Meeting the dreadfulness of loneliness.
And of course that's how the devil wants
to paint this loneliness that comes to all
and sundry at times.
And I'm calling it the dreadfulness of loneliness.
I just want to point out quickly and
quietly that there are lonely sinners in this
world.
And oh I'm not thinking about the sinner's
mind.
I'm thinking about the mind of the believer.
But there are lonely sinners in this world
and it's a thing that all evangelistic minded
creatures should keep before them that there are
lonely sinners.
You know the prodigal at last he found
himself penniless and helpless and hopeless down at
the swine cross.
He was all alone.
You know it was the gateway of his
righteousness living that took him into that place
of loneliness.
And I believe he had a terrible time
there.
Because you know the story of the woman
at the well don't you?
That at the midday hour, the sixth hour,
she came out searching for water.
Now nobody in the far east goes to
the well at midday when the sun is
beating down in all its strength.
And the Lord Jesus was there waiting for
her.
He knew she was the outcast of society.
It was the gateway of her folly with
men that really was her undoing.
And that's why she was alone that day.
And of course you know all about the
man in the tombs, how the devil took
complete control of him and how he was
alone in this dreadful condition.
There are lonely sinners in this world.
And of course there are lonely backsliders.
Men who get away from God.
You know that Jonah by his disobedience got
away from God.
And I think you know all about how
he set his eyes on the well watered
plains of Jordan.
And how he vexed his righteous soul from
day to day by living in that water.
And I think we know something about Demas.
He was a companion with Paul on one
occasion.
And Paul had taken him to the great
and mighty city of Thessalonia.
And you know he saw the world there
as it were for the first time.
I'm not sure whether it was the Grecian
games that captured this young man's mind, or
whether it was the world of commerce that
was in Thessalonica at that time.
But Paul paid Demas half-forsakenly having loved
this present world and his gone to Thessalonica.
And so you know there are lonely sinners.
And there are lonely backsliders.
But what we are after this night, in
this meeting, is lonely believers.
Believers that the gobble is coming to, and
hurting, and crushing, and tormenting, and bringing them
into this place of spiritual depression through the
dreadfulness of loneliness.
And that's what we're going to tackle.
But not only that, we not only want
to see how the devil works, and where
he works, and upon whom he works, we
want to know how to overcome him when
he works.
That's the thing that's very important for this
meeting.
How can we be overcomers when this old
devil is attacking us on this lane of
loneliness?
So let's begin tonight in John's Gospel, chapter
23.
The Gospel by John, and we're at the
20th chapter.
First one, The first day of the week
cometh near in that village early, when it
was yet dark.
And I think we should just mark that,
you know.
It just tells us how much this woman
really loved the Lord.
You see, she had got up early on
this first day of the week, and she
had left the city of Jerusalem.
And those of you who have traveled there,
you know that it's quite a long way
out of the center of the city, and
out through the Damascus gate, and up the
road, and round to where Calvary, and where
the garden tomb was.
And so this dear soul, even in the
dark, was coming up.
It just lets you see that she really
loved the Lord.
The distance to where she would find his
body didn't bother her, and the darkness didn't
bother her.
And remember the Roman soldiers were out there
at the tomb, and that was a danger
for her.
But neither the darkness, nor the distance, nor
the danger upset her.
Then the first day of the week cometh
near in that village early, when it was
yet dark, onto the sepulchre.
And see as the stone taken away from
the sepulchre, you know as you come round
the edge of the hill to look into
the garden, you could see whether the stone
was rolled away or not.
It's a stone about maybe seven feet in
diameter, and it can be rolled away from
the door of the sepulchre.
And she could see that the stone was
rolled away.
Then she ran up, I want you to
watch this, she ran back to the city,
gathered her long clothes up round her, ran
back, and cometh to Simon Peter and to
the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said
unto them, They have taken away the Lord
out of the sepulchre, and we know not
where they have laid him.
Now that wasn't true, sure it wasn't.
This was just a very dear, loving woman
jumping to conclusions.
She came out early, she saw the stone
rolled away, she was never next to neither
of the two, but she ran immediately, and
she said, They have taken him away out
of the sepulchre.
Wonder whom she thought had taken him away.
Oh, nobody had taken him away.
Verse three, Peter therefore went forth and that
other disciple, and came to the sepulchre, and
that other disciple of course was John.
So they ran both together, and the other
disciple did outrun Peter.
John was just a little bit faster than
Peter, and came first to the sepulchre, and
he stooping down and looking in, saw the
linen clothes lying, yet went he not in.
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went
into the sepulchre, and sees the linen clothes
lying, and the napkin that was about his
head not lying with the linen clothes, but
wrapped together in a place by itself.
Then went in also that other disciple which
came first to the sepulchre, and he saw
and believed.
Now that's a great word that John put
in for himself then, because he could see
these grave clothes that had wrapped the body
of the Lord Jesus right up to his
neck, and the bit of turban was round
his head.
And he could see the grave clothes that
were still in their folds, and the napkin
was just a space away.
And he knew that the body must have
come right out through the folds.
And he believed.
And this is his own testimony, this is
his own book.
And he's saying that when he went into
the sepulchre, and saw these linen clothes as
they should be, he immediately believed that the
Lord Jesus had risen from the dead.
Verse 7, verse 8.
Then went in also that other disciple which
came first to the sepulchre, and he saw
and believed.
For as yet I knew not the scripture
that he must rise again from the dead.
But this is the bit I want you
to get the hold of.
Then the disciples went away again onto their
own home.
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre meeting.
I want you to try to get the
picture.
These two shepherds of the flock, yes Peter
and John, these two foundation members of the
church, these two men come out of this
tomb, and they walked past this woman.
And they never said a word to her.
John didn't say, dear I know that he's
risen from the dead.
Oh not at all.
Not in the very least.
Now they went past her, and they went
up the road, and they went back again
to their own home.
They're going back into the city.
But Mary stood at the sepulchre weeping.
Now she's all alone.
And I say that she's alone in the
shades of sorrow.
And you know so many of us, ere
we finish this pilgrimage down here, we're going
to find ourselves one day alone at an
open tomb.
And someone we loved.
And someone we enjoyed.
And someone whom refreshed us.
Someone who blessed us and helped us.
They'll be gone and we'll be all alone.
Now it's just at that moment the devil
will come.
And I assure you that the devil would
come to Mary on that morning.
And he would say something about the two
men who passed her by.
And he would say something about mighty promises
that had been promised.
And he would come to her the way
he came to Eve in the garden when
she was alone.
And he would begin to question.
And he would put in doubt.
And the old devil is on the job.
And she's in the name of loneliness.
And the devil's making it dreadful.
The dreadfulness of loneliness.
I think that everybody here knows the story
of Joseph without me going over it all
again.
When he was 17 years of age.
And this you must register in your mind.
Just a lad, just a young lad.
We have one or two lads in the
meeting here.
And they're just above 17.
And when he was 17 years of age,
you know he went down to meet his
brethren who were attending the sheep.
And you remember the whole story.
They envied him and they were jealous of
him.
And they took him and they cast him
into the pit.
And that was a terrible day in that
young man's life.
And then of course they eventually sold him
down into Egypt.
We know the story well.
And then you remember Potiphar's wife.
She kept her eyes upon him in a
sexual fashion.
And he wouldn't respond to that.
He's accused that.
He loves his God too much.
He couldn't do that sin against God he
said.
No, no.
And then she told lies and he's cast
into prison.
And I think that all of us miss
this.
When this young man of 17 went in
behind these bars.
And here he is, just a boy in
the dark, all alone in the prison.
Let's get it quite clear tonight that he
was 17 years there.
That's a long time.
17 years alone.
And you know the old devil came and
smiled and mocked and jeered and taunted.
Looking in through the bars at him and
saying, where's your God now?
Where are the dreams that God gave you?
And you know he would torture this young
man.
He would torture him.
I want you to get that because we
may be on the slopes of suffering one
day.
Mary is in the shade of sorrow and
Joseph is on the slopes of suffering.
Now let's go way back to 2nd Timothy
and we're at the 4th chapter.
2nd letter of Timothy and we're at the
4th chapter please.
And Paul is writing here, 2nd Timothy chapter
4, verse 16 he says, At my first
answer no man stood with me but all
men forsook me.
Now I want you to get the hold
of this because this is an important thing.
When Paul says at my first answer what
is he talking about?
Well you see he had been arrested and
he was brought to Rome and he was
going to be tried before the Roman governor.
And when he stood up in the court
for the very first time to face the
governor and to face the charges that the
Jews were laying against him, you know as
he looked around the court that morning he
thought sure enough that look the old beloved
Hessitian would be there.
He thought Major Timothy would be there.
He thought this and that and the other
would be there.
But you see there wasn't one there.
At my first answer no man stood with
me.
He was all alone.
And I want to say this you know
that some of the servants of God they
could tell you stories about this where they've
had to take the stand alone.
And there wasn't a single soul to come
and stand beside them.
And you know when that happens to you
on the stage of service it takes a
torture to do.
Ah but the devil comes that's it.
And the devil says this gospel of you
and these evangelists of you and these evangelical
friends of you.
And the devil comes to taunt and jeer
and mock and you can see the mind
that's being overwrought by the devil and the
man or the woman as it may be
is facing the dreadful mess of loneliness.
And I think that everyone isn't healed.
You know the story of Esther.
She was a queen to the king of
Medo-Persia.
And you know her old uncle Mordecai had
brought her up and had trained her in
the ways of God.
She was a Jewess.
But there was a wicked man in Shushan
the palace called Haman and he got the
king to sign a decree that all the
Jews would be glotted out.
And old Mordecai sent in words of the
queen put on your royal apparel and go
in before the king and stand and plead
and pray for your people are going to
be destroyed in a certain day.
And you know she wasn't allowed to go
in for the rule of the court was
that if she appeared before she was sent
for she could be beheaded.
And then old Mordecai began to talk to
her like a man.
He said thou art come to the kingdom
for such a time as this.
You must meet go in and plead.
And there came a moment when this young
woman opened the door and stepped in before
the king.
Let me say this she's all alone.
And the thought in her mind was if
I perish I perish.
You know sometimes when you're pleading for souls
and there's souls on your mind.
You remember how Paul said my heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is.
And you know he was bowed down all
the days of his life for his sins
men according to the flesh.
Sometimes when you take something like this on
and you get in before the Lord you'll
find you're alone.
Nobody seems to be standing in with you.
You're alone at the time of supplication.
Do you see how I have outlined all
these?
Yes Mary was alone in the shades of
sorrow.
Yes Joseph was alone on the slopes of
suffering.
Paul was alone on the stage of service.
Esther was alone at the shrine of supplication.
And you remember there were 10 lepers healed
and only one returned.
And he came back and he came over
the mountains and down the narrow path.
He's coming back and I guarantee you as
he came back alone.
Oh the old devil says you're bad.
Sure you're cleansed now don't bother about it.
Don't go back to say thanks.
You see the devil comes along this is
what we're at this evening.
There are so many lonely souls in this
world.
Old D.L. Moody said the man that
preaches to lonely souls will never let a
congregation.
You know there are so many sides to
loneliness and there are so many shades of
loneliness.
And there may be more lonely souls in
this meeting just now.
Than you dream of.
And the devil comes and he works on
their mind and he backs of their soul.
And he upsets them and spiritual depression sets
in.
And the old devil is doing his diabolical
work.
Now what we want to see this evening
is how can lonely ones be more than
conquerors.
You know if I were to take you
back to the story of Mary at the
tomb.
I think it's one of the richest things
in the bible of course.
How often I've tried to see this woman
standing in the early hours of this morning.
All alone at the tomb.
And the old devil taunting her.
And then out of the shadows came someone.
And the someone came slowly.
And the someone said, Mary.
And she jumped and she said Rabona.
She knew his voice.
Only the Lord Jesus could breathe her name
like that.
Now she had met the living Christ.
Now this is something we must get the
hold of.
This is the truth that each of us
must realize in our own simple way.
That when we stand in the shades of
sorrow.
When we're there.
And the devil has come to upset and
disturb and what and oppress and depress.
Oh that we could get this truth right
into our hearts.
That the Lord, the living Lord is just
at our elbow.
And that's the truth that we realize.
We'll get over this.
You know there's a woman in the old
testament.
And she's coming up out of the wilderness.
And she's leaning on her beloved.
And you know that word leaning there is
a tremendous word.
Because there's another word in Isaiah which says,
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose
mind is staid on thee.
It's the very same word.
Of course you know that staid and leaning
is just the same thing.
You know the word weight is the very
same thing.
They doth weight upon the Lord.
They are leaning on the Lord.
Yea they're staid upon Jehovah.
And this is the way of victory for
all those who are feeling the dreadfulness of
loneliness.
Exercise faith and know that there's a risen
living savior at your side.
And link on and lean hard.
And here's something else we must get the
hold of.
This is a text we must memorize.
And it's easy to memorize.
The Lord Jesus said to Paul, My grace
is sufficient for thee.
Friend that's something that we must get the
hold of.
Because all the time no matter what sort
of a day it will be, there will
be grace for that day.
And then of course as we go along
the pathway of life, and we run the
race that is set before us, there's a
throne that we must keep our eyes upon.
Now I have battled through this.
And I think I've got to stop now
and get home.
And I trust God will bless you.
And you'll pray for me that I'll be
alright.
Now could we sing in fluency hymn number
878.
This is maybe not too familiar to the
Bible class, but we do sing this occasionally
on a Sunday morning.
And I think it's very fitting to sing
this just at the moment, after listening to
the pastor's exposition.
How sweet is my savior to repose on
thine almighty power to feel thy strength upholding
me through every trying hour.
The Lord did a good job for Pastor
Mullin and he did a good job for
me.
But I wasn't left to finish the meeting.
Savior to repose on thine almighty power to
feel thy strength upholding me through every trying
hour.
And he loved me as I loved him.
For he said, he said, I lived for
you.
he said, I lived I lived I lived
I lived every second of every trying of
every trying God,
you take care of me.
By the Spirit of my heart, let me
confess I pray about you today.
For life should not be easy, I thank
you very still.
God, you take care of me.
Let us pray.
Our gracious, loving Father, we come to the
close of this service and we give thee
thanks for thy presence with us.
We thank you for the help that thou
didst give the pastor to us to explain
and speak upon thy word.
We thank you for the strength that thou
didst give him.
And we know, gracious Lord, that thy word
hath promised that they that wait upon the
Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, they
shall walk and not faint.
And we also remember, gracious Lord, that thou
didst promise that thou wilt give power to
the faint.
And so, Lord, as we come to thee,
we give thee thanks for thy word to
our hearts, for the strength that thou didst
give to the pastor to enable him to
get through as much as he did this
evening.
And now, in faith, we commit unto thyself,
we ask thee that thy gracious hand may
be upon him and restore him fully to
his wanted health and strength again.
We thank you for the effect of thy
word upon our hearts.
We thank you for the assurance that thou
dost care for us, for the invitation that
thou hast given each one of us to
cast all our care upon Jesus, for he
careth for us.
And so, Lord, as we come to the
close of this meeting, we would each and
every one ask for thy blessing upon my
servant and ask that each of us shall
be blessed as we take home the word
that he has given to us and grant
that each of us shall reach our homes
and stay today and be blessed by thyself.
We ask these things in the precious name
of Jesus and for his glory.
Amen.