For the God of all creation is the one who grants salvation is the one who pays for freedom that is given to us. I know I keep saying it but let me say it again we'll go on this conference determined to be that little blinder, to be that little kinder and I'm certain our coming here will not be in vain the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew please Matthew chapter 5 please verse 1 Of course, I'm reading from the authorised version, you know the Bible, the authorised version. So please, Matthew chapter 5, if we may, and verse 1. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, verse 14, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candle's face, and it give a flight unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. The eighth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, please. of the Gospel of Luke. Verse 16. No man, says the Lord Jesus, no man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or puteth it under a bed, but seteth it on a candle stick, the day which enter in may see the light. The 11th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, please. The 11th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. And verse 33. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, put a bit in secret place, neither under a bushel. But on a candle, speak, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light. But when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If If thy whole body therefore be full of light, Having no part dark, The whole shall be full of light, As when the bright shining of a candle Doth give thee light. May the Lord just add his blessing To the reading of his word. Sure we are to be his blessing. For God and Father, We pray very simply that The Spirit himself may take Of the things of Christ. and reveal them to us this morning, for the joy that has been ours, the joy of just being one with another, we thank you. We ask now that thou would enable us to face the very challenge of thy word, and grant that our study of thy word, our consideration of its message, may mean that we will be better fitted to enjoy the things of God and be a blessing to those that we come in contact with. for Jesus' sake. Amen. I presume, of course, you have gathered that which is on my heart this morning. For I want to remind you, not as we reminded you yesterday, that ye are the salt of the earth, but that ye are the light of the world. And I do think it's important for us just to say to ourselves, The Lord was the person that used those words, and so they have great importance. Ye are the light of the world. Now, when in the grace and mercy of God, you and I were separated from that great, great mass of unregenerated humanity, three things happened. And I think it's good for us to remember that these things happen. Whether we are entering into the full joy of them, we are enjoying all that God has for us in them, when we trusted Christ, three things happen. First of all, every one of us was initiated into a new relationship. Up to that moment of time, it could be said of us, that we were children of God as others. But when by sovereign grace, we were brought to know Jesus Christ as our Savior, we were initiated into a new relationship. We were born into the family of God. Each one of us in this very place can say that we became linked with God's glorious son. And being linked with God's glorious son, we were linked to each other and each other as a company to the Lord. It is this reason that yesterday we were seeking to emphasize that Christ is the head of the body the church but not only were we initiated into a new relationship as we became children of god but also each one of us were introduced into a new realm you see being introduced to this new realm brought us as it were not just as sons of god but it brought us under the authority of god when the lord jesus said to nicodemus in that day that long part. You will never see. You will never enter the kingdom of God until you are born again. He was not speaking of a territory. He was speaking of an authority. The kingdom of God is not a territory. The kingdom of God is not bound, as it were, with five wire pensions and walls. The kingdom of God is an authority, and we into a new a new realm I think this can be well in us illustrated don't you in the tremendous story of the Apostle Paul known by every one of us told by every Sunday school teacher to their school you will remember that when Paul came to know Jesus Christ he was initiated into a new relationship that relationship with God that relationship with others for could it not be said by God that to Ananias that here was one who was none other than a brother for Ananias went in and said brother brother Saul I think you are grand when he came to know the Lord he was introduced into a new realm I sometimes when preaching the gospel of course I sometimes say of the story of Paul that when first we see him he's a fighting man many I shut up in prison or if there was a person who fought against God. That person was all a part of us. He was a fighting man. When you look at the story, that fighting man became a fallen man. But there was a light above the brightness of the noonday sun, and he fell to the earth. And we all have seen as we saw from the gospel that whenever a man comes in contact with God, the first thing God does for that man, a woman, is to look from down. Oh, I don't believe. that physically of course he not pulled and physically he fell to the ground but he makes us cry as Peter cried I'm a sinful man oh Lord he makes us cry as all who come to know the Lord oh God I'm not fit for thy presence he convicts us convicts us of sin I sometimes say a fool but not only was he a fighting man but he became a fallen man but oh hallelujah He was a forgiven man. Is it grand when the Savior forgives? My sins and my iniquities, will I remember no more? It's not just an Old Testament truth. It's God's desire for every man and woman. And maybe this very morning, I know now, but maybe this very morning, and maybe someone amongst you, and oh, you've been fighting against God. You've been fighting against Him, and yet in these very purposes, you have felt your need of Him. You've fallen as a ground before him. Can I say this here this morning? You can miss a gift. There's a savior who loves you. There's a God who gave the very best of heaven that you might know that forgiveness and salvation. But would you remember this? Please remember this. The fighting, fallen, forgiving man and became a following man. What wilt thou have? to do I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision I wouldn't give you that much you've heard me say a hundred times I wouldn't give you that much for the man or the woman that tells me they're a Christian and doesn't show it by their living I don't believe them I'm not called to be a judge of any man but I am called to be a fruit examiner and by their fruit she shall know them she shall know them. And here the man who sought to follow in the ways of the Lord. You see, he came into a new realm. It was the realm of the authority of the Lord. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Up to that moment of time it was what men thought of him. It was the authority that he had from the high priest. It was what society thought of him. Was he doing that which others would expect? And now it is not what men will have me to do. knew, but God, what will thou have made it? Oh, please, God, that this may be drilled into my very being, and sometimes the Lord has a hard job to drill it into me. That it is not what my brethren think, it is not what the society thinks, it is what God thinks, and when I do what God would have me to do, I'll be right with my brethren, and I'll be right with society. For the matter of getting your priorities right, you're coming to a new realm. Then would you notice when one comes to know the Lord not only does God initiate us into a new relationship not only does he introduce us into a new realm but all blessed be his name he involves us in a new responsibility that each one of us are responsible no man lives to himself this is why the Spirit of God uses the illustration of a church as a body and it dares to tell us that not one portion the body can do without another portion of the body, that every one of us are responsible in our attitudes, for we live not unto ourselves to become bond servants, bond slaves of the Lord Jesus. When the Apostle writes his second letter to the Church at Corinth after giving a long list of what he suffered, he seems to me to summon all Adam, then, and beyond all this the care of all the churches what a new condolence but friends if this happened when we were paid whether we have entered fully into what will follow it this did happen when you and I were initiated into a new relationship when you and I were introduced to a new realm when you and I became involved in a new responsibility then dare I to get it we need to face what the Lord Jesus said of a full-orbed Christian experience he dares then to say to you and me and ye are the thought of the earth and ye are the light of the world now yesterday we gave some thought to the fact that we were the sort of the earth and we saw that the sort is secret And thought, in its action, is hidden. But that's not so of light, is it? Light is of no use, and it's secret. Light is of no use, and it's hidden. It's not light at all. So we see in the light the opposite to what we see in the thought. When we think of thought, we think of that which is moral, that which stops corruption, that which is placed upon that it may not become bad. that when we think of light we do not think of that which is moral, but we think of that which is spiritual. We think of that light which comes from God, that light that shines out through others. When we think of thought as we did yesterday, we think of what a man is, what a man is. When we think of light, we think of what a man does. When we think of character when we think of light we think of a man's conduct and so could we think of those things could we spend just those moments this morning and thinking deeds of light can we think of that which is open and manifest can we think of that which is spiritual can we think of that which we do can we think of that which is our conduct now when the Lord Jesus said ye are the light of the world he divides what he has to say into two things he speaks first of all of a city upon a hill and then he speaks of a candle in a house he speaks of a city on a hill now here on this hill we have come to appreciate a little of that have we not could I suggest this to you it may bear your thinking maybe straight away you will not say I think that's right and I hope you don't I hope you'll think about it but could I suggest to you that the city upon a hill is the aggregate of all the little candles that are shining we saw something of this during the war I know not whether you did over here but of course in my country during the war there was a strict blackout so many of our cities were blown to peace so many of our people were killed but there was insisted upon a strict and absolute blackout the fire watchers and the air raid wardens would be walking down the streets and sometimes unaware of the fact a person had not drawn his blackout curtain there was just coming out of that window, just coming out of that window, a small ray of light. And immediately, put that light out. Oh, so am I. You see, you may say that it was only a little light, but every, if everyone acted like that, what a stream of light would fly into the heavens, you enable every squammer to see that here is a city, here is a congregation of people to live long and Let's place it the other way as the Lord puts it. I say, he wants there to be such a light shining, the aggregate of our candles. He wants to see our united testimony. He wants to see us as a church. We used to sing, did we not? But the children, they still sing it in our Sunday school. And I expect they do in yours. You in your small corner die. in mind you know something it may be a child's hymn but it's a good one jesus lets me shine that a pure clear light like a little candle shining in the night and if your candle shines and my candle shines oh like a city upon a hill that cannot be hid the world will look and see the light that streams on yon hill and say there is a city of god who building builder and maker is gone brethren sister you see what the lord is saying he's saying you may only have a little candle but if your little candle is added to mine i'm never here to go going over to lucerne let's be at the conference is not what i do and just like they have these trips over to wherever they're going wherever it is and over of course without paying um They decided to take us this Friday, when there were no services during the day, they decided to take us over the border in the Elk before him. And we all sat in the bus, and the way we were. Eventually, we arrived at a place that the bus driver, in his somewhat broken English, and led us out of the bus and took us to a little trickle of water. Now, it was a little trickle of water. I could have taken a car and held it underneath that trickle of water and held it without the water flanking over the side of the castle. And he looked at it, and he turned to us as much as to say, you haven't got anything like that in the order. He looked, and he said, you see that? They call back the mighty Tabor in Rome. The Elks of northern Italy, it was a trickle of water, but into that trickle ran another trickle, and it became a stream, and into that stream ran another stream, and it became a river, and into that river they ran another river, and it became the Tabor, and it flowed on and on, and in Rome they fell the boatside. It started but a little change. What do you want from your fellowship? Well, sisters, what do you want? Do you desire that there may flow to the very throne of God a river of praise? Should I tell you whether you'll have a river of praise? For you and I are prepared to say I'm only a little trickle. Why, I'm going to bring my trickle. I'm only a little light. But I'm going to burn. I'm going to burn. I'm going to add my light to someone else's mouth. The testimony for God is not made up of a few brilliant Christians. Oh, gee, please, may I say that to you, dear Americans, may I? The assembly of God's people is not made up of a few brilliant Christians. Though they be welcome, get water, wait, though they be Mr. McKay, whoever they may be. The assembly of God is made up of all who love the Lord, shining for him, shining for him. a man in this place who would say amen louder than Mr. Fletmuller when I say this it is not to the pulpit it's to the view that we need to be looking for our testimony. It is important our pulpit but it's important our view oh that I may see a shining testimony he says I'll witness me of the light of the world and it is a city on a hill but cannot be hid please God you may shine for him but if he says it is like a city on a hill he says it is like a candle in a house now here is our individual life here is not the aggregate of all life but here praise God is the individual testimony now I pointed out yesterday that one of the things that Mark taught is that it's sacrificial would I say the same about a candle you know the amazing thing about a candle is when it burns it burns itself out it burns itself out just the reason of course that years ago candles were the clock they lit a candle and as it burnt down they saw how the hours slipped by my friend I wonder how sacrificial we are are in our Christian witness for the Lord. But there was a tragedy in that house. The Lord said, No man, no man, no man, light up a candle and put us under a bush. He goes further. He says, No man light up a candle and put us and under a bed. I wouldn't like to be in that bed with you. I'd be sharing fire. And he goes further. and he said he doesn't put it under a bushel and he doesn't put it under a bed and neither does he hide it in a secret way but I suggest to you please I did not write the Bible but I suggest to you that what the Lord is saying is this that we are the light of the world but there are things that will stop that light shining forth for the glory of God and the blessing of others and the first thing he refers to is a bushel lighting a candle and putting it under a bushel. Now you know what the bushel was used for. The bushel was a thing that was used by seed merchants and farmers in their business. You still do it over here, don't you? I noticed when I was down in southern times some time ago I noticed there was a man telling and thank you, sir. He knew, you said. He knew. man after my own heart but he was telling for it and he was telling them by the butcher by the butcher now I would think that a butcher is a very good thing what it means is I think it's a very rotten thing to put on top of the candle now see don't think that I'm sad my Bible says this to those of you brethren that labor it says not loathful in business what you do in business. If you're a bricklayer, I hope you're the best bricklayer. If you're a road sweeper, I hope you're the best road sweeper. If you're in business, I hope you're the very best. I only know this. God doesn't want us to be so occupied in our business that our light for him never shines. He doesn't want us to cover our candle with our business, to be occupied with kings, be occupied with our business. with the making of money he wants us to use our bushel that may be to stand the candlestick off that's what he wants I say it was Harry who went first in the missionary to India about him no need for me to tell you his story it's told wherever missionary history is the man that left my country and went out to India the man that did so much not only for quitting men and women for Christ but to giving those Indians and their own town their Bible. And yet when he went there he spent his days making boots that he might be able to pay expenses. What are we doing that? No man lighted a candle and put it under a bushel. Now the first thing he talked about is not putting it under a bushel, but putting it under a bed. The first man was too busy to serve God. The second man was too lazy to serve God. He wants to put a candle under a bed. Now, I know most of you thought that this morning, the morning was very near the night, so I know that. I had a young person say to me that I've been over here, said to me, Mr. Ford, I know I ought to get down to, I ought to get down to the study of the Word of God and I ought to have my quiet time before I go to work, but I have such a job to get up in go to bed earlier isn't that right I can't think of anything better than that you know there are so many of us we had an old brother in our meeting who reading the epistle of the Corinthians used to speak of that the Apostle exhorting us to be shed fire, unmovable he said some of you have shed fire but shed fire and isn't that true now God doesn't want us to hide our handle under a bed. Oh, you young man, you young women, don't you dare do it in my presence? Don't you dare? Don't you point your finger at older folks and say, what are they doing when you are in the prime of your life, health and strength, and the ability to do what those of us that are older can't do and you do nothing? I arrived in Sydney and Australia. I had to go to an assembly some few miles outside of Sydney to start a gospel campaign. I arrived late on the plant a day, at least so, just in time for the meeting on the plant a day. And I was utterly amazed. The place was full, and they told me, although it will start with a ministry meeting, that the good brother said, Dad, we've got a bunch of junk in Berkeley. That was right down my street. Roof. And we had a wonderful one. But I wondered where these junk in Berkeley. on the first night it's come from and I heard you young people listening I heard one of the loveliest stories that I've shared with men and women every country I've ever been living in for a number of years in that assembly they had a tank band some of the older brethren of a Saturday afternoon would get young folk and they would go with piles of tanks they would have little open-air service on this street corner that street corner give out tanks and over the years not one person as far as they knew ever came, ever came into the Gospel Hall. There was in the Gospel Hall a dear brother and his wife. Suddenly at 41 years of age the brother was stricken with a desperate throat and passed into the presence of the Lord. His dear wife, with a family had the struggle on, had a great job, a great difficulty, even to meet the mortgage payment. But she went to work and as best she could that bit my bit you know the house needed painting wooden houses than the ones you have here that the house needed painting the garden got a bit overgrown and and it began to look a little dilapidated and one day one of the leaders of the young people meeting a young man is 22 years of age himself he went to one of the elders and said none we want to do something and he told the elder he said would you ask and he spoke to a sister's name would you ask her to go round to your house would you take her away for a day the elder went round with his wife and said, Oh, can't they? You're not in business. Would you come? We're going away for a picnic out in the country. And the dear sister there was the elderly guy. What a wonderful man. And around they went to the car, picked her up, the family, and off they went. And they'd hardly got out of the road before 32 young people from that meeting attacked that house. And attack it, I mean. They cut the lawn, they jumped the garden, the fellas and the girls. They might have got more paint on themselves than they did the house because they were a bit like me but they pictured it but you know what happened? The whole road. Hey, what's going on? I mean, what would happen in your road if there would be two youngsters not in any of your house? By the way, if you young people want to do that, I'll give you my address. Come to the bank. Do you know what happened? I'll tell you what happened on that evening over on Thursday, I think early, I think there was never a big topic, but Oh, give him a friend. Oh, thank you. I'm talking to the gospel. The dear sister came back. He stood by the tie. They told him. He went, went, went, went. He went. He went. He said, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Surely there's something we can do. Oh, let your light so shine. Don't be lazy. Remember, God doesn't want to hide it. I've got to hide our candle under a bed. Sorry, Mr. Depp Waller, sir. I broke them a bad and a good habit straight away. He praised me last night for being on target. He doesn't want us to hide it under a bed. Ah, but you say, but just a moment now, Mr. Preacher, now, Mr. Pitcher, that's very good. I've agreed with everything you've said for so-and-so. You're not for me. Not for me now. No, I'm not lazy. And I'll tell you something more. I don't allow my business to set you up. You find me as a matter of fact, I'm retired. Well, you'll need to do that. I'll need to do that. But isn't it easy to hide it in that way, the Lord's phone call? I didn't say it, he said, in a secret place. In a secret place. Oh, friend, something known only to us that makes that light not showing forth in all its wonder and glory. Don't, I didn't sleep. Don't allow anything to stop a shining excuse. But, but on a candlestick. Now, I've given a lot of thought as to what that candlestick was. Haven't you? I've given a lot of thought. Do you know what I think the candlestick is? Now, if you disagree, God bless you, you'll be wrong, but still this is what I think. I think that that candlestick the circumstances in our life that are our circumstances and no one else's. He said he wants it to shine in a candlestick. You see, God doesn't make candlesticks in pairs. They do that in belts, but not the Lord. He takes one candlestick and when He makes it He breaks that. Your circumstances are different than mine. The problems you face are different in mind, but he wants you to shine in your corner, in your corner. The circumstances of life. All you say, but you know, Mr. Preacher, if you live where I live, if you face the circumstances I face, you wouldn't be able to shine very well. Well, maybe so, maybe so. I do remember a little story though, don't you? I remember the story of a man who said, could any good thing come out of Nazareth? What? That miserable, shall he? Nazareth? Such an elaborate wickedness? Deportuary and crime? Could any good change come out of Nazareth? The best man that ever lived came out of Nazareth? Don't come to me and tell me your area seems difficult to testify in. God wants us to shine. One little story or illustration, and I finish. My dearest friend, maybe one of my dearest friends, It's a man by the name of Wilford Beale in Swansea. Lovely, lovely, lovely family. Wilford lives on what we call Town Hill. Town Hill is just one mass detail which is covered with what you would call low-income housing. And over the course of years, I expect Wilford has buried more people on Town Hill than anyone else. I often used to wonder, it seems that almost every week he'd have one or two years. I've wondered how he did it but he didn't listen but they would always come to the gospel hall and say I'm going to have to deal with Mary Mother of the Father and I said to him on one occasion and I said Wilfred I think you had more funerals than almost any man I know and now I ask why is it they always come to you you said well the first thing is they don't have to pay me that's the first thing but the second thing was that he said you know I can sympathize with it with a person and then one day the phone went and I picked up the phone and it was Wilkins she had found a little bit past life and I went down to Wilkins and I buried a little I saw him as he stood with great tears in her by the side of the wife of his youth and the companion of his old age Now he said, I can go in, but I know what it means to really be blind wet man. One morning the phone went, and it was his son, Stanley said, he's had a great tragedy. Brother, bank manager, brilliant young man. So gave himself to his bank and to his work, and suddenly had a breakdown. I went down to the railway station and put his head on the line. I went down and bury a man that I'd known as a baby. Wilfred said, I could go in, and I could weep with him. the sympathizers but now I can sorrow with them I don't want a candlestick like that to you but if God gives me a candlestick like that God enabled me to put the candle in it let it burn is your light friend may I say one thing as I close just one thing as I close would you please remember a candle does not fern longer, it ferns shorter. And our time is now. I have a Lord who gave wonderful miracles. He made blind folks to see and deaf folks to hear and light folks to walk, but he never made an old man a young man. We'll repeat that. He's never made an old man a young man. The candles burning down! Go and let's hide it under our bushels. Under our bed! Let's put it on our candles. Let's shine the light. God and Father, we feel like saying together again in the little children's hymn, Jesus bids me shine with a pure, clear light, like our little candle burning. in the night, in this world of darkness, so we must shine. God help us to shine in our small corner, wherever we are, for thy name's sake. Amen. Could we sing number 495? Number 495? Jesus wants me to be a sunbeam, you shine for him each day in every way, in every way to try to please him at home, at school, at lay. Number 495. Shall we stand? Jesus wants me for a sunbeam to shine for him each day. him at home, at school, at play. Aspande, aspandeem, aspandeem, Jesus was before aspandeem, aspandeem, aspandeem, I'll be aspandeem for him. The fourth stanza, I'll be aspandeem for Jesus. I can if I'm a tribe. A Sunday, a Sunday, Jesus must be for a Sunday, a Sunday, a Sunday, I'll be a Sunday for him. And all the people of that, amen.