Shining Brighter: From Darkness to the Perfect Dawn | What is your Path?

[0:00] Praise the Lord. We're going to go to Proverbs 4 and verse 18 is our focus tonight.

[0:11] ! Proverbs 4 verse 18 it says,! Proverbs 4 tells of the path of the just.

[0:27] And in this chapter King Solomon contrasts the path of the just and the path of the wicked. There's really two eternal trajectories if you like for the human soul.

[0:39] Only two paths, two kinds. There's the way of the wicked and there's the path of the just. The way of the wicked is marked by darkness and stumbling.

[0:51] Proverbs 4 verse 19 it says, The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble. So you've got the path of the just, shineth more and more.

[1:02] The way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not at what they stumble. There's the path of the just, it's lightened by God's light. It's getting brighter and brighter.

[1:13] Unto the perfect day. I want to ask you today to ask yourself, which path am I on? And your path shapes your destiny.

[1:25] Solomon urges his son to choose wisdom over folly. The wicked stumble because they lack light. Imagine if you're out in the bush on a track and it's night time and you've got no torch.

[1:40] And you're groping around, trying to work out your way, straining your eyes, not being able to see. You're in danger. You could fall. You could take a step.

[1:52] That might cause you to tumble because you can't see the way. What a pitiful state that is. That's the way of darkness. And the Bible talks about the Christless ones, the ones who do not know the Lord.

[2:06] And it paints this awful picture. It tells of them in Ephesians 4, 18, of the lost having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart.

[2:24] What a picture of confusion, of deception and lostness. But in contrast, the just are those who walk in the light and their light increases.

[2:35] The walk, the pathway of the just, is one of clarity, of direction and of progress. Paul talks about the same concept in Philippians as he tells of the Christian life.

[2:49] He says, He tells of this race.

[3:10] He tells of this journey of growth. And it's God's will for us, this life of faith, this growing walk in God's light from salvation through sanctification, ultimately to glorification.

[3:26] And it's all in this little verse we could draw out some of that, of this path of righteousness, God's way of living. How can we grow that way, brighter and brighter in faith, in holiness, in witness, as we journey towards the perfect day, the perfect day, which is when we see his face.

[3:46] Let's look at the path of the just. Firstly, the path of the just. Who are the just? Now some would think, as I know sometimes when we're talking to folk, as we're witnessing, Oh, I'm a pretty good person.

[4:02] You know, they think that they're okay. I'm all right, Jack. I'm fine. I've got my own religion. But the just are not those who are the self-righteous.

[4:14] They're not the ones who think that they are righteous of their own making. But it is the humble sinner that is declared righteous by God. As they're forgiven people, transformed by his grace.

[4:29] When they trust Christ, they have forgiveness. And he grants them that gift of eternal life. These people are the just. And how are they justified?

[4:40] It's by faith. We see that truth in Romans 5. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[4:51] We are made just, declared justified by the grace of God through faith, through our faith. The just are sinners now declared righteous by God's grace.

[5:04] And this is where every Christian story begins. It's at that point where we trust our God by faith. We call upon him. We know his forgiveness for our sin.

[5:15] By his mercy and his grace extended at the cross. Because Christ has paid for our sin. And we see that deliverance from our sin. We go from darkness to light.

[5:26] From guilt to grace. From the pit to the path. The just, it tells us, are going to live by faith. It's life.

[5:37] It's to truly live. And the just are not self-righteous people of their own making, earning a merit of their own. We cannot. But it's by grace through faith.

[5:49] It's not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works. Lest any man should boast. It's not of works. It's of grace. It's through faith. And Solomon commands, keep thy heart with all diligence.

[6:03] For out of it are the issues of life. In the context of Proverbs 4, God's interested in your heart. Is your heart right with God? And that's really the beginning, isn't it?

[6:13] When our heart gets changed, we get a new heart. A new life. A new way of living. We become newborn believers in Christ. Born again. And our Lord calls us in the context of Proverbs 4, that we ought to guard our heart.

[6:29] It tells of this walk in Proverbs 4, 25. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. He gives us this path that is straight. And he says, ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

[6:44] Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left. Remove thy foot from evil. It's talking about the path of the just. It starts at conversion. And then it's a walk. We have that salvation moment, and then it's a walk that carries on.

[6:57] That's the sanctification. And we see that salvation moment is pictured in Psalm 40, verse 2. It tells how he brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

[7:14] I don't know if some of you might have been in some muddy places. I know out the back of my place, sometimes I've got to put the wellies on. And it's quite muddy places where you're trudging.

[7:25] It's squelch, squelch. It's muddy. It's miry clay. And it's a picture of sin here, isn't it? In the picture of that miry clay, of getting stuck in that trudging in that mud and that filthy place, that horrible pit.

[7:40] That's sin. That's how we were before Christ. Then it says he takes us out, and he sets our feet, he plants our feet upon the rock, on solid ground.

[7:52] That's the salvation work, isn't it? The work of God's grace. Before faith, we walked in darkness, as it talks about in Ephesians 2. We were dead in sins. We were in darkness.

[8:03] But by faith, we have a new life. We're made brand new, born again. That's the wonder of it. And our Lord says that we should enter in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction.

[8:17] Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. Again, a contrast of these two ways. There's two choices. There's the wide and broad way that leads to destruction.

[8:28] Or there is the way that leads to life. It's a narrow way. It's Christ. He says that he is the way. And we think of this thing, the way. The way is a recurring theme.

[8:39] It's the way of faith. We see it tells of the people of God right back in the Old Testament times of Abraham by faith. He walked in this way.

[8:51] We see the disciples, that they left their nets to follow Christ. They had a new way of living. The early church, they were called the way. Numbers of times it talks about the early church, the believers in Acts, that they were the way.

[9:06] The assembly, the people of God, had this expression. They were the people on the way. We're on the way. Amen. That's who we are. We're on the way to heaven.

[9:17] And their message was the way of salvation. Apollos was described as instructed in the way of the Lord. And Aquila and Priscilla expounded unto him the way of God.

[9:28] And then Paul was accused of being of the way which they call heresy. So the early church, the early believers, they were called the way. And the Bible calls about this way, the way of life.

[9:42] He sets before us the way of life and the way of death. As the choices there in Jeremiah, there's two choices. There's two ways. He says, the Lord says, I've set before you the way of life and the way of death.

[9:55] There's two choices. The choice is stark, isn't it? As we see numbers of times. Psalm 16, 11, it tells us, Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy.

[10:06] So you see this recurring idea of this path, of this pathway, of this way. And the path of the just is active. It's progressive. The just shall live by faith.

[10:17] Our Lord calls us to grow, to move towards greater Christ-likeness. We see of John the Baptist, for example. He says, he must increase. I must decrease.

[10:28] And our Lord tells how he himself is the way. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. The Lord Jesus is the way, the one and only way to the Father, to the Father's house, to heaven.

[10:44] And every believer, we think, as it tells us this recurring idea of this journey of faith, of this new and living way, as many times it talks about this new pathway we take.

[10:57] It's like we come to the Y junction, you know, the fork in the road. And we've got to go one way. Could it be the way of death? Actually, you don't have to do anything to be on the way of death because we're all on that way when we're born.

[11:09] But we see he offers the way of life, the way of life. And at life's end, it tells we're going to have eternal glory. This text talks about the perfect day, so we'll unpack that a little.

[11:21] In contrast to the way of the just, we see the wicked's path is the way of darkness. It says that they're in this darkness. They're groping around. They're at risk of tumbling over and falling down.

[11:33] There's deception, the separation from God. It's a blindness of the mind. It's a darkening of the heart. There's many pictures that tell us of this sad ignorance of the lost.

[11:44] And it says the way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not at what they stumble. It's very sad when you're talking to people, trying to reach them with the gospel, and they're in this darkness.

[11:55] It just shrouds them, that they seem so blinded that they cannot see the plain obvious truth of creation, that they're a created being and of their need of the saviour.

[12:08] And sad that they would stay in darkness. Rather, may we choose the path of life. May each of us choose that path of the just. Christ. And so we see the path.

[12:20] We see the shining light. It says of this path it is as the shining light. And here you could understand it to mean the will of God, his plan, his purpose, his will for the saved, that we would have that shining light.

[12:37] And the shining light, we can see it tells of God's guidance. When the light goes on, it's like an expression, isn't it? You have the light bulb moment. The light goes on. And when you get saved, really, the light goes on.

[12:48] You start to see truth in a whole new way. You start to see the meaning of life. And light in scripture tells of truth, tells of holiness. We could think of it as God's guidance of that progressive growth too, as it tells that it increases.

[13:03] It tells of God's presence. It tells of his word. It tells the word of God is like a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Think of the word of God as we grab a hold of it and unpack its words and apply its words.

[13:19] As we receive it and do it, it reveals dangers. It guides us. It points the way. It points to safety. It points to our saviour. Think of the word of God.

[13:31] We ought to have the word of God and treasure it as that precious light. And we see our Lord himself. He tells how I am the light of the world. He that followeth for me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

[13:45] I am the light of the world, he says, of himself. And he says of you. Ye are the light of the world. He gives us his light. And we share that light. We communicate his light.

[13:57] And think of this walk that we call to walk. It tells how our Lord calls us to walk justly, to walk humbly with our Lord. He showed us the way. He showed thee, O man, what is good.

[14:08] What doth the Lord require of thee? To do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. So when we save, then that's the beginning of this walk. We've crossed that starting line and we're on that walk.

[14:21] And it's that journey of life until we come to glory. Walk humbly with thy God. As believers, he wants us to shine. And he says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

[14:37] Let your light so shine. Think of how could we apply that. Be the light in your home, in your workplace, in your street. To be the light. To shine the light. To be transmitters of the light.

[14:50] This world is a dark place. And people without Christ, they might seem like they've got it all together. But without Christ, they're in absolute darkness. And there will be an eternal darkness.

[15:02] But the light is there. If we just trust the light. The light of the world. To trust him. To bring light to our darkened mind.

[15:14] And our darkened hearts. And this light, it begins at salvation. It tells of receiving this light. It says, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts.

[15:28] To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. You see that? Out of darkness, he's shined the light. And it's shined into our very hearts.

[15:41] It's the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He's revealed the Father to us. In himself. In coming to come and live and die for us at the cross.

[15:52] And rise again. Our Saviour. He reveals the glory of God. And you think about this verse that we talked about. That we're looking at tonight. In a way, it pictures the Christian life from go to woe, really.

[16:10] From end to end. Really, it's endless. But at salvation, the point of salvation, it says the just. It says the path of the just.

[16:21] And we see that we're justified by faith. As we believe, that's the initial light. The light goes on. We believe. We see the light. As the saying goes.

[16:31] As you could understand. You see the light. You get saved. You receive that wonderful gift of salvation. For the penalty of your sin.

[16:42] When the light of Christ enters in. And that is justification. So you are called then the just. As you're saved. As God takes your sin. As he pays for it at the cross.

[16:53] And you've received that payment. On your part. That you have justification. You are the just. Then it says the path of the just. So there's that sanctification.

[17:05] It talks about the walk. And it says there's increasing light. The light increases. It says. That light grows. As you walk with him. This is God's will for you. That you'll learn to obey his word.

[17:16] To trust his promises. To walk in his truth. To rely upon the Holy Spirit. It says that the light shines more and more. That's sanctification. Increasing light. And then we see at the end.

[17:26] Unto the perfect day. You could understand that to reflect. The glorification. Which ultimately. We're all going to have a brand new body. Won't that be something. You might have to go to the gym.

[17:36] To make your. Your body more perfect. Or less unhealthy. But you'll have a new body. And you'll have a whole new body. From heaven.

[17:48] At the resurrection. Or at his taking up. That you'll be glorified. You'll get a glorification. And it says the ultimate. Is that perfect day. The perfect day. When we see our Lord face to face.

[18:00] And we're made more perfectly like him. And. Those three truths. They're justification. Which is your salvation. Sanctification. Which is that path.

[18:10] That walk. Of that journey. Of your faith. And then thirdly. You see. The glorification. Ultimately in eternity. We'll have. A glorified body. And we'll.

[18:22] Be in glory. In heaven's glory. With our saviour. And for the meantime. We're in that middle part. At the moment. We're saved. God helping us. I trust you're all saved here tonight.

[18:33] That you've trusted Christ. As your saviour. And now we're on that journey. On that pathway. The path of the just. And. Sometimes that pathway. Of the just. The path of the just. It's not always easy.

[18:44] It's not always necessarily. Going to be. All. Easy going. There can be dark valleys. In the path of the just. There can be steep hills.

[18:56] It's like a cross country event. Back at school. I used to like doing cross country running. And you don't know what obstacles. You're going to get through. But you know the end goal. And you just keep going.

[19:07] And you keep going. Jumping over. Jumping through. Going around. Weaving around. All the obstacles. To get to the finish line. And that's the kind of picture. Of the walk of God.

[19:18] That sometimes. There's going to be obstacles. But the promise is. That there's a perfect day. And it's going to get brighter. And brighter. It tells of that light. It's progressive.

[19:28] God helping us. The Christian life. Is progressive. It's not static. That you'll get saved. And you'll keep on growing. You'll keep on increasing. More and more. Unto the perfect day. That's God's will.

[19:39] It shineth more and more. And then one day. It tells how. We're going to be changed. It tells of the. Walk of God.

[19:50] That you have as believers. That we all with an open face. Beholding. As in a glass. As like a picture. A mirror. As in a glass. The glory of the Lord. We are changed.

[20:01] It says. We're changed. Into the same image. So the image of our saviour. We change from. Glory. Glory. To glory. Even as by the spirit of the Lord. So it's a picture of that.

[20:12] Sanctification. That God wants for us. That will be changed into. His image. Will be changed. And we'll see the glory of the Lord. More and more reflected. In our own lives. And that we'll move from glory.

[20:24] To glory. To ever increasing. Levels of glory. As it were. In other words. More. Spiritual growth. It's speaking about. Our growing. In faith. It's the truth.

[20:34] Of our sanctification. And. As Peter talks about it. In his book. In his letter. He says. But grow in grace. And in the knowledge. Of our Lord and saviour.

[20:45] Jesus Christ. To him be glory. Both now. And forever. Amen. He says. Grow in grace. Grow in the knowledge. That's what God wants for us. That's sanctification.

[20:56] That's what God wants for you. That you'll grow. That you'll keep on growing. You'll grow in grace. In other words. That. Living. That is. Righteous living. That you'll grow in that grace.

[21:08] In your graciousness. In your living out grace. With one another. Interactions. Are going to be gracious. And then. Not only growing grace. But growing the knowledge.

[21:19] Of our Lord and saviour. That's sanctification. And our Lord takes us forward. In different stages. We could think. Well how am I growing? Am I growing? There's different areas.

[21:30] We could think. Am I growing? Am I growing in my faith? Am I trusting God? Even in life's uncertainties. Even in life's hard times. Is my faith growing? Am I trusting him more?

[21:41] Am I growing in my character? Am I growing to be more like him? He wants us to be like him. Christ likeness. Am I increasing in that godly character? Am I increasing in my knowledge?

[21:53] Am I feeding on sound doctrine? Am I growing in my learning of the word of God? In my application of it? My knowledge? Am I growing in my fruitfulness too? Am I bearing fruit?

[22:04] In service? In witness? Am I a fruitful Christian? God wants you to grow. And we're meant to shine brighter and brighter. It says. Maybe we need to kind of audit.

[22:15] If you like. Our light output. How's our light output? You know. They measure light. And they tell how many. What is it? The lux or something level. They can tell how bright something is.

[22:27] And how bright are we as a Christian? Can we be brighter and brighter? Shine more and more. Shine more and more unto the perfect day. Maybe we could consider. What's my growth level?

[22:38] What would I rate myself out of? Out of 10. As to the level of my growth. As to the level of my life. The brightness of my testimony. The fullness of my fruit.

[22:51] Love. Joy. Peace. All of these things. All of the measures we could reckon before God. Humbly. Prayerfully. That we'd seek his will. And examine our faith.

[23:03] How are we travelling on that path of the just? Of course we have to be born again for a start. That's where it starts. The new birth. Then the Lord wants us to have spiritual growth.

[23:16] He wants you to grow. He wants every one of us to be a growing Christian. To be developing. Growing our faith. Growing as we feed on his word. Growing by prayer. Growing in maturity and discipleship.

[23:28] It's that walk with God, isn't it? As we practically live it out. Live out our faith. In enduring trials. Sometimes that's when it shows up. That hey, I've got a bit of growing to do.

[23:39] Because those trials are testing me. And showing that I've got a lot. There's a lot of work to be doing. In my walk with God. And we think how our Lord wants us to bear fruit.

[23:51] The Lord Jesus says, Herein is my Father glorified. That you bear much fruit. Much fruit. So shall you be my disciples. He wants us to be fruitful. He wants us to increase in our faith.

[24:02] To bear fruit. And to abound. Paul prays for the Colossians. That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. Being fruitful in every good work. And increasing.

[24:13] That concept again. Increasing. In the knowledge of God. He wants us to be abounding. Increasing. Fruitful. In every good work. And the Lord wants for our love to abound too.

[24:25] It tells there. Paul writes to the Thessalonians. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love. One toward another. And toward all men. Even as we do toward you. So these are concepts of growing.

[24:36] Of growing in prayer. Growing in fruit. Growing in faith. Growing in every good work. Growing in the knowledge. Growing in love. And we grow through testing too. I know sometimes we don't like testing.

[24:48] But that's often the process. That trials can be part of that process. It's how we grow. Because we get tested. And we get strengthened. Our faith gets proven. We get refinement.

[25:00] It says of the trial of your faith. That it's going to be found unto praise. And honour and glory. At the appearing of our Lord. We think of that growing. That he wants for us. And often it's by obedience.

[25:11] Isn't it? As we learn obedience. We're going to grow. As we're in fellowship. We're going to sustain our growth. We'll get stronger and stronger. And we'll help others get stronger too. It's not just a selfish thing.

[25:22] When we fellowship. Because we're exhorting one another. Edifying one another. Encouraging one another. And supporting. Discipling others. That might be younger in the faith.

[25:32] And being an example. A testimony. So we see that the light increases. And it grows. As we see the sanctification. We see that it's a growing process.

[25:44] And so that leads to the next one. That the light shines more and more. It tells of an increasing light. Again this thought that God doesn't want us to be a stagnant, static, stuck in the mud Christian.

[25:58] He wants us to grow. He doesn't want to leave you in a baby stage. He doesn't want to leave you at the milk stage. He wants you to have some meat. He wants you to get stronger and stronger. And get more able in your faith.

[26:09] He wants you to get more strengthened. That you'll be a stronger Christian in your faith. That your faith will be able to cope with the tests of real life.

[26:21] And it tells of an increasing more and more. We can learn more of God through life. Through reading the word of God. Searching the scriptures. Know more about our saviour.

[26:32] We can know him, it tells. And the power of his resurrection. Paul had that heart's cry. That I may know him. And the power of his resurrection. We can grow in that knowledge of him.

[26:43] We can grow in those practical areas of life. As we let the Lord expose those things that need his working. As he shows us our pride.

[26:54] He shows us our selfishness. Our wrong motives. And we have the heart's cry of the psalmist. Search me oh God. Know my heart. See if there be any wicked way in me.

[27:05] Lead me in the way everlasting. It's got that heart to cry out. Lord search me. I know that I need your help. I know I need your working. To guide me.

[27:16] To turn me from the wicked way. To help me to walk in truth. And so God's will for us is sanctification. He wants us to grow. He wants us to grow into him.

[27:27] And you can think many different thoughts about practical things. Or specific things we could do. To help us to grow in our faith. Ways that we can grow as a Christian.

[27:41] We can learn to discern truth from error. It's really important. We can learn to test the spirits. As in be able to discern. There's so much spiritual stuff out there.

[27:51] Especially on the internet. There's all kinds of internet preachers. And all kinds of teachings. And some are really left field. We've got to really test things. Is that scriptural? Is that Bible?

[28:02] Is it sound doctrine? As we grow we find our purpose. That our steps will be ordered by the Lord. We'll have that understanding of what his will is. He'll show us our gifts and callings.

[28:14] He'll show us how we can serve him. As we grow we're going to learn to walk in victory. As we grow we're going to learn to crucify our old man. To put the old man to death.

[28:27] And to walk in the newness of life. As we grow we're going to learn to confess our sin. To keep those short accounts with God. And find his cleansing. As we grow we're going to find his truth.

[28:38] It's going to give us clarity. For the decisions of life. It's going to give us that missional focus for our life. That will be led by his spirit. As we grow also we're going to notice those hindrances.

[28:51] What's stopping me from growing? Could it be that it's a neglect of the word? Am I getting stuck as like a spiritual babe? When I should be more mature than what I am.

[29:03] Those hindrances of the battles of life at times. That we all face. The hindrances of unconfessed sin. Maybe there's things we need to get right with God.

[29:14] That are hindering our fellowship. We can get hindered by complacency. And just get in a rut spiritually. Where we're just not growing. We stop growing.

[29:25] We get complacent. We get apathetic. Could it be a hindrance of unforgiveness? Some roots of bitterness. That is hindering us. Could it be that we're hindered by worldliness?

[29:37] We're not really honest with God. We're playing with fire. There's this worldliness. We cannot serve two masters.

[29:48] Let's not sit on the fence with our spiritual life. Let's determine to be one who has that one thing that is needful.

[30:01] The one thing that is needful. That fellowship with him. Could it be pride again? God resists the proud. We've got to let go of pride.

[30:13] Another hindrance can be poor company. Who are we hanging around with? Who are we spending our time with? Is it with God's people? At every opportunity that we can get. To get together with God's people?

[30:24] Or are we keeping poor company? Where it's actually dragging us down. Taking us back to places and activities that it's not good for us.

[30:35] So think of those things of hindrances. And there's lots of practical steps we could think about as we walk in this path of the just.

[30:46] We can learn self-discipline. Spend more time with God's word. Perhaps study a book. Write down what you're learning. Day by day.

[30:57] Make a journal. Pray. Worship. Find time. Make time. Practical things we can do.

[31:07] Aim to obey God. Where he points something out, just listen to him. And follow his leading. Godly fellowship. It helps sharpen us and make us stronger.

[31:20] Make it a godly habit. Other practical things. Trust God's refining. When something happens that's hard, find God's help to count it all joy.

[31:35] His chastening is in love. And when you're in hardship, a question you could ask is, Lord, what faith muscle are you building? He's building your faith through the testing times, through the hard times of life.

[31:50] It's a building process. He's going to strengthen your faith. Practical things. Decide to serve. Find something you can do and serve. Use your gifts.

[32:01] He's given you gifts so you can use them. Don't put them on the shelf. Find ways that you can use your gifts for the glory of God. And keep on learning.

[32:12] Really, it's a continual education, isn't it? As the Christian life, it's a continual education. Continual learning. Because we've not arrived yet.

[32:24] None of us have. But we can keep growing and growing more and more unto the perfect day. And so our text tells us of the perfect day. We could think of the perfect day, could speak to us of heaven.

[32:37] One day, all of life's irksomeness will be behind us. We'll be in glory. The perfect day. It's a promise of God, isn't it? That we'll be with our Saviour. And it tells of this place that it's a place of eternal fullness.

[32:52] There's no shadows. It tells of this city that it has no need of the sun. It says, for the glory of God is going to lighten this place. And the Lamb is the light thereof.

[33:03] There shall be no night there. It tells of this place. You could read of it more fully in Revelation 21 and the context there. There'll be no tears, no sorrow, no death.

[33:16] This is glorification. This is the ultimate, the perfect day. What's going to be that day? It says that sin is going to be no more. Sorrow is going to be abolished.

[33:28] We'll see Christ our Lord, our Saviour, face to face. Our bodies will be glorified. Think of all the wonders of this perfect day. And who knows when it is on God's calendar.

[33:39] Who knows he's already got it in his plan. Who knows what date of the calendar it will be. But surely there is one day coming that is the perfect day.

[33:51] And we think of that perfect day, it is a place where there will be perfect bodies. No pain, no ageing, no death. I guess there'll be no grey hairs there.

[34:03] And it's going to be, we'll all be, we'll be just in that perfect, that prime state of being in that perfect place. That perfect body.

[34:14] No more aches and pains. There'll be perfect knowledge there. That we'll know everything that is to be known. All the mysteries will be resolved. All the questions of life will be answered.

[34:25] Perfect knowledge. There'll be perfect fellowship. We won't have any disagreements with each other. But because we'll know as we are known. We'll all have perfect harmony. And we'll be face to face with our Lord.

[34:38] What perfect fellowship. And then it tells a perfect purpose too. That we'll have eternal service and worship. It says that we'll serve him. You know, that's going to be a service. It's not a drudgery of service.

[34:49] Not a duty of service. But a blessing of serving him for eternity. Of worshipping him. And then there'll be a place of perfect joy.

[35:00] No tears. No sorrow. No separation. Think of that perfect day. It says when we go to that perfect day. That perfect place.

[35:12] We shall see our saviour. In 1 John 3.2. We shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. That you will be like Jesus. I like to think how every one of you is going to be like him.

[35:23] That know him. And what a wonder that will be. And we'll know completely. Christ will return. New creation comes. We'll have the perfect day.

[35:34] We'll go to our saviour's home. It'll be the father's house. And it'll be your house. And he's prepared a place for you. That know him. And he says I am the way. To the father.

[35:46] And brother says to be encouraged. That God finishes what he starts. Sometimes in that Christian life. We have those drudgery times. Those difficult times.

[35:57] We still have challenges. That path of the justice. It's not always easy. But we know that he that has begun a good work. He's going to complete it. He's going to perform it.

[36:09] Until the day of Jesus Christ. And so we have that hope. The believer has that hope. That sustains us. That the trials of life are temporary. They're a light affliction. Which is but for a moment.

[36:21] You know. Gone. All the pain is gone. It's but for a moment. And ahead lies eternal glory.

[36:32] For the meantime we walk by faith. We run that race with endurance. With patience. And for the meantime. Shine where God has placed you. Let your light shine.

[36:44] You could think there's a lot of theological truth. In that little Sunday school song. Let my little light shine. Let my light shine. And keep on.

[36:55] Keep steadfast. Looking unto him. Every step counts. You're on that journey. And he says he's going to perform it. He's going to complete. He's going to see you through. He's going to watch over you.

[37:07] He's going to guard you and keep you. And you are in his hands. In his keeping. But make every step count. Keep steadfast. Keep on pressing forward. The path of the just.

[37:19] Is for all the saved. By grace. And if you're in darkness. Then you must repent. And believe. Have that mind shift. From darkness to light. From unbelief.

[37:31] To faith. From sins. Emptiness and darkness. To the fullness of knowing the saviour. From your sin. To know. His changing.

[37:41] Of your heart. By grace. And you can know that you're walking in the light. You can advance. You can grow. Examine yourself.

[37:53] Are you in the faith? Do you know him? Whom to know is life eternal? Well. I pray that you would know him tonight. I'm not taking it for granted. That everyone present. Knows the saviour.

[38:04] But you can simply call upon him. Who's died for your sin. In your place. He took that penalty. He paid it in full. If you would but trust him. And receive him. As your lord.

[38:14] And then. It's a whole new way of living. As you walk that walk. Ask him to help you. With what's blocking you. What's stopping you. What's causing you to stumble along that road.

[38:26] What's the obstacles. What are the hindrances to walking with God. To growing in that sanctification. To being a maturing Christian. Press forward. Towards the mark.

[38:37] And think about. For yourself. Really it's a personal question. How am I travelling? How is my light shining? Is it brighter than it was last year? Or maybe it's got a bit dim.

[38:49] Maybe I need to. Turn it up a bit. To help that light shine. Is my love for Jesus. Growing. Is my victory over sin. More consistent.

[39:02] Is my light shining. More and more. Or maybe it's. Been less and less. We could think. Hey Lord. Work in me. Help me to get that sorted. Try this week.

[39:13] To think. How can I commit to the word. To service. To fellowship. The path brightens. To glory. We can get content. With our light being just.

[39:25] Maybe even under a bushel. As in. Covered. Not showing. We can shroud our light. Or rather. Let's put it on a candlestick. Let's put it so that it's.

[39:36] On display. Let your light shine. Let that little light shine. Brighter and brighter. For his glory. More and more. Unto the perfect day. And pray that God will help you.

[39:49] So to shine. To light your path with his word. To grow from glory to glory. To glory. Our Lord promises.

[40:00] As he is the God of peace. To make you perfect. And that word perfect. It's got the sense of mature. In other words. He's going to help you to grow. He's going to make you to grow. He's going to make you to mature.

[40:12] To be strengthened. Unto his eternal glory. By Christ Jesus. So brothers and sisters. Just to recap that verse again.

[40:23] But the path of the just. Is as the shining light. That shineth more and more. Unto. Unto. The perfect day.

[40:36] Will you walk in the light? Will you keep walking? In Song of Solomon 2.17. It says that. The day is going to break. And the shadows flee away.

[40:48] One day there's going to be no more shadows. Earthly shadows. Of hard times. Of difficulties. We know our life at times. Is beset by shadows. Isn't it? But it says one day.

[40:59] The shadows. Are going to flee away. It's going to be the perfect day. A day of light. One day it's going to be the unclouded day. As the song goes. No more shadows.

[41:11] And the day will dawn. Of the perfect day. You want to make sure. That you're on the path of the just. Amen. You want to make sure. That you know Christ as your saviour. You want to make sure.

[41:22] That you are on that pathway. Not on the way of the wicked. But on the path of the just. Let us pray. Lord we pray tonight. That each one might have. That heart's trust.

[41:33] To know you. Whom to know. Is life eternal. To know the eternal. Way of salvation. As we put our faith. In you. As the one who paid for our sin.

[41:46] And know your forgiveness of our sin. By your grace. Lord as we trust you. As we yield our life unto you. Lord we come. In faith. And Lord help us as we.

[41:59] Walk now as the just. The justified by faith. That we'll know that sanctification. That increasing in holiness. That more and more. We'll be more like you.

[42:10] We'll be moved from glory to glory. We'll shine brighter and brighter. And Lord knowing that one day. We'll be the perfect day. And who knows when that day will dawn. When that.

[42:22] Last daybreak comes. And we'll see you. Your face. And it will be an eternal day. And we pray for each one. To have that heart's trust. To know you as saviour.

[42:32] And help us Lord. In that walk of the faith. The path of the just. That we'll walk more truly. You'll help us to be brighter and brighter. All for your praise. In Jesus name.

[42:43] We pray. Amen.