Well, good evening, everyone. Good to see you here again this evening, and we trust that you'll be richly blessed as you worship with us tonight, whether here in the body of the church or online at home. We are delighted once again to have as our speaker this evening the Reverend Philip Campbell, and Philip has been helping us out very much, and we appreciate that. We appreciate having him in our congregation, and he's very willing to stand in. And we were blessed this morning, and I know that we will be blessed this evening. So pray that the Lord will come upon Philip just this evening. Now, there is supper after our service here, and we want to thank the ladies for going to the trouble of preparing that on this special Sunday. So you're all welcome to head across to the hall for supper after the service. There will be no prayer meeting or Bible study this Tuesday. That gives you an opportunity to go to the Faith Mission Convention in Bangor. Can I also remind you that the CEF Convention is also on up in Port Rush at the minute, and that's on up until tomorrow. Next Sunday, our speaker is David Bennett, who is a retired faith mission worker, and David will be speaking at our services at 11 in the morning and six o'clock in the evening. Can I remind you, if you haven't already taken the Caleb Bulletin, please take it and pray for all the work that Caleb is doing. They are trying to uphold biblical standards in our country. So they do need a lot of prayer at this time. And then this morning, I made a mistake. I will admit that. Our church prayer calendar, on our church prayer calendar today, Stephen and Heather Cuthbert, who are working over in the New Tribes Mission College in England. Folks, if you're watching today, I'm sorry, I got it wrong. I'm blaming it on jet lag. These are all the announcements, and of course, they're all made God willing. Good evening, everyone. We'll just open on the word of prayer before we do your praise and worship. Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us into this church tonight, Lord. And Lord, we thank you for the blood that has been applied for us so that we can come to know you as Lord and Saviour. And dear Lord, we just pray that you will close us in with yourselves now, Lord, and take on our praise and worship to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And we're going to stand and sing the first two songs, and the first one is Praise the Lord. Or Praise the Name, sorry. I see It's a game time Oh Oh We will sing your praise, O Lord our God. Oh Oh You. And if we just remain standing, and the segment we're gonna sing is Christ the Lord is Risen. ♪ Christ the Lord is risen, risen, risen ♪ Oh Oh! Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave Alleluia! Alleluia! This I hear your glorious speech We are! ever seen after that one. Well I haven't sung it in quite some time and I honestly didn't realize that big high note so if I sound a wick I apologize. It's so good to be able to sing these songs but I just absolutely love singing Easter songs and it's impossible to sing them you know if with a dull face or not sing them from your heart. It's just impossible because we're singing that Christ is risen from the dead. The one thing that nobody else has ever been able to do, and we can sing these songs with power and with authority tonight. That's got to lift your soul, does it not? Yeah? Brilliant. Next song we're going to sing is Arise My Soul Arise. I do realize I've picked quite a few of these today, so that's okay. We're going to sing, and we'll remain seating, Arise My Soul Arise. In the name of the Lord He's only leaving us His precious blood. One day He will see that we sing of Calvary. Faithful, we thank You, Father, this song we sing for Thee. One day we'll hear Him call us, I'm You're singing really well and we're just going to sing I Stand Amazed in the present and you definitely can't sit down for this one so please stand as we sing. I need you. It's the strength of the Lord your God. How wonderful, how wonderful that my song shall ever be! How wonderful, how wonderful is my Savior God for me! Oh It's my Savior's love for me. And if the ground's turned to gold or red, His face I now shall see. He'll be my joy in the end, to sing of His love for me. Oh, how wonderful Christmas is to love the King! Now, in just a moment, George is going to come and read to us from Scripture. But before he does, let me say once again that it's good to see you on Easter Sunday. I hope you haven't had too many Easter eggs. I couldn't help noticing this morning, whenever the children had all had their Easter eggs, there were still quite a few of them sitting there. And I was thinking to myself that maybe Valerie could have offered them to those who were singing better than others. But nevertheless, if I All the men will notice, all the men of the deacons. They're in there for the next meeting, whenever it is. So it's good to see you again this evening. Billy has mentioned the fact that there are a number of conventions happening over Easter time, CEF conference up there at Portrush. concludes tomorrow but it's well worth going to hear about what's happening amongst the boys and girls and of course our own Beverley McMaster has been involved in CEF for quite a long time and I'm sure she would be encouraged if you managed to make it up to Portrush tomorrow. The Faith Mission Convention continues in Bangor. There are a number of different speakers. I can certainly commend Roger Carswell Roger has been a friend of ours for a long number of years now. I first went on a beach mission with Roger in 1973. That's a long time ago, but he's still just as enthusiastic for the gospel and for the souls of men and women, and Roger's well worth hearing. Also to taking part in the convention are Reverend Henry Montgomery, formerly of Ballycraigie, of course. Andrew Mullen, who's the son of Hugh Mullen, who was minister at Ballyrae for quite a long time. and also Graham Orr. So there's a variety of different speakers, and I'm sure you'd be blessed if you headed down to Bangor. One last mention, and it really is a last mention of the books that have been made available to you. The Bible says of making many books, there is no end, and much study is of weariness of the flesh, and there are some of us who can say amen to that. But we thank the Lord for those who have put pen to paper and made available the stories of others, the fruit of their research into scripture and other related subjects. There's still some books down there at the back. Please do take as many as you would like, because the ones that are left there this evening, we'll have to take home. So we'd rather that you took those and used them. Now, George is coming to read to us from Scripture before we pray. Thanks, George. Let's read together. It's Luke chapter 24, verses 1 to 12. I'm reading from the NIV. And this follows the events where Jesus was crucified and buried. So Luke 24, verses 1 to 12. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took their spices they had prepared and went to see the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright, The woman bowed down with her faces to the ground. But the men said to them, why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee? The son of man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again. Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. Thanks, George. Thanks very much indeed, George, and thanks also to Sharon. and Jackie for leading our praise. It's always good to get our young people involved in the worship. What are you laughing at? Seriously, thanks so much for your participation. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we're so glad that we've been able to come together to worship and to fellowship on Easter Sunday. We thank you, Lord, for not only every Lord's Day, which reminds us of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus, but Father, we thank you for this special day, when across the world, the people of God will remember that Jesus not only died, but rose again. Father, we want to pray for your people across our world. We know, dear Father, that not all of them get things as easy as it is for us here in Northern Ireland. We know, Father, that there are those who are persecuted, those who find things difficult, and those who are opposed at every turn, yet they remain faithful to you. And we pray that you might bless them, encourage them, and enthuse them in the work of God and in the witness of the church. Pray also, Lord, for those who are undergoing difficulty because of the political situation We know, dear Father, that there in Jerusalem there may be Muslims and Israelis who are having problems with one another and there's disturbance and conflict. Father, we pray for your people there. We ask, Lord, that as they seek to witness for you, We pray, Lord, that they might know help from heaven. And we pray that at this Easter season, when there may be conflict on our TV screens, behind the scenes, there will be those who will come to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We pray also, Lord, once again for your people in Ukraine. And we dare not forget that ongoing situation, and we would not want to forget our brothers and sisters as they go through this awful situation between Ukraine and Russia. We know, dear Father, that there are Christians in Russia as well who will be uneasy with the conflict that is being undertaken in their name, and we pray, Lord, that you may encourage them and bless them. And Father, we pray that even though there may be armies and conflict with one another, your people will know what it is to have peace in their hearts and effective witness as they share with others the good news of the death and resurrection of Christ. Father, we do want to thank you for the opportunity that we have to share fellowship with other believers at conventions and Easter time, and we pray your blessing upon your people as they would meet together for instruction and for encouragement and for challenge as well. We pray to you, Lord, for the Faith Mission Conference in Portrush. We ask your rich blessing upon the workers as they gather together for fellowship and as folk who would be supportive in prayer will hear the news of boys and girls being reached with the gospel and some coming to trust in Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that you will give encouragement to CEF. And we do thank you for Beverly and for all the work that she has done for CEF down through many years. We pray that you'll encourage your dear servant. We ask, Father, that she might know help from heaven And Father, we ask, Lord, that in her own personal life, Lord, you will organize her situation in the way, Lord, that will be best for her. We want to pray also, Lord, for the convention down there in Bangor. Thank you for the work of the faith mission across these islands. And Lord, we pray that you'll watch over them and encourage your servants, we do pray. And Father, for the speakers in the convention, for Roger, and for Henry, and for Andrew, and for Graham, we ask, Lord, that you will use them for the glory of God, for the inspiration of your people, and indeed, Lord, to encourage them to reach out for the gospel of Jesus telling others of him. Father, we thank you for our own fellowship. We want to look to you for your guidance as far as the future is concerned. Do remember our deacons, we pray. We ask, Lord, that they might know so clearly guidance from God, the Holy Spirit, that they will know exactly which way to go, and especially in relation to the appointment of a new pastor in due course. Lord, we pray that you'll be near to us and bless us, we do pray. As we open up your word, we pray that you'll open up our hearts in such a way, Lord, that you will find obedience in our lives. We bring this, our prayer, in Jesus' name. And for his sake, amen. Amen. I do want to encourage you to keep your Bible open at Luke's Gospel and Chapter 24. We're going to take a look at this story which is quite well known, but maybe we'll see things here that you've never seen before. It all began, didn't it, with a Sunday afternoon stroll. Maybe you've had one of those today. And this one, however, ended in a different way than your Sunday afternoon would have done so. This is no ordinary Sunday. It was the very first Easter Sunday morning. And the city of Jerusalem was abuzz with stories of an empty tomb, of angels, of excited women, and astonished Roman guards. Never mind all of that. There were two friends who were making their way home with a sad heart. We take up the story in verse 13 of chapter 24 of Luke's gospel as these friends headed for supper. at Emmaus. Verse 13 of Luke 24, Now behold, two of them were travelling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed together and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were estranged, so that they did not know him. And he said to them, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then the one whose name was Clopas answered and said to him, are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which have happened there in these days? He said to them, what things? So they said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, beside all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body. They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who also said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but him they did not see. We're going to look at this chapter, this passage in scripture, and note some things about this story at the end of the first Easter Sunday morning. So these friends were on their way to Emmaus. Want to notice, first of all, the sadness that they felt, the sadness that they felt. In verse 17 it says that the Lord Jesus said to them, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Emmaus was something like seven miles away from Jerusalem, but today it felt like 70. Down in the mouth. They certainly were. In fact, you could probably say that they felt so far down they would have had to reach up to touch the bottom. That's how far down they felt. And maybe there's somebody here this evening, maybe there's somebody listening at home or listening to a recording of the service, and your heart is sad. I mean, it's Easter Sunday. It's the one day in the church calendar of all of the days of the church calendar that you should be praising God and you should be happy and you should always be dancing with joy. And yet, that's not your heart, is it? Your heart is sad for some reason or another. It may be because you've recently lost a loved one. It may be because you're out of work. It may be because of a family problem. It may be because you feel as if there's nothing you have to look forward to. Now, I don't know the reason why your heart might be sad. but there's somebody who knows. There's someone who does care and someone who can draw near to you in your sadness. Remember Elijah? Remember how sad he felt whenever he had to run away from Jezebel? It was almost as if he was complaining to God, you know, take my life Lord, I'm the only one left. Well, God had to correct his misperception and came along and encouraged him. What about Jonah? Well, he got down in the mouth, didn't he? Not just down in the whale's mouth, but he was down in the mouth after God forgiving Nineveh and withdrawing his judgment against that great city because of their repentance. And Jonah took the hoof. And he went and he sat and he watched to see if the judgment of God was going to fall on Nineveh. And whenever it didn't happen, Jonah felt betrayed. He was God's prophet and he pronounced judgment in God's name, but God apparently did nothing. Jonah felt down. And God came along and spoke to him, even gave him a tree with shade to cover him when the heat was getting so great. You see, even servants of God can get down. I know sometimes folks sit in the congregation and they think, oh, it's all very well for you up there. You don't know any problems. You don't have the same kind of difficulties that I have, or maybe not the same ones. But it's not that we don't have issues, and it's not that we don't ever get down. I can tell you in my years in the Lord's work there are sometimes pastors of churches and they get down because of the way their congregations have treated them sometimes. And they get down because the folk in the congregation who ought to be encouraging them don't. Yes, servants of God, do get down. And even people who've been along with Jesus, and obviously these two had vain, they get down. And then verse 15, don't those words stand out in gold? Jesus himself drew near. Jesus himself drew near. And in all of our sorrows, in all of our feeling down, in all of our distress and depression and despair, there's one who can come near. Do you know something? These folk, as they tried to share with Jesus how they were feeling, they didn't recognize at first that this was none other than the Savior himself. And that's why they were still in a state of sadness. But there's another kind of sorrow that is a good thing. Maybe you haven't recognized it. In 2 Corinthians 7 and verse 10, Paul talks about godly sorrow. Do you know what he means by that? Godly sorrow. Godly sorrow that leads to repentance. That sorrow for sin. And maybe you can remember in your own experience how the Holy Spirit came and convicted you and showed you your need and helped you to understand that the depravity of your own life was shown in words and thoughts and deeds, and perhaps weeping you came and trusted in Christ. Godly sorrow. You see, there is that kind of sorrow. that ought to be in the hearts of people. It's different from a wee child who's caught on doing something wrong and says, I'm sorry, mummy, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Not a bit sorry. Not a bit sorry. Maybe sorry he was caught on. I thought there were loads of people in prison this evening. Are they sorry they did what they did? Many of them are not. sorry they got caught. They're sorry they got convicted by the courts, and they're sorry to be suffering the punishment, but not sorry. Do you know, my wife got a text this morning. Believe it or not, it was from HMRC. On a Sunday, on Easter Sunday, HMRC texts Catherine to tell her that she ought to get organized to fill in her tax return. Not due for a long time yet. But on Sunday, on Easter Sunday, I mean, well, never mind that. Never mind that. Heard about a man who was given a tax bill, and he wrote a check, and he sent it off, and he said, thank you for sending me the tax bill. Here is a part payment. If I still can't sleep, I'll send you the rest. That's not repentance, is it? Repentance means that I feel so deeply about my sin. I'm sorry for it. I confess it to God and I turn from it. That's what repentance is all about. It's a sorrow for, a confession of, and a turning from sin. Let me ask you, have you come to that place? Can you identify a time in your life when God brought to you a point of being faced with the wrong in your experience, recognizing that your sin it was who helped put Jesus on that cross? and you turn from it. You say, I'm turning my back on sin. It's not that I'll never sin again, but in my mind and in my heart I've turned away from it and I want to live for God from this moment on. That's what repentance is all about. So there was a sadness that they felt. And then the story goes on to tell about the story that they told. From verse 19 and following, you find out that Jesus begins to converse with them. They don't know who it is. Somehow their eyes are restrained from recognizing who he was. And he says to them, why is it you're conversing like this and so sad? And you can imagine them coming to a halt. and turning to Jesus, this stranger, and say, you must be the only one in Jerusalem who doesn't know. You must be the only one who's no idea what's been going on. And you see what the Lord Jesus did, all these things that have been happening in Jerusalem. And he says to them, verse 19, what things? Why did Jesus ask that? Didn't he know? Of course he knew. He knew exactly what had been happening in Jerusalem, and he himself had been at the heart of it. But I want you to notice something. When people are distressed, give them a chance to talk. Give them a chance to talk. Those of us who've had to do some counseling down the years, we know the benefit of just trying to open people up to get them to say what's in their heart. Give them a chance to talk. And that's therapeutic on its own. Before you ever can talk to them about the answer to their issue or their problem, I have to say the Samaritans will do a wonderful and valuable work in listening to people pouring out their hearts whenever they have the issues which have so distressed them. But I have to say, folks, I could never volunteer for the Samaritans. I would find it so frustrating. to have people pour out their heart to me on the phone to have the answer and not be allowed to tell them. That would frustrate me enormously. Not to be able to tell people that you need to trust in Christ, you need to open up your heart to God, you need to take Him into consideration in your own experience. Of course, whenever people are sharing their problems, whenever they're opening up their minds and their hearts, sometimes they see the answer before you get a chance to say anything. Because by the mere expression of their difficulties, they come to see the answer themselves. But that's why, folks, you and I need to pour out our hearts to God in prayer. What things are disturbing you? What thing is bothering you? What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, what's the next word? everything to God in prayer. Philippians chapter 4, Paul says, be careful for nothing but in, what's the next word? Everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Maybe that's why your heart isn't at peace, because you haven't yet taken the time to get before the Lord and pour out your heart to him. These folks were absolutely down, and they said to the Lord, they said, we were hoping, verse 21, we were hoping it was he who was going to redeem Israel. I believe in that verse is the aorist tense. And you say, so what? Well, the aorist tense talks about a completed action in the past. The words are, we trusted. We trusted. Back then, we were hoping. Back then, we looked to this new rabbi, this man who we believed was the Messiah. Back then, we were hoping he was the one. But now, their hope was gone. Their trust had come to an end, and that's why they were feeling so utterly deflated. Please remember. God knows exactly where you are. God knows all about the sadness that you feel. And God knows what story you have to tell to him. And so there was the story that they told. And then verses 26 and 27, we find out about the scripture that they heard. Look what it says, verse 26. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. They were surprised, I'm sure, at the rebuke that came from the mouth of the Lord. Don't you get it, guys? Don't you get it? You're fools, you're slow of heart to believe all of the prophets have spoken. What's wrong with you? Didn't you see what the scripture said? All of this was predicted. And he opened up to them and says in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. There was a book written many years ago by a guy called A.M. Hodgkin, and the book was called Christ in All the Scriptures. And in detail, he goes through the Old Testament and the New Testament as well to show the centrality of Christ, the prophecies that predicted his coming, and what his purpose was. Now, this is one of the places in scripture where you'd love to have been there. You'd love to have been walking alongside Clopas and his friend, listening to what the Lord Jesus had to say as he opened up to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. We don't know what he said, but we can think of some of the things that he might have pointed to. He might have pointed to the fact that right there in the Garden of Eden, there was a promise given that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. That was the first prediction of the Messiah. He might have talked to them about Abraham and Isaac. Remember when Isaac was taken and up the top of Mount Moriah for Abraham to sacrifice him on that altar? That was a picture of what happened at Calvary, probably on the very same spot in Jerusalem. He might have pointed to them about the Passover and the blood of the lamb being put on the doorposts and on the lintel of the Israeli homes to protect them from the angel of death, who was God himself. Do you remember that, folks? The Israelis were not protected from the devil. They were not protected from Egyptians. They were protected from God. God was the one who was bringing his judgment on sin across the land. The blood of the Lamb protected them. What about the serpent on a pole? As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, the Son of Man had to be lifted up on that cross. Would he have pointed to the predictions in Isaiah 53 and other Old Testament prophecies? How all like sheep had gone astray, we turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord had led on him the iniquity of us all. Now, we do not know what he says. We can guess at what it might have been, but I wonder what it was like to hear this from the lips of the Lord Jesus. I wonder what it was like for suddenly the Scriptures to begin to make sense. Maybe they were thinking to themselves, it's not such a disaster after all. Maybe we shouldn't have given up hope back then. And suddenly hope is arising in their hearts. Now folks, you and I today have the scripture. We have God, the Holy Spirit, to speak to us and to help us to understand the message of the Word of God. Folks, take time with the Bible. If you've never done it before, make sure you open up the Bible each and every day and feed upon its truth, and you'll discover that the Bible is all about Christ. It was Alec Mateer when he was, teaching his students about the Old Testament. He would say, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the page in between the Old and the New Testaments. You got it? He said, I want to hear you tear that page out. It should not be there, he said. The point that he was making, he says, whatever's in the Old Testament is also in the New Testament. The only thing not in the Old Testament is the identity of the lamb. And folks, you and I need to open up those scriptures, and as Sid Lowe Baxter has said, take unhurried time with God. Somebody has said, to be a healthy Christian, don't treat the Bible like snack food. Don't treat the Bible like snack food. Get into the word of God and understand God's ways and his plan and his son and what his purpose was when he came. Those two didn't want that time to end. You ever been in a situation like that where your heart was being so encouraged and so blessed you just didn't want that time to come to an end? These two were just like that. And so they reached Emmaus. Jesus gave the impression that he would have gone further. They said to him, abide with us, stay with us. We'll pay for your room. Stay along with us. The day is far spent and you don't want to be heading on into the night and into the darkness. Do you ever think sometimes, only preachers think like that. After you preach and you think things over afterwards, I went, I shouldn't have put it like that. And there's things that I should have said, and maybe there's things I said that I shouldn't have said. And there's things I should have said right. And I'm not sure if I said things right this morning. I talked to you about what it meant to be a Christian, and I got you to think of the word Christian. Want to know what a Christian is? Take out the letter A, and you've got what a Christian is. Christ in. Christ in. Christ wants to be in your life, but he waits for you to invite him there. You see, Jesus would have gone on if he had not been invited to stay. You know the verse from Revelation 3, don't you? Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. And you know the famous painting by Holman Hunt of Christ standing outside of the door and there's no handle on the outside. The handle's on the inside. It's you who has to invite him in. I have to invite him in. It's down to us. Jesus waits to be invited into our lives. And it was only when he was invited that he stayed on. The scripture that they heard. And then fourthly, the Savior that they recognize. The Savior that they recognize. Verse 31 said, They knew him. You know what prompted it, don't you? As they sat down for supper, he took the bread and he broke it and he gave thanks. And suddenly the penny dropped. Suddenly they recognized him. Suddenly their eyes were opened. They remembered that this had happened in the life of Jesus. They remembered the feeding of the 5,000, perhaps, whenever he broke the bread and whenever he gave thanks. And no sooner did they recognize him than he was gone. Their eyes were opened and they knew him. Folks, one of the things that I pray for people these days is that their eyes will be opened. that their eyes will be opened to their need of Jesus. There's lots of people, too many people going through life and never thinking about God, never thinking about their need of him, never thinking about Jesus or what he's done for them on the cross. But you can remember that your eyes were opened. You can remember that time whenever God spoke to your heart and you knew you needed Christ and you knelt in prayer wherever it might have been, in your own room, might have been in a church, might have been walking along a road, but you lifted your heart to him and you welcomed him into your heart and your life. to be your Savior. Your eyes were opened. Do pray, folks, for an opening of people's eyes. Those loved ones of yours that don't yet know the Savior, pray that their eyes will be opened. Pray that they'll see their need. Pray that those who are careless and have no time for church or no time for God, pray that eyes will be opened. It's true in your own salvation story, but isn't it true that there are so many things that might blind people to their need of Jesus? Paul wrote that the God of this world had blinded the minds of those who believe not. Maybe some are blinded by atheism. There is no God. Oh really? Oh really? What about creation? What about conscience? What about Christ? What about the changed lives of people in our community? There is no God? The Americans would say, give me a break. Give me a break. Atheism might blind people. Evolution might blind people's minds. Because evolution is not just a theory of origins. It's a philosophy of life. You see, if I came from nothing, if I'm here for no reason, if I'm headed nowhere, No wonder my life's a mess. Where's the purpose in life that there could possibly be? Some people are blinded by evolution. Some people are blinded by things, the things that they see advertised on TV or on advertising hoardings, and they have a materialistic desire to have and possess things. Some people are blinded by secular views about life. Sadly, some people are blinded by the lives of ungodly Christians. Wouldn't it be sad if something about my life was preventing somebody else seeing their need of Jesus? All because they're distracted by the ungodliness in my own life, my own experience. But their eyes were opened. They saw Jesus for themselves. And folks, every individual needs to come to that point. You'll know that in John's gospel in the first chapter, the writer talks about whoever receives him, he gives the power to become the children of God. That's verse 12. Don't forget about verse 13, which is an exposition of verse 12. And he talks about, the writer says, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And he lists those three things that don't make you a Christian. It says, not of blood. In other words, salvation doesn't come down the family tree. If you had godly parents and a godly upbringing, thank God for it, but you had to come to God for yourself. You had to come to Christ seeing your own need and asking him to be your saviour. not of blood, not of the will of the flesh. In other words, nothing that you can do can make you a Christian. Nothing that your flesh could produce can make you a Christian, whether good deeds or charity or whatever you might try to gain merit. Not of blood, it's not of the will of the flesh, and it's not of the will of man. It's nothing that anybody else can do to me can make me a Christian. No, born of God. Those are the key words in John 1 and verse 13. And of course, you'll remember when the Lord Jesus spoke to that Samaritan woman. John chapter 4 is where you discover the story. She gradually began to see her need, and she began to see Jesus. Remember, it was a kind of progressive revelation, wasn't it? First, early on, she says, how can you, a Jew, speak to me, a woman of Samaria? He's a Jew. Secondly, as the conversation continues, are you greater than Jacob? You know, Jacob who came and give us this well for himself and for the cattle and so on. Are you greater than Jacob? And then she gradually begins to find out things about her life that nobody else seemed to know and nobody else would confront her with. She says, I perceive that you're a prophet. He's a Jew. He's greater than Jacob. He's a prophet. And then, finally, she says, Messiah. Messiah, when he comes, he'll tell us all things. And Jesus said, I'm he. In fact, The way that the Greek is put, it can be read, I am is speaking to you. I am is speaking to you. And her revelation was complete. And that's why she ran to the men in the city of Sychar and said, come, come on, you want to see him, man? He showed me everything I've ever done. Maybe that was an overstatement, but that's what she felt. She felt that she knew all about her and could tell her absolutely everything. She recognized how special Jesus was. She recognized the Savior for herself. And maybe as you look back, you can think that you had a similar journey. Didn't happen overnight. Didn't happen all at once. But bit by bit, you began to realize not only who Jesus was, but who you were, the sinner he came to save. And the Savior is the one that you came to recognize. You probably know the story of John Wesley. John Wesley, the Methodist who went out to America to evangelize the Indians of Georgia. And he came to a realization that he was trying to convert them, but he said, who shall convert me? I'm the one who needs converting. And when he came home to London and went to that meeting in Aldersgate Street, he had his heart strangely warmed. That's a nice way of putting it. And it's exactly the way we feel whenever the Lord's speaking to us and we respond to him, our heart is strangely warmed and he does something in our lives. And that night, John Wesley came to a knowledge of Jesus, and he came to know him personally. The Savior that they recognized. No surprise that once they had realized who it was who was talking to them, and he vanished from their sight, they didn't say, now, we're going to sleep on this and think about it, and we'll talk about it in the morning. Oh, no, no. No, no, they went straight back to Jerusalem, straight back the seven miles that they'd come, excitedly wanting to tell people of their experience of the risen Lord Jesus. And do you know something? Whenever you become a Christian, if God does something in your heart, you can't wait to tell other people. There's something there that has to come out, and you have to share what the Lord has done for you. Oh, I hope that's been your experience. I hope that whether it was a sad experience at the very beginning, that there was a Savior who came alongside, and the Scripture became real to you, and that the Savior finally was recognized in your mind and your heart, and you surrendered to him. And if that has never happened to you, I can't think of a better Sunday than Easter Sunday for that to happen in your life. Let's bow together as we pray. God has spoken to your heart, whether you're here in the church or back there at home or listening to a recording. Why not bow your head in prayer on this Easter Sunday if you have never trusted Christ as Lord and Savior? Why not tell him? Tell him all about your thoughts and your needs. Tell him about the fact that you own up to your sin. Tell him that from this point, you want to turn away from wrongdoing, to repent, and to trust in him as Lord and Savior. Tell him. and then rejoice when he answers your prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word to our hearts. We recognize, Lord, so easily the fact that the Savior loved those guys as they walked along the Emmaus Road. came alongside and made such a difference in their experience as they recognized the risen Christ that they were never the same again. Oh, Father, we pray, Lord, that you'll do that for someone in this congregation this evening. Do it, Lord, for anyone listening at home or in the recording of the service by CD or DVD. O Father, across Belfast and Northern Ireland, we pray that folk will meet with the risen Christ for the very first time. We bring our prayer in his worthy and precious name. Amen. I've suggested that we conclude with Bill and Gloria Gaither's lovely song, Because He Lives. It's not a matter of just believing that Jesus rose again from the dead. So what? So what? Because he lives. We can face tomorrow. After the introduction, we'll stand together to sing. We came tonight, even for you. We came tonight, to fight for you. An empty grave to take you to. I see you there. I can face tomorrow, because He lives. God's will is done, because I know, I know He holds the future. Oh I am free tomorrow because He lives. I'm free tomorrow because He lives. I'm free tomorrow because He lives. I know, I know He owns the future And I will work with Him just because He is And then one day I'll go to Him because we Maybe tomorrow he could see it. I'll hear his cry, because I know, I know he holds a future. And life is worth living just because he lives. Just two things before we close in prayer. I'd like to say a word of thanks to the AV team for their help in the services today. And can I personally thank Brian for setting up the visual slides for the messages this morning and this evening. The other thing is to remind you that we'd love to have you stay and share a cup of tea along with us. I think there'll be more than one cup. But you're welcome to join us for a wee cuppa and a chat afterwards. Do wait if you can. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your great blessing upon us this Easter Sunday. We thank you for the blessing of your Word. We thank you for the blessing of being able to praise you and worship you. Thank you, dear Lord, for the opportunity to share fellowship with beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. Father, we have to tell you that in the days that lie ahead we need the presence of the risen Lord Jesus. Father, we pray that by your Spirit you'll be with us, helping us, guiding us, directing us, energizing us as we seek to share the message of Jesus with others. Oh God, hear our prayer, we ask. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to share fellowship afterwards. Thank you for the refreshments provided. Bless them to us and bless our time together because we bring our prayer in the wonderful and matchless and mighty name of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.