In this sermon, Pastor Mullen discusses the theme of being alone in different situations. He starts by mentioning how the Lord did a good job for him and Pastor Mullen. He then talks about Mary at the tomb, who was alone and taunted by the devil, but found comfort in the presence of the living Lord. Pastor Mullen emphasizes the importance of realizing that the Lord is always with us, even in times of sorrow and suffering. He also mentions Paul's experience of being alone in court and how Esther was alone in her final supplication. The sermon encourages believers to trust in God's presence and find strength in Him, even when they feel alone.

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