I'd like you to open your Bibles
this morning to the third chapter of John. Have you ever done any
traveling away from home? We know Donnie, we know you do.
We all sit around here jealously. No, not jealously, but wishing
we could do the same like that. If you ever leave your home and
kind of feel uneasy about things, left back at the house, I was
thinking about this and, you know, I worry, I don't know if
worry is the right word for it, maybe I'm more concerned, it
kind of crosses my mind more as the sun starts to go down.
Is everything okay at home? You know, I got neighbors who
watch my house for me while Kathy and I stay up here on the weekends.
But what about at night? What about at night? Seems like
that's when all the criminals come out, doesn't it? Seems like that's when all the
people come out that don't want people to see what it is they're
doing. It's like what we do when we
don't want people to see what's going in our hearts, isn't it? Have you ever noticed that most
crimes are committed by night rather than by day? It's pretty unusual. Pretty unusual
for a crime to happen during broad daylight. And it's no mystery as to why.
It's unusual, yeah, but it's no mystery as to why. It's easier
to get away with it at night. In broad daylight, my neighbors
are watching the house. But at night, they're sleeping.
There ain't nobody watching my house. It's easier to get away with
the things that you don't want people to know of what you're
doing in darkness. Darkness hides. You can't openly
see all that's going on, can you? Are you in John chapter
3? Look at verse 19 with me if you would. And this is the condemnation.
This is what the world is condemned for. That light is coming to the world
and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. For everyone that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light. lest his deeds
should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are
wrought in God. Henry Mahan wrote this about
those very words. He says, here is the cause of
man's unbelief. Here's why we come into this
world dead in trespasses and sin and will not believe the
Word of God. Because we love the darkness
and we hate the light. It is not only that men are in
darkness, but they love that darkness. They prefer ignorance,
error, and superstition to the light rather than to the light
of truth. Is that not exactly what we see in our world around
us? Is that not what's going on here in this very wonderful
country that we have been provided by, with? Men are turning to lies and deception,
to ignorance and to error, to superstition, rather than turning
to the light of truth. Now don't think this is something
new right here in America. This has been going on ever since
the beginning of time. All men have come into the world
in darkness. All. They prefer ignorance, error,
and superstition. What a proof of man's depravity.
In the person of Christ's perfect holiness, perfect love, and perfect
truth, came and dwelt among men. What was their reaction to him?
Crucify him! Crucify him! We will not have
this man reign over us. And you and I would be right
there with that group if it wasn't for God's mercy and grace doing
a work in our hearts. How many of us here today came
out of religion of the world? I may not have been a religious
person before God called me out of darkness, but I had my own
religion. It was all about John. It was
the religion of John. There are those who have the
religion of trees. Those who have the religion of money, absolutely. The religion
of self is one of the most powerful religions that we have, isn't
it? Man-made religion, that is. We will not have this man to
reign over us. In John chapter 3, verse 20 through 21, we read,
here is the final text. Everyone that loves and practices
evil hates the light. It hates the truth of God, neither
cometh to the light. Why? Lest his deeds, lest his
error, lest his sin should be revealed and judged. The sin
of pride swells up in every one of us. Do we not at some time
or another say, oh, look what I've done. Look at this. I did that pretty well. That's only natural. It's what
natural men do. We think highly of ourselves
rather than seeing what we truly are. Light reveals what we truly
are. How many times have we heard
our pastors say, it's like walking into a dark room. If you came
into this room in the middle of the night with all the lights
off, You can barely see your hands before your face. Have
you ever been in a cave and done that? You can do this. I've done
it. I'm telling you. They said, do
that. So I did it. And sure enough, you can't see
your hand. But yet, all of a sudden, they turn the light on in that
tunnel, in that cave, or in this room. And boom, everything's
there. You see, the furniture is always. The light reveals the darkness
that is in us. Men refuse the Scriptures as
they are. God's Word condemns them. God's
Word convicts them. God's Word shuts up the mercy
of God in Christ. What that means is He puts it
in Christ and in Christ alone. You cannot go to God and do something
to earn His mercy. You cannot do something in your
own flesh to earn His mercy. It is shut up in Christ and in
Christ alone. Salvation is of the Lord. Mercy
is of the Lord. Grace is of the Lord. These are
all in Christ. And it's shut up in Him and in
Him alone. But on the other hand, the He
that doeth the truth, it describes what is a characteristic of every
believer. everyone whom God has shined
His light and it's coming to the light. And note that the
present tense in that word is He comes again and again and
again and again. We want to hear that story over
and over. The most wonderful story ever
told of our Savior and who He is. God in the flesh. What He's done. He humbled Himself
and became flesh for us. He left His glory in heaven for
a moment and became the servant of men. So much so that He went to that
cross and was crucified for our sakes. Those who come to the light come
over and over again, and for what purpose? To learn of God,
and of Himself and His blessed Redeemer. The believer finds
his comfort, his strength, his help, his directions, and his
hope in the exceeding great and precious promises of the Word
of God. In Psalms 119, 103, how sweet
are the words unto my taste, Yea, sweeter than honey to my
mouth. Through thy precepts I get understanding,
therefore I hate every false way. Is it me? Is it just me? People have been lying about
all this stuff that they lie to us today about forever, all
the time. It hasn't just started recently.
It's not getting any worse. It's always been bad. But for
some reason, since the Lord has shown me the truth in His Word,
I just see more and more and more of the untruth out there. If I want to see truth, I'm not
going to turn to the news. I'm going to turn to the Word
of God. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path. That's not something you just
all of a sudden start doing. It's something you grow in and
continue and get more and more because we immerse more and more
in God's Word and what He's telling us. How sweet are thy words! How
wonderful unto my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
Though thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false
way. When the Lord of all creation turns on that light of truth,
the Word of God shines bright as the sun. The light of the world. That's what this is all about.
Is it not? It's about Him. The Son, not
S-U-N, S-O-N, Jesus Christ the Lord, the Son of God. Turn over
to Ephesians chapter five if you would. We who have been loved from the
foundation of the world were born into this darkness just
as all mankind are. We too once walked in the darkness. We too walked that life of a
lie. We too walked according to self. I said chapter five, I apologize.
No, I did not, I do not apologize. Stay there at chapter five. Let
me read a couple of verses from chapter two. And you, Hathi Quickened,
speaking of us, and you who he quickened, and you who he gave
life, and you who were dead in trespasses and sin, where in
times past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." That's
God's Word. If you say, I've never been that
way, then you've called God a liar. In Isaiah 9, chapter 9, verse
2, it says, the people that walked in darkness, the people, those who walked
in darkness, those who were dead in trespasses and sin, have seen
a great light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Notice it does not give the impression
of anything that man was done to turn that light on. No. Those
who live in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined on. The light was shined on them,
not them reaching over and turning it on or lighting a candle. In
John 1, 1 we read, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was the beginning with
God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not
anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness,
and the darkness comprehended it not. There are none that seeketh after
the Lord. Not a single one of us were looking for the Lord
when He came to each and every one of us. That old dark heart we used to
have, that old stony heart that said, this Lord, this sovereign
ruler, this one who rules over everything, including the will
of men, I will not have him rule over me. But the light hath shined on
our hearts. Upon them hath the light shined.
The light was always there, but the natural will of man would
not come to it, nor will he even look to it. How can you explain light to
one who has never seen? Well, you see? No, I guess you don't see. There's this bright thing in the sky.
I guess you can't see that either. How can you explain light to
somebody who's never seen? One who's been walking in darkness
all their life. In the eighth chapter of John,
verse 12, it says, Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,
I am the light. I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life. In the 12th chapter, verse 46,
we read, I am come a light unto the world that whosoever believeth
on me should not abide in darkness. My title for you this morning,
folks, is this, Children of Light. We're children of light. The difference between light
and darkness is truth. and lies. We don't walk in lies anymore. We don't go to places where they
preach lies. Where they preach about men.
We come here to rescue. We go to other places around
the country maybe. Travel to Kentucky. Go to Marysville
next weekend and hear about the true light. The one who declares
himself to be that light. Our Lord and Savior. It's the
greatest story ever told. And I love to keep hearing it
over and over again because the world around me is full of darkness.
Full of lies. I mistakenly turned the news
on yesterday for about two minutes. Then I turned it over to cartoons
and everything got a lot better. Are you with me in Ephesians
chapter 5? Join me in reading from verse
6 please. Let no man deceive you with vain
words. Empty. When men stand before
other people and start talking about how good men can be, if
they would just start doing something, that is vain and empty words. Our Lord tells us there are none
good, there are none that seeketh after Him. All you've got to
do is look for the Lord, come down to the front and pray. That's
a lie. That's the religion of the world.
That's boasting up what men can do. Let no man deceive you with vain
words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon
the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers
with them. For ye were sometimes darkness,
but now ye are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness and righteousness and truth, in Christ's righteousness
and His truth. Proving what is acceptable unto
the Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
one who is acceptable unto the Lord. And having no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them. I know those who will point a
finger here at Rescue Baptist Church and say, I won't come
there because all I ever hear is how that preacher points his
finger at the religious people down the street and he won't
accept them. Have no fellowship with unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak
of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved
are made manifest by the light For whatsoever doeth make the
manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools,
but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore
be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with
the Spirit, Speaking to yourselves in the Psalms and the hymns,
spiritual songs, singing and making melody, and in your heart
to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. I've told you that I won't stand
before you and tell you how to live. I don't need to. God does
right here in His own Word. You know what's right. And if for some reason you don't,
the Lord will impress it on your heart in His way. I know. Been there, done that. Now if you would, turn over to
the fifth chapter of 1 Thessalonians. How can we best keep ourselves
in the light? How can we turn from the darkness
that continues to plague the flesh? In our spirit, we desire the
light, yet our flesh desires the darkness. One of our greatest gifts is the gift of prayer. It says, call upon the name of
the Lord and thou shalt be saved. Cry out in your private soul
unto the Lord. In Romans 10 and 13 it says,
for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. In John 6.37 it says, All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I shall in no wise
cast out. Are you in 1 Thessalonians chapter
5 verse 1? But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves
know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief
in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden
destruction cometh upon them as prevail upon a woman with
child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are
all children of light, and the children of the day. We are not
of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as
do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in
the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But
let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love. The breastplate of faith and
love. That's what protects the organs.
When someone speaks of the soul, it would seem to me that mostly
they talk about this organ right here. This organ we call the
heart. Not the real heart, but the heart
of the soul. What do we need to protect that
from the darkness in the world around us? And the light. The breastplate of faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Not believe in, believe Him. Believe His Word. Believe who
He is. Believe what He has done. Or for a helmet, the hope of salvation. I have loved you from everlasting. Our Lord says to His people,
what a hope we have knowing that God Almighty who gave Himself
for us, who shed His own blood on that cross for His people,
loved us so much to do that. When He says, I shall
love you, I shall never forsake you, what a hope we have. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, His wrath was put on His Son. Every sin that we have ever committed,
every sin that we will commit until the day the Lord takes
this breath out of this flesh, was laid upon our Master. He who is perfect in every way
was made sin. that we would be made righteous
in Him. God hath not appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us that whether
we wake or sleep, that we should live together in Him, Wherefore,
comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also
ye do." That's what we do. We come to hear about our Lord.
We have fellowship with the saints. We edify each other. I know you
sin. I know you have that thought. I have that thought too, occasionally.
I want to reach out and grab that guy and cut me off. Yeah,
I have that same... I know. I know. He calls us children of
light. We are enlightened persons whose
understanding has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit concerning
the person and the work of Jesus Christ the Lord. We are children
of the gospel, of the gospel day, in a distinction from religious
darkness. Therefore, let us not be in a
drowsy state of mind. Oh, I'll go to church this week
and, you know, maybe I'll, drowsy. Let us not partake in religious
darkness. Therefore, let us be not drowsy,
but indifferent, in a different frame of mind and spirit. Let
us not be taken up with the cares or the concerns of this world.
Let us set a watch over our hearts, our faith, and our fellowship,
living as temporary citizens of this world. This world is
not my home. I'm just passing through. If
heaven is not my home, then Lord, what will I do? We are travelers
passing through. In verse 9 of this very chapter
that we just read, the elect of God were not chosen in Christ
to be destroyed by his wrath or judgment, but that we might
obtain salvation through our Lord and Savior. In verse 10,
Christ died for us with this purpose in view. that He might
make us partakers of His life. There is no reason why we should
not doubt of our salvation if we are in Christ by faith. Whether
we are alive when He comes or whether we are dead, we shall,
because of His life and death, live forever with Him. And then
finally, in verse 11, therefore comfort one another, encourage
one another, Communicate to one another the things that have
been revealed to you. What's been revealed to you today,
folks? My Lord and Savior. Nothing about men. My Lord and
Savior. Jesus Christ. Crucified on the
cross for my sake. edify, strengthen, build up one
another in the faith of Christ. This can be done by continual
fellowship, by continual worship, but most of all by continual
prayer, teaching, and preaching, bearing one another's trials
with sincere love. I know. I know what's going on. I know why you think those thoughts. I'm in the flesh, I have the
same problem. Turn away from it. God give us the ability to
turn away from it. How can I edify you, the folks
of this church? Have no confidence in your flesh.
Have no confidence in your feelings. Put all your confidence in all all your care in the one who
loved you and gave himself for you. Amen.