Children of Light Walking in Darkness

Q: What does the Bible say about fearing the Lord?

The Bible teaches that to fear the Lord means to have a profound reverence for Him, acknowledging His holiness and our need for His mercy. Fearing the Lord is not merely a natural fear or terror; rather, it is a spiritual reverence that is granted to those who have been born of the Spirit. Jeremiah 32:40 states that God promises His elect that He will put His fear in their hearts. This fear leads us to understand our own sinfulness and our dependence on God's mercy, cultivated by His goodness, not His terror (Romans 2:4). Therefore, the fear of the Lord is foundational to a true relationship with Him, indicating that we see Him as He truly is and respond in humility and obedience.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the servant of God?

Jesus is recognized as the servant of God because He fulfills the role of our High Priest and Savior, sent by God to redeem His people. In Isaiah, God introduces His Servant, who is Christ, the one whom He has chosen and upon whom He has placed His Spirit (Isaiah 42:1). Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to save His people, and as the servant of God, He acted as a mediator between God and humanity, taking on the sins of His people through His obedient death. The Apostle Peter confirms that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), reflecting Jesus’s role as the one true servant who secures eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12). Therefore, the witness of Scripture clearly aligns with Christ's identity as the servant of God.

Q: Why is trusting God important during dark times?

Trusting God during dark times is crucial because it affirms our faith in His sovereignty and goodness, even when we cannot see the way ahead. In times of darkness and uncertainty, God's people are reminded to trust in His character and promises, as evident in Isaiah 50:10-11. The call to trust is not merely a suggestion but a necessary response in our lives as believers. When circumstances feel overwhelming and we see no light, we are urged to lean wholly on God, who knows all things and is aware of our needs (John 16:33). Through trials, our faith is tested, and trusting in God's providence reminds us that He is in control and works all things for our good. This trust leads to peace, as we recognize that our hope lies not in our ability to navigate darkness but in His faithfulness to carry us through it.

Q: What does it mean to walk in darkness as a believer?

Walking in darkness as a believer refers to experiencing trials and doubts in faith, despite being a child of light. In the Christian life, even those who are saved and called children of light may encounter periods of darkness, which does not indicate a loss of salvation, but rather a providential experience that God leads us through. This darkness often manifests as trials, doubts, and feelings of distance from God, akin to the experiences described in Scripture (1 John 1:6). It's crucial for believers to understand that these moments of struggle serve God's purposes, allowing Him to shape our faith and reliance on His grace. The remedy for such darkness is to trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He is with us even when we perceive no light at the end of our trials.

It's good to be with you to worship God together again. Before we begin the message, we'll go to him in prayer, but I wanted to make an announcement concerning the conference. I just received a contract for the hotel rooms. We have a small block of rooms. I think we have like 10 rooms reserved out at a special rate. Getting that was very difficult.

There's a lot of things going on here in Louisville, and this is to anyone that you know that might want to come. Tell them if they want to take advantage of this, I'm going to send this out with the bulletins, and there's going to be a little QR code, and you could use that code and go directly there and make the reservation. When I send out the bulletins, I'm sending this out as well on Sunday. And then whoever you want to send this to, they can take a picture of that or put it on their camera and it'll go right there and they can make a reservation. It's at the Candlewood Suites in Clarksville. Candlewood Suites in Clarksville, Indiana. And like I said, we've got a special rate on the rooms and it'd be the cheapest you can find in town during that weekend.

So I'll put this out. on the bulletins on Sunday. So if you know anybody that wants to come and they need a hotel room, use this and they'll get the special rate on this room. So I tell anybody that's online, if they want to come to the conference, it's July 24th, 25th, and 26th. So, and I'll have all that information printed out this next week and ready to send out. And most likely again, I'll send out the flyers every week with the bulletins on the email. So if you've got the email for the bulletins and for everybody here, I'll have stuff printed in the back so you can take it and pass it out or whatever you want it to do with it.

So be in prayer about that. Be in prayer for these pastors. They're going to Marvin Stonerker and Gabe Stonerker are gonna come and pray that God give them the ability to come and I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing some believers that I haven't seen since last year. Some of them will come and it's good for us to fellowship together around the gospel. I'm excited about hearing the gospel. I'm excited about sitting out there with you and listening to the gospel. That's a sweet time for me. So, pray about this.

I think Tia didn't get here because of the rain, but anyone that I'm not aware of that's sick, or any prayer requests that need to be mentioned, think of Frank Tate. Remember him, he was having some complications with the treatment for his cancer. Frank Tate's a faithful, faithful pastor. Ashland. So pray for him. Pray for those churches without pastors. I prayed that the Lord would be gracious and keep the light in these places. I thought of Ephesus this week.

What a powerhouse of a church that was. The apostle came. I mean, out of all the letters the apostle wrote, that was the He started out with such a strong understanding of the gospel. And yet, where is it? Where's that church? The church is gone. Light has been put out.

And I know we live in an age where church, the idea of fellowshipping together is not popular. It's just not. It's so much easier. just to watch it at home in your pajamas. But I think that people who are able to worship and don't are missing, I think they're hurting themselves. I really do. I think self-inflicted wounds are always the worst. And to not fellowship together is a very hurtful thing. And it's not just hurtful to the person that's not being faithful. It's hurtful to everyone else in the congregation.

We don't just affect ourselves, do we? We're not an island. We affect one another. This is why we're here. This is why. You don't have any idea how much you encourage me. You have no idea. Just seeing you thrills my soul. It makes me, I tell you what, I can have a bad week, but when I come in here and I see you, man, I'm encouraged. I'm encouraged that God is so faithful to keep you. And I know this every time you see me, if I have a message for you, that you're thankful, that you're thankful. God keep us. I tell you, if he wouldn't keep us, we wouldn't be here. None of us would be here if he didn't keep us. I pray every week, Lord, keep me. Sustain me.

And he does. He does. He's been gracious. Yes, brother? Pray for Gene McGlynn. God knows what we have need of, don't He? I'm so thankful for that. Matter of fact, the difficulty we have is something that He Himself has given us. It didn't happen by accident, by design, on purpose. And when I read that, just a minute, it said, the Lord God will help me. I know this. As much as he helped Christ, he helps us. Isn't that amazing? That's amazing, isn't it? But I don't deserve his help. I don't matter, because that's not why he helps me. He helps me because of Christ. Because I am in Christ. So thankful for that.

Let's go to him in prayer. Our most gracious Father in heaven, we bow ourselves Humble ourselves in the presence of omnipotence, in the presence of all wisdom and love and grace and power. Dare not coming in our own righteousness, but only in the righteousness of thy son we approach, we come. Father, this evening we bring all of our cares, all of our troubles, all of our afflictions, and we ask for help. The only thing I have, Father, that would comfort me is your promise that you said, I will help you. Father, we pray that you would with all of our afflictions and difficulties. Father, tonight I do ask that you would be gracious to set all of these things out of our focus so that we should set our eyes upon the cure which is only Jesus Christ.

I pray this night that you would be gracious to show forth your gospel again to every heart. The gospel of your grace that's in Christ. I pray, Father, that you give me the liberty and unction of your spirit to preach. I pray that you would give them liberty to hear. That you would forgive us our sins.

Help us, Father, to be faithful servants, faithful stewards of the gospel of thy grace. I pray, Father, for those who are not able to be here, that you would strengthen them, comfort them, encourage them. I pray, Father, that you'd bless your churches wherever they are, Those without pastors, please send one. Those with pastors, Father, we pray that you'd keep us in unity and love and peace. I pray that you'd quicken the dead and give life to sinners through the message we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

I take your Bibles, turn back with me to Isaiah chapter 50. Isaiah chapter 50. The text will be found in verses 10 and 11. The title of this message, Children of Light Walking in Darkness. Children of Light Walking in Darkness. Look at this text with me. He says, is among you, that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light. Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all you that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks. Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that you have kindled. This shall you have of my hand. You shall lie down in sorrow."

Now here, as often the Lord does, He makes a great division. In these two verses we have two distinct peoples. In verse 10 we're going to see this. We have what is termed in scripture the children of light. Those that fear the Lord. Those that trust in Christ. And the second part is those, the other people, are those that are lost. These are the ones who kindle their own fire, who make their own knowledge.

God says of them, they shall lie down Two distinct people. God separates the precious from the vile, the sheep from the goats. So one here is said to walk in darkness while the other seems to have a light. One is the children of God and one are those that are lost. And we know this that, we're going to see this tonight, those of you who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are not exempt from darkness. This is the common trouble of every believer. We often are found to walk in darkness.

But I want you to be comforted. This is a message that I pray the Lord would use to comfort every one of His children. And I want you to see, Lord, the Holy Spirit calls out everyone who makes a profession. Say, hey, come here. He says, you, hey you, come over here. Who among you?

And then He's going to give us four distinct things regarding children of light. I'm going to show you the children of of darkness are the children of false light. I'm not going to spend most of my time on that. I want to spend most of my time with this. Who are the children of light? And what does it mean to walk in darkness?

Now, there are four things about the children of light, the children of God. First of all, I want you to see this. They fear the Lord. Second of all, they heard the voice of His servant and obeyed. Third thing is they walk in darkness. And the fourth thing is they that walk in darkness are given one remedy, trust in the Lord. So four things here. First of all, the children of light.

This here is a searching question by the Holy Spirit. Who among you speaks of all who profess to believe? All of you who profess to believe, here is the first distinguishing mark of those who belong unto God. Who is it that feareth the Lord? To fear the Lord, this is the first distinguishing mark of a child of God. Now what does this mean to fear the Lord? Who is he that feareth the Lord? Well there is a natural fear of God among us all. Among all men there is a natural fear of God. The scripture tells us the devils fear and they tremble.

Remember when Moses even stood at Mount Sinai and all the Israelites, they stood. The scripture says even Moses exceedingly feared and quaked at the presence of God. When the Lord came to Saul and removed him from being king, the scripture says that he feared.

He was in terror. And so there is a natural sense of fear. When God comes and there's a hurricane, or there's a tornado, or there is a catastrophe, men see the power of God and they fear. They quake at the presence of God. Men are sick. See, a man ever so vile and hate God ever so much when he's strong, you put him in a bed of sickness and see how he seems to cry. He fears!

But I want you to understand that a natural fear of God never leads to repentance. I don't want to take the time to show you, In Revelation 9, verse 20, it talks about all these plagues that come on. And you know what the scripture says? They would not repent. After all these plagues and all of these things, he knows this, you can fear God naturally, but natural fear never leads to repentance. Remember, it's the goodness of God that leads us into repentance. Know what the scripture says?

The goodness of God, not the terror of God. Therefore, the fear of the Lord in our text does not refer to a terror or a natural fear, but is rather a spiritual fear, a reverence of God. A reverence of God. Not from a natural light either. It must be given by the power and the grace of God. In other words, only one who can fear the Lord is a man who has been born of the Spirit of God. No one else can really reverence God as He is. Why? Because men can't see God as He is. Men don't know God. Therefore, they cannot reverence Him. They cannot know Him. They cannot reverence Him.

And this fear of the Lord is something that God promised to every one of His elect. Look over at Jeremiah chapter 32. The fear of the Lord. This is the first evidence of a child of God. Look at Jeremiah 32. And look at verse 40. Let's go back to verse 38. 37, let's go back there. I can probably go back to the beginning. I don't want to do that. Let's go to 37.

He said, Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whether I have driven them in mine anger and in my fury and in with great wrath, and I will bring them again to the place and I will cause them to dwell safely. And they shall be my people and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever. and for the good of them, and for the children after them, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put My fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from Me." He says that twice. He says, I will put My fear in their hearts. The fear of the Lord is the first beginning of salvation. God swears this. He says, I've got a people and I'm going to gather them. I'm going to call them, and this is what I'm going to do for them. I'm going to give them one heart. They're going to have one heart, and they're going to have one way.

We all know what that way is. We who've been called of God and understand that Jesus is the way. He is the only way to God. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. We know that. This is the beginning of understanding. This is what God promised. When we were dead, I'll tell you this, we had no reverence of God. We followed our own way. We had one heart, and that heart was set on my way. Even when it came to matters of religion, I'll have my way.

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is death. But God in grace, when he came to us and gave us life, he gave us a new heart so as not to follow our way. And when we were born of God, we began to see that truly the fear of the Lord We begin to see the fear of the Lord.

The scripture says, as God commanded the light to shine out of darkness. Now what happened? We were children of darkness. We walked in darkness. We had no light until God came and commanded the light to shine out of darkness. When God shined that light into your heart, what did you see? You saw who you were. Isn't that what light does? Light reveals. Sometimes I guess I like to keep my room pretty dark because it may not look very nice if I cut on the light. But that's what light does. It reveals and that's what it did to my heart.

When the light came on, all I saw was my sin. All I could see was my sin. I could see the holiness of God and I could see only my sin. Before his fear there was only a vain show. We can only vainly show fear. I was talking about natural fear. I can't tell you how many people I've seen come in and I mean they hear the message of God and they fear. They're exceedingly afraid of going to hell. They're exceedingly afraid of losing their families or losing their job or whatever they fear. They come in here and they weep and they cry and they beg God. You know what happens to that kind of fear? When everything gets well, what happens? Where do they go? Oh, they had a little trouble and then what? They're gone. That's just natural fear. That's not godly fear.

But when God causes us to see the leprosy of our sins, He doesn't let us go. We don't ever turn back from that sight. We understand this about ourselves. There's no amount of religious work I can do. There's no amount of righteousness I can perform. When God commands the light to shine out of darkness into our hearts, we see our sin and we know this. I cannot save myself.

What does this do? It causes a man to bow before God. It causes a man to be empty of any hope in himself. You know, I think of those people of Nineveh. Man, Jonah didn't have a nice message. You know, his message, 40 days, God's gonna kill every one of you. That was his message. He walked through that city, and he said, 40 days, God's gonna kill you. He'd walk a little further, 40 days, and God's gonna kill you, till he made it to all the way to the end of that city, and he came out there on a hill, and he was mad. You know why he was mad?

Because he said, I knew you'd have mercy on me. He said, I knew you was gonna show mercy. Nineveh did not know that God was going to show mercy. You know what they said? They said, peradventure, He might change His mind. If we repent peradventure, we don't know. When I came to the Lord, I didn't know.

I didn't know He was going to have mercy. I had fear. I had reverence before God knowing this, that my only hope was that He would have mercy. That's all I needed. I needed mercy. I didn't need help. I didn't need a pat and a push. I needed help. I didn't need to change my outward ways. I needed help. I needed somebody to do something for me that I could not do for myself. I needed mercy.

So when we're born of the Holy Spirit, the fear of the Lord causes us to bow ourselves. And what do we do immediately? We cease from all outward helps. I knew this. When the Lord convicted me of my sin, I knew my mom could not help me. I was a young man. I knew this. She couldn't help. I knew this, there was no man who could help me. I knew only God, if He would be merciful, would help me. That's the only help I wanted. I saw the ruin and depths of my sin, and I bowed myself before God, and this is true of every believer. Everyone who has a fear of the Lord, the first thing we did, we bowed ourselves before God, seeking what?

Is that you? Do you have that reverence of God? Do you still not know that? I tell you what, I haven't stopped learning that lesson of my need for mercy. Today, I'm telling you, I need mercy now more than I ever need mercy before. And the only person giving it to me is God.

This is the fear of God. And the fear of the Lord is what? It's the beginning of wisdom. When God puts His fear in your heart, When He puts that light on, when He cuts the light on in your heart, you know this, you need Him. Second, look at this. Who among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant? Obeyeth the voice of His servant. Now who is that?

Isaiah makes this extremely clear that this is speaking about Jesus Christ. Everyone that feareth the Lord, this is always the natural spiritual response of that, is this. They hear the voice of the Son of God and they believe on Him. Always. The servant of God is Jesus Christ. Look back at Isaiah 42. Isaiah chapter 42. See what Christ is called here. Look at verse 1. Behold, God says, my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth.

I have put my spirit upon him, and he shall bring judgment unto the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flack shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth and the aisles wait for his law.

God says, you look, you behold my servant. You behold my servant, the one that I uphold, mine elect, my savior. You behold him. I put my spirit upon him and when he's come, he's going to save even the Gentiles. That's the worst group of people. That's us. Even the worst. He's going to set forth judgment even unto the Gentiles. And what is His success rate? He shall not fail. I tell every one of you who have the fear of the Lord, what is my hope? My hope is the Son of God. My hope is the servant of the Lord.

You see, the Lord Jesus came into the world as a mediator, as a high priest, as a representative, as a surety for all of the elect of God, all that the Father chose, He gave to Christ. You know what that means? That means all the responsibility for their salvation rested on Him. So when God says, Behold My servant, He's saying this, Behold My salvation. Behold My Savior, who I have sent I put my spirit on Him and He's going to save His people. So when Christ Jesus, our Lord, came into the world as our High Priest in surety of the elect, what did He do? How low did the Son of God condescend to save us?

Can you measure it? He became a man and everything about him was a man. The only exclusion was sin. He humbled himself and became a servant. The Son of God became a servant, became obedient even unto death, and not just any death, even the death of the cross. When our Lord Jesus came into this world, God Himself testified of Him saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Fear of the Lord always points us to the servant of God. It always points us to Christ.

So all who fear the Lord and sue for mercy, I tell you, there's only one place to find it. There's only one place mercy is found, and that is in Christ. There is no other place. There is no salvation. The Apostle said there is no salvation in any other. There is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. There is only one Savior.

It is the servant of God. And this is what He has done for us. He obtained righteousness for us. Isn't that what you needed? Don't you need righteousness? Well, He said, I obtained it. Romans 3.22, it says, even the righteousness of God, which is by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

And the servant of God not only obtained our righteousness by his one offering, he himself obtained eternal redemption for us. Eternal redemption. That means this, that all of our sins, all of those sins that brought us to bow before God in confession of our guilt, Jesus Christ bore those sins in his own body on the tree. God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. That we might be made the righteousness of God in him. As our representative, he obtained eternal redemption for us.

That's Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 12. It says, Neither by the blood of goats or calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place. Listen to this. Having obtained eternal redemption. You got it. What He said in Isaiah, He did it. He shall bring forth truth unto judgment. He shall bring salvation.

He obtained eternal redemption for us. In Hebrews 10 it says, By the witch will, by the will of God, we are made holy through the offering of the body of Christ once. Can you consider the power of this death, of this offering of the servant of God, that His offering, one offering, has forever satisfied the justice of God for our sins. Scripture says in that same passage, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, those who are chosen of God, those who are redeemed of Christ.

They have been made holy by Him. You that believe. You that fear Him. Have you behold the servant of God? Secondly, what is it then to hear His voice? Look at that in your text again. He said, Who among you that feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of the servant? We know who the servant is. We know what the servant's done. What is his voice?

God chose a people and gave them to Christ. And Christ died for them, all of them. Now, I don't know who they are. As many as, that's who they are. As many as the Lord gave Christ, that's who He died for. But when God, when Christ saved His people, God raised Him from the dead and set Him on the throne of God, and now God has sent His Spirit into this world to do what? to gather everyone that Christ died for. You see, this gospel we have, it's a success story. It's a successful salvation. Everyone the Father gave Him, Christ died for. Everyone that Christ died for, the Spirit now will come and call them. This is the voice of the Son of God. It is the call of the Holy Spirit to life and faith in Christ. Jesus said this in John chapter 6 and verse 38.

He said, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Is that a question? He's not asking a question. Our Savior is making a statement of fact. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And when they come to me, I will in no wise cast them out, because I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is his will, that I should lose nothing, that I should lose nothing.

See, everyone that God chose, Christ redeemed, they shall hear the voice of the Son of God. This is what Jesus says in John chapter 5 I think, chapter 5 verse 25. He said the hour is coming and now is. When the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear what? Shall live. Shall live. You that fear the Lord. You that have beholden the servant of God. Have you not heard his voice? What's the evidence of his voice? Now, I'm not talking about an audible voice, am I? I'm talking about some experience, some hallucination. What does it mean to hear his voice?

It's simply this. When you hear his voice, that's what made you fear. That's what made you sue for mercy. That's what made you behold the servant. That's what made you behold Christ. And listen, it is His voice that raises you from the dead and gives you faith. You believe? Do you believe on the Son of God alone without anything else? You see, that's the evidence.

You've heard His voice. You've heard His voice because you have nothing else to give. You have anything else you want to add? Is there anything you've done you want to add to His work? You that heard His voice, you know you don't have anything to have. And you know this, you don't want to. You don't want to.

When you heard His voice, you believed on Him. That's the evidence we've heard His voice, is that we believe on the Son of God. And when He said this, come unto Me. You that are weak, heavy laden, Was that not sweet? You felt the burden of your sin, the guilt of your sin, and you heard Him say that.

What'd you find? You found rest. You found relief. I think of Pilgrim, Pilgrim's Progress. Remember when he came up that hill with that burden on his back? He'd carried that burden up to that, and as soon as he came to that cross, that burden rolled off his back and went in the tomb. Never seen again! Your sins rolled off your back.

What a joy it was when we heard His voice. It was as the dew on the tender herb. We just read that, a bruised reed He shall not break. Well, you're not a bruised reed. Ready to snap. When He come to us, it was tender. Are you weary of sin? Are you laden with sin with no hope of getting it off?

Hear the voice of the Son of God, how tender He calls. And I tell you this, it was only after we heard His tender voice, we realized that it wasn't an invitation. It might have sounded like one, but actually it wasn't, was it? When you hear His voice, it is a voice of power, it is a command. I quoted that scripture just a minute ago, as God commanded the light to shine out of darkness.

How'd that go? Was there any objection? Now, there had never been light before. Light wasn't even invented! Until he said, let there be light. And what? There was light. He said just like that. When he spoke to me, light came. Life came by the voice of the Son of God.

And I know this, you that believe, can you help but believe? You know what, I curse my unbelief. I despise it. And with all my soul, I confess, I believe. I believe on Christ. Always. Why? I can't help it. I can't help it. You see, that's the nature of the new man that God gives us. You can't help it. You want to believe constantly. And when you don't, oh, it hurts. It's so painful.

Why is that? Because you've heard and obeyed the voice of the Son of God. This is the work of God. Ecclesiastes 8 verse 4 said, The word of the King, with the word of the King there is power. Isn't that true? When he spoke, there was what? There was power. When he commanded light to shine out of darkness, what happened? Light shined out of darkness. What happened when he commanded you to live? He said unto thee, he said, I saw thee polluted in thine own blood, and I said unto thee, live. What do you think happened? You lived. When He commanded us to believe, what did we do? We believed. We believed. Now then, I want to speak on this just a few minutes now. I've described to you the children of light.

Is that you? Do you fear the Lord? Do you reverence the Lord? Do you know you ain't got no hope except by mercy of God? Have you heard the voice of His servant? Have you believed on Christ? You, my friend, are the children of light. Paul says in Ephesians, you that were sometimes darkness are now the children of light.

That's what you are. That's what you are. No matter where you go, no matter what, that's who you are. We went over this in 1 John. Now you are the sons of God. Now you are. You are the children of light. You that fear the Lord. You that believe on Christ. But now then notice this seemingly contradiction here. Look at this in your text. That walketh in darkness and hath no light. Wait a second. How can we be children of light and walk in darkness when there's no light? There's a seeming contradiction here. How can this be?

Listen to what John said. Go to 1 John, look at this. Look at what John says about the true believer, those that fear the Lord. Look at this, 1 John chapter 1. Look at verse 6. He said, If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.

John says, wait a second. If you walk in darkness, you're not a child of light. But I want you to see this is no contradiction. You want to know why? Because these are two different types of darkness we're talking about. The darkness in our text is not speaking of spiritual darkness.

Before we heard the command of God to bring light, we were darkness. We were like the people in verse 11. We tried to make our own light. But now that God has shined the light of the Spirit of God in the face of Jesus Christ into our hearts, listen, we are the children of light. We do walk in light.

The darkness in our text is simply this. It is providential darkness. Providential darkness. It's not spiritual darkness. It's the dark feelings and inward convictions of sin, the darkness of our experience in the midst of dark providences. So such darkness is the believer is not exempt from. Though you are children of light, how often do we walk in darkness? How often are we brought into such dark providences?

I'll tell you this. There are times when we hear the voice of the Lord and we rejoice. There are times where we feel his presence. And I mean, these are the I long for these times. I do. I ask the Lord to give me these times where I feel his presence, where I know that I know that I'm his. In those times I have such strength. In those times we are at peace, we have joy. Our strength knows no bounds. Our zeal is inspired. We say like Peter, though everyone forsake you, I will not forsake you. But let the Lord hide his face from us. Let the Lord take his hand off of us for a moment. And darkness swallows us up. Darkness swallows us up.

I think the illustration of that, that Shulamite bride, remember, she heard the voice of her beloved that said, oh, you're so fair, you have no spot in you. Her beloved said, you are my garden enclosed. You know, back then kings had gardens that were enclosed so that they can enjoy the smell of the flowers in their garden. And he said, that's what you are. You're my garden, my beautiful rose. And she said this, oh, let the Lord send the wind, the north wind or the south wind. He said, send affliction or send prosperity, whatever you want, as long as you come to me.

In the very next chapter, He did come to her. He delayed in coming to her. And you know what He found her? He found her in bed asleep. How often does our Lord find us in this place of cold indifference? The things of the world encompass us. The things of this life come in on us so that we just neglect Him. We set Him aside. Oh, I'm too busy!

And what happened? He put his hand to the hole of the door and the scent of her beloved came in and she tried to get up and fix herself up. And you know what? He was gone. Friends, that is a time of darkness for the believer. How often have we neglected Him and He hid His face from us? This is what's taking place in this text. Look at chapter 49. Look and see, this is what's happening to Israel at the same time. That's how I know this darkness is not spiritual, it's providential. Look what happened. Look at chapter 49 and verse 14.

He said, But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me. The Lord hath forgotten me. How often does a believer come into such darkness as to believe the Lord has cast him off because of his sin, because of his indifference, because this time the children of Israel were being taken in by their enemies. They were being held captive by their enemies. And they said this, has the Lord forsaken us? Are you in such times of darkness tossed about with doubts and fears? Has the providence of God seemed to overwhelm us to grief and sorrow to no end? Notice that scripture in our text. Look back at your text. He says, There walketh in darkness and hath no light. There's not even a glimmer of light. That's what the word there means. Like a little flash. There's not even that.

When God comes in, and by His divine will, He removes all light, so that we begin to doubt, we fear. What is the remedy of this? Have you been there? If you haven't, just wait a minute. Every one of God's people walk in darkness at times, God leads His children into these things. You understand why? He's going to try our faith. The trial of your faith is necessary. That's what this darkness is for.

But there's always a remedy. You know what the remedy is? The remedy is not light. The remedy is not deliverance from the dark providence. Look at the remedy in your text. Look what he says. Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon His God. You in darkness, listen to me, there is a remedy. It's simply this. Trust Him. Trust Him. Trust His Word. When experience and providence do not match the Word of God, do not trust the providence. Trust the Lord. Notice what the Lord said to His people. Go back to verse 49. They said, Have you forgotten me? Have you forgotten me? Look what He said. Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? He said, Yeah, that can happen. They may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me. Look at verse 24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the lawful captive delivered? Those are two hopeless circumstances. You got that? You got something that's mighty taking the prey. Kind of like an eagle swooping down and grabbing a field mouse. He said, can they deliver themselves from the mighty? The answer is no, they can't. If you've got somebody who's lawfully in jail, can they deliver themselves? No, they can't.

But notice what God says. Thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered. For I will contend with him that contended with thee. I will save thy children. You see the promise in darkness? You're the prey. You're the captive. And God says, I will deliver you. Do you need anything else? Is the Word of God not sufficient? It won't be unless you what?

Trust Him. Trust Him. He will. There's peace in trusting Him. Trust the name of the Lord, the character of the Lord. That's what it means, the authority of the Lord. In thy darkness call upon Him. Call upon thy God and he will help thee. I know I've got more. My hope is this. Can you trace yourself out here? Can you see what great things God has done?

You fear the Lord. Is that not an amazing thing that you fear the Lord? that you've sued for mercy, that you've heard the voice of the Son of God when millions have not, and you believe, and yet because you walk in darkness, what do we do? We doubt Him. Because He leads us in dark places, we doubt His care, His love, and we say, surely you've forsaken me. I always said this.

I know this, in darkness you can't see where you're going. You can't see what's ahead of you. But what does it matter if you can't see when he sees everything? Kind of like riding in a plane, isn't it? You can't see where you're going. You got to trust the guy that's flying this thing. God says this, in your darkest hour, trust me, trust me.

Now the wicked, it's all together a different story. They're going to try to find their own light. They're not going to wait on the Lord to give them light. They're going to try to seek it out and work it out themselves. They use their wisdom, they use their knowledge, they use their earthly reasoning. We're not called to use any of that. You know that? You're not used to call. You're not used to use your common sense.

You're simply to trust Him. Now, pray for me. I think I even have a message this next week, and this will be the title of it if the Lord gives it to me. Is it safe to trust God? Now the reason if you don't trust him is because you don't believe it's safe. We know it's safe. Why? Because he's all my hope. He's all my life.

I hope God will bless this and give you comfort in your dark times. Let's stand and be dismissed in prayer. Gracious Father, dismiss us with your own blessings and mercies. Thank you for the grace of giving us the light of life in our hearts and minds to fear and trust. Though you lead us in dark places, give us grace that we might trust you more. Lean wholly all our weight upon you as you carry us to glory. and forgive us our sins where we fail You and doubt You. I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Children of Light Walking in Darkness

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about fearing the Lord?

How do we know Jesus is the servant of God?

Why is trusting God important during dark times?

What does it mean to walk in darkness as a believer?

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About Fred Evans

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Children of Light Walking in Darkness

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about fearing the Lord?

How do we know Jesus is the servant of God?

Why is trusting God important during dark times?

What does it mean to walk in darkness as a believer?

Sermon Transcript

About Fred Evans

Comments

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