Several weeks ago, Brother Frank
Hall came into the office before any of the other men got here,
and he sat down. I asked him how he was doing. He looked at me. It was obvious
that he had something heavy on his heart. He said, Brother Don,
do you ever have times of darkness? Do all God's people go through
times of darkness? I said, Frank, I wouldn't presume
to speak for any others. I can't tell you what all of
God's people experience, but I frequently go through times
of darkness. I know what it is to be in the
valley more than I do to be on the mountaintop. more what it
is to endure darkness than I do what it is to walk in the bright
light of confidence. I know this, some things can
only be seen in darkness. You can't see the beauty of the
moon or the stars in God's heaven until God sets the sun and causes
darkness to cover the earth. And there are things in the life
of Christ that we have in this world, things in the spiritual
life that God's given us that we cannot see and cannot know
and cannot understand except as God takes us through times
of darkness. We would never choose such, never. But God, who is infinitely wise
and always good, often chooses to lead his children through
darkness for good reasons. Anyone, anyone can learn the
letter of this book. anyone. If you're interested
in learning the Bible, buy one, read it, and you can learn the
letter of the book. You can learn all the prophetic
schemes revealed in Holy Scripture. All you've got to do is just
measure the time. It's just as simple as that. You can read
the Old Testament, and you can count the time to the years to
the appointed place where Christ was to come into this world.
That's not difficult. Anybody can do it. You can learn
what the book says in the letter. You can learn the historic facts
revealed in this book. You can learn them. Just read
the book and read it carefully. That's all it takes. You can
learn the promises that are written in the book and you can read
them clearly and distinctly, memorize them and recite them.
You can even accurately learn the doctrines taught in this
book. You can learn those things. You
can do that by fleshly means and fleshly effort without any
spiritual direction at all. Now let that sink in. Let that
sink in. A person can learn these things
and teach them to others and never be affected by them at
all. And truth that doesn't affect
you, doctrine that doesn't alter your being, facts that don't
change you, you're just as well off not to know. That's just fact. That's just
fact. But there are gems of living truth hidden in this book in
the deep minds of Holy Scripture that can be fetched only by the
experience of God's grace and the teaching of His Spirit. Turn
to Isaiah chapter 50. Our text tonight is one of these
vast, deep, deep minds. As I read our text and begin
to expound it to you, some of you will find your souls echoing
what the prophet here says and what I have to say concerning
what the prophet says. And some of you may be offended
by what the prophet says and what I had to say concerning
what the prophet says. The title of my message is a
little unusual, but you'll see it clearly when we look at our
text. My subject is the children of
light walking in darkness. Children of light walking in
darkness. Isaiah 50 verse 10. The prophet of God raises the
question, who 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 ye that kindle a
fire, that can pass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the
light of your fire. and in the sparks that ye have
kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand. Ye shall lie down in sorrow. Here are two distinct characters
traced out by the hand of God the Holy Spirit. One is a child
of God, an heir of heaven, described as a child who is indeed a child
of light. The other is a child of Satan,
an heir of hell, a child of darkness, one who is reprobate, cast off
by God's hand in judgment. The child of light is described
as walking in darkness with no light, while the child of darkness
is said to walk in the light. The one walking in darkness is
comforted. And the one walking in light
is warned of his everlasting ruin. These two verses teach
us plainly that true believers are often distressed, often walk
in darkness, and many who believe not walk confidently with great
assurance and peace. Look at verse 10. First, the
prophet describes children of light walking in darkness. And I'm going to spend the great
bulk of my time and effort here because my object is to be of
help to you whose souls are heavy. And a clear understanding will
make your way easier, I'm certain. The prophet first shows us with
regard to these children of light who walk in darkness. He describes
who God's people are with two traits, two characteristics.
God's people are a people who fear the Lord and the people
who obey his servant. The believer fears the Lord. Now, the fear he's talking about
here is not a slavish fear. It's not a legal fear. It's not
a not a fear of judgment or wrath or punishment. It's not it's
not the kind of fear we had before God saved us. I know what it
is to be terrified of God. I expect you do. I know what
it is to be terrified at the prospect of meeting God in judgment.
I know what it is to be terrified at God's holy character. That's
not the theory is talking about. That fear belongs to those who
don't know God. That fear belongs to those who
do not trust the Savior. That fear belongs to those who
yet bear the guilt of sin and the curse of God's law in their
conscience. This is not the fear he's talking
about. This is a loving reverence. A believing fear. Turn to Psalm
2. Let me show you. Psalm 2. The prophet's talking here about
A believer's desire to please and honor God. For the lad just
prayed a minute ago, God give us grace not to dishonor him. That's the fear I'm talking about.
A desire to honor him, to honor him. you who have a mother or a father
who you so reverence that your great
aim in life is to please that mother or father to honor their
name. Oh, how blessed you are. How
blessed you are. God's people have a father. whom
we anxiously desire to please and honor. knowing full well
that our only way to please him is to trust his son. Yet we desire
in all aspects of our lives to honor him. This is the fruit
of faith. It is that is that fear whereby
we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. It
is that gift of God's grace that causes us to fear him. Psalm
two, verse 11, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Look at Psalm 5, verse 7. The
psalmist says, But as for me, I will come into thy house in
the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will I worship toward
thy holy temple. This fear, this fear, this this
fear of God that he's talking about back here in Isaiah 50,
verse 10. Who's among you that feareth
the Lord? This is always the result of saving faith. It is not something that so much
has to be taught, though certainly we teach it. It is something
that is learned in the experience of grace. It is that which always
comes where grace comes. It's the very beginning of wisdom,
the very beginning of the knowledge of the Lord. And the more we
know him, The wiser we are in the things of God, the more we
experience of His grace, the more God reveals Himself to us
in our Lord Jesus Christ, the more we fear Him, the more we
desire to please Him and honor Him. The more important the honor
of His name is, the more we learn to pray like our Savior taught
us to pray. You remember the disciples said,
Lord, teach us to pray like John taught his disciples to pray.
The Lord said when you pray say this and he wasn't just simply
saying now repeat the Lord's Prayer We don't We don't do that. I'm not suggesting there's necessarily
evil to stand here and repeat the lord's prayer I don't do
it because of what men have done with it. I don't Suggest folks
sing the lord's prayer though I've heard it sung and been greatly
moved in my own heart by that But I want you to know what he
said when he says when you pray say He's saying this is what
you ought to seek first and foremost Our father which art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name Honor your name God get glory to yourself. That's how he prayed John 12
28 What shall I say father saved me from this hour, but for this
cause came I into this hour father Glorify thy name. All right back
here in a text again All who are born of God fear the Lord
and all who are born of God Obey the voice of his servant Now
there's no question at all, his servant spoken of here is talking
about our Lord Jesus Christ. Back up to verse four, you'll
see that. The Lord God has given me, our Savior is speaking, the
tongue of the learned. Grace is poured into his lips,
that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that
is weary. He wakeneth me morning by morning.
He wakeneth my ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God hath
opened mine ear and I was not rebellious, neither turned away
back. I gave my back to the spiders
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spinning. I willingly laid down my life
in the room instead of my people. I'm the good shepherd who willingly
gives his life for the sheep. For the Lord God will help me.
Therefore shall I not be confounded therefore have I set my face
like a flint and I know that I shall not be ashamed Now watch
this he is near that justifies me How can that be talking about
our Savior he was wounded for our transgressions He was put
to death when he was made sin for us He was buried in the earth
And then when he came forth from the earth on the third day, the
scripture says he was justified in the spirit. God raised him
up and declares him now to be free of sin because he has made
us free of sin and he accepted him at his own right hand. He
is near that justifieth me. Who shall contend with me? Let
us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him
come near unto me. So this one who speaks is Jehovah's
servant, our Lord Jesus. That one who stood in our room
instead before the world was and assumed all responsibility
for our souls, for the saving of our souls, to the glory of
God, Jehovah's righteous servant. Who is it that fears the Lord?
He's the one who obeys Christ. How is that? As the Lord Jesus
reveals himself, his will, his doctrine, his truth in his word. He obeys the Lord's servant as
he is taught by God, the Holy Spirit, who is also Jehovah's
servant. Turn over to Romans chapter eight,
Romans the eighth chapter. Beginning in verse 8. So then they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. Well, it looks to me like everybody
sitting here is in the flesh. Well, we don't. But you're not
in the flesh. You're not in the flesh. I live
in this body, but I'm not in the flesh. Oh, no. Oh, no. I've been crucified with Christ.
Adam has been put to death with Christ the Redeemer, though I
live in this body of flesh. I don't live in the flesh. No,
no. But in the spirit. How so? If so, be that the spirit
of God dwell in you. If you're born again, you don't
live any longer in the flesh according to the lust of the
flesh, but rather in the spirit. Now, if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. I don't know what you're
talking about. I know. I understand. I don't
have any difficulty with that. Read on. And if Christ be in
you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up him Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies. He's going to quicken these physical,
mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. When Christ
comes again, these bodies shall be raised to life again. Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the
flesh. For if you live after the flesh,
you shall die. But if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. He's
our comforter. He's our teacher. He takes the
things of Christ and shows them to us. He's the one who reveals
Christ in us. As many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they're the sons of God. For you have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you've received the spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Now watch this,
the Spirit itself. I know some folks squawk, say
I don't like that translation. That's the proper translation
in the grammatical structure of faith. It doesn't deny that
God the Spirit's person, but the word spirit is a neuter word,
and he's talking here in grammatical terms. The Spirit itself, quite
literally the Spirit himself, beareth witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God. How do you know you're one of
God's children? God the Holy Spirit testifies in here that
I am. God, the Holy Spirit testifies
in here that I am. He causes me to lift my eyes
to heaven, trust in Christ, and call God in heaven, my father. You get that by the Spirit of
God, not by the preacher, not by getting baptized, not by joining
the church, not by going down the Romans road, not by some
preacher saying, yeah, well, if you've done this, done that,
done that, well, sure, you're a child of God. I know you are,
because that's what I've done. That's how I know I'm a child
of God. How do you know you're alive? Wait just a second. I've
got a copy of my birth certificate I carry in my wallet just to
prove I'm alive. Well, what stupidity? We'll lock you up in a nut house.
But that's what folks do with regard to religion. How do you
know you're born of God? Well, I was there and I said
what the preacher said for me to say and I went down to Romans
Road and I said my little prayer and I did this and I did that
and I got baptized and I changed my life and everything's going
good and I'm perfectly at peace. Don't you bother me with anything.
No, no, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that
we're the sons of God by his word in our hearts. We don't.
And the children, then heirs, heirs of God. And joint heirs
with Christ. If so be that we suffer with
him, that we may also that we may be also glorified together.
All right, turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews 13. Who is this? Who's among you
that feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant? Obeyeth
the voice of his servant, his servant Christ, his servant God
the Holy Spirit. And how is it that God the Spirit
and God the Son shows us his word and teaches us the things
of God? By his servants, faithful gospel
preachers. Hebrews 13 verse 7. Remember
them which have the rule over you. Remember them before the
throne of grace. Remember them with honor and
esteem for their work sake. Who has spoken to you the word
of God. He's talking about preachers.
He's not talking about remembering the president or kings or those
in authority, though that's spoken of elsewhere. He's talking about
here remembering those who preach the word of God to you, whose
faith that is the doctrine of faith. We preach the example
of faith by which they show you the way and the example of faithfulness
they set before you. Oh, what a tall order for a preacher. an order that I can't fulfill. So I ask you to remember me,
that God will give me grace to walk in exemplary faith and faithfulness
by which to lead you in the doctrine of faith that I preach, whose
faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. What's
that? Jesus Christ, the same yesterday
and today and forever. Verse 17. Obey them. Obey them that had the rule over
you. Well, I'm not going to obey any man. You will if you're God's. Oh, yes, you will. I'm not going
to follow any picture. You will if you belong to God.
You will if you belong to God. Obey them that had the rule over
you. That's not talking about tyranny. Not talking about tyranny.
When I was in the hospital, I had an excellent nurse. She told
me her name was Tyranny. I said, my soul wants you to
make your daddy some man. Tyranny. That's not what that's
not kind of rule I'm talking about. I'm talking about the
kind of rule a husband has in his house. Rule of love and care
to guide and direct and protect and provide for his family. Rule
over you. Rule over you. I'm not going
to have anybody rule me. God's servants will. God's servants
will. They will. They rule the house
of God like a husband rules his own house. I don't attempt to
bully my wife. I didn't attempt to bully my
daughter, though when she was little I insisted she obeyed
me. And quite honestly, I insisted she obeyed me first time I told
her to do anything. If I had to tell her twice, she felt me
tell her twice. And that's the way I do things
today. I will see to it she felt the second command. I insisted
on that. But the rule, oh no, it's the
rule that is my responsibility as a father to guide my house. That means the decisions, the
direction, The path of the household is not her responsibility and
it will never be her choice. Never. Never. Not as long as
I'm a father and a husband. Never be. Same is true with regard
to God's servants. Obey them that have the rule
over you and submit yourselves. How come? For they watch for
your souls. That's what a faithful pastor
does. They watch for your souls, as
they that must give account, account to God for you who hear
my voice, that they may do it with joy and not with grief,
for that's unprofitable for you. Yes, God's people obey their
pastors, those men sent of God to teach them the gospel, to
teach them the word of God. They obey in matters of faith
and doctrine and worship, matters of duty and conduct as they're
directed by God the spirit. Spurgeon put it this way. Holy
reverence within the heart and careful obedience manifested
in the life. These are the two infallible
marks of a true believer. All right. Back to Isaiah 50.
Here's the second thing. The prophet describes here the
condition in which believers often find themselves, walking
in darkness and having no light. I don't suggest this is the condition
God's people are in all the time, but it is the condition many
of God's people find themselves in much of the time. Now let
me help you with a little understanding of the word. Here in Isaiah 50
and verse 10, when the prophet says, we have no light, obviously
he's not speaking of us walking in darkness and having no light
in an absolute sense. If we walk in the light, as he
is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses us from all sin. You were sometimes
darkness, Paul said, but now are you light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light.
You are all children of the light and of the day, Paul told the
Thessalonians. What's he mean here then when
he says we walk in darkness and have no light? that's translated
light is a distinct, very distinct word. It means brilliance, clear
shining. The fact is, though we always
have the light of God's truth, we don't always enjoy the brilliance
and clear shining of his countenance. Oh, Lord, Lift thou up the light
of thy countenance upon us. Cause thy face to shine, and
we shall be saved. I never have any difficulty personally. I never have any difficulty knowing
the light of my duty. Never have any problem. Turn
to Psalm 88. Psalm 88, yeah. I never have any difficulty at
all knowing my duty. I have a lot of trouble doing
it, but I never have any difficulty knowing what I ought to do. I
can't think of a time in my life as a believer when I've had to
sit down and wonder what ought I to do and wonder if this is
the right thing to do. I don't have any difficulty knowing
my duty, no. But I often find myself without the brilliant,
clear, shining light of God's favor. I come here to preach. I've been
places where fellows start to get up and preach and they just
sit down and say, well, I just can't do it. I don't have anything to
say. And I get upset with that. I get upset with that. And I
hope the fellows who do it here may say this. I get upset with
it. It's your responsibility to have something to say. It's
my responsibility to come here with a message from God for you.
That's my duty. But I can't do it. I can't do
it. Only God can give me the grace
to proclaim his word in the power of his spirit. I know my duty,
but I don't always know God's favor and experience. I often come here and somebody
will ask me if I'm going to preach. I respond, we'll find out just
a little while because I just really don't know. I don't know.
I hope so. I pray so. Look at Psalm 88,
verse 1. O Lord God of my salvation, I've
cried day and night before Thee. Let my prayer come before Thee.
Incline Thine ear unto my cry, for my soul is full of troubles. My life draweth nigh unto the
grave. I'm counted with them that go
down into the pit. I am as a man that hath no strength.
Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave,
whom thou rememberest no more, they're cut off from my hand.
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Jeremiah And the third chapter
of Lamentations speaks of his experience honestly. He said, Lord, you've hedged
me about. I can't get out. He said, you've
broken my teeth with gravel stones. He said, you have been like a
bear or a lion waiting for me. He said, Lord, you've brought
me into darkness and not into light. This, he says, you've done. I'm yours. I know you. I know who you are. And I know
if this is my experience, if this is what has come to pass,
this is what you've done. You've done this. This, I recall
to my mind, therefore, have I hope. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we're not consumed because his compassions fail not. We have
the light of God's goodness and grace in Christ, always that.
but not always the light of assurance. I know some folks say, well,
if you don't have assurance, you don't have faith. Some folks
say, well, if you have any assurance, you're damned. And some folks
say, if you don't have any assurance, you're damned. The fact is, sometimes
I know what it is to have blessed, confident assurance before God. I'm talking about felt assurance. And sometimes I know what it
is to have none in the experience of things. That's just fact. And I'm trying my best as I get
to be a grown man to deal with things as they really
are, Joe. I'm not going to stand up here and fake things with
you. I'm going to stand up here and toy with your souls while
you perish. No. We had the light of God's
promises, always that. but not always light of his presence.
The fact is, true believers often walk in darkness, particularly
concerning the state of our own souls. John Berridge lived in
the days of John Newton, George Whitefield, very, very gifted,
faithful preacher in his day. He made this statement, for my
own part, Since first my unbelief was felt, I've been praying for
years for faith and praying with some earnestness. And it is not yet possessed of
half a grain. If you had faith as a grain of
mustard seed, You can say to this mountain, depart. We go. Say to this sycamore tree, be
uprooted and cast into the depths of the sea. Now, which one of
you was bragging about your faith? Who wasn't bragging about it?
Oh, how I know my faith is good and strong. Not even a half a grade. Not
even a half a grade. We have darkness, spiritual trials,
and conflicts. Sometimes God won't speak to us. Sometimes He hides His face from
us. And He won't let us speak to
Him. We don't cease to cry after him,
but he won't let us speak to him. The heavens are as brass
above us. Darkness of satanic temptations. The temptations wouldn't be a
real problem if there wasn't darkness in them, would it? Darkness of worldly care. difficulties,
trials, domestic trouble and sickness and bereavement and
heartaches, times of darkness. Those things don't necessarily
cause darkness, but often darkness comes with them. Darkness of
slander and reproach, misrepresentation, darkness of depression and melancholy,
being cast down in your heart and mind, emotional instability
for yourself. I can't imagine such. I know. I know. I don't know much about
those things. And frankly, I don't want to
know, but I know enough about it to know this. Nobody understands
who hasn't been there. Nobody. Nobody. And God's people
deal with it. You might not know this. I think
I've told you. William Cowper, British pronounce
it Cooper, But William Cowper wrote so many of our great, great
hymns. God moves in a mysterious way,
his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the
sea, rides upon the storm. Oh, for a thousand tongues to
sing. Cowper wrote those. He wrote so many great, great
hymns. His pastor was John Newton. Cowper lived just a little ways
from Newton, lived right behind him. But do you know Cowper spent
so much time in depression that he rarely ever went to a public
worship service? Rarely ever. Rarely ever. He loved the gospel of God's
grace, but he just couldn't bear being in public. Just couldn't
bear it. He spent time in an asylum, both
before God saved him and after God saved him. The fact is God's
people do endure such things. And those things are times of
darkness. Darkness none can explain except
those who experience it. Darkness none can understand
except those who experience it. Now, you say, well, why? Why
does God do that to teach us? to humble us, to break our pride,
to keep us from trusting ourselves, to make us know our only hope
before him is Christ. If today he deigns to bless us
with a sense of pardoned sin, he tomorrow may distress us,
make us feel the plague within, all to make us sick of self,
and fond of him. All right, Lord. If that's what
it takes, that's all right with me. As you will. Why does he say these things?
To make us sympathetic with his people in this world and to make
us useful in ministering to one another. Now, look at the gracious
counsel he gives. Oh, may God give us grace to
hear and heed this counsel. The prophet says to God's children,
walking in darkness, let him trust in the name of the Lord
and stay upon his God. What do you do walking in darkness? Don't have any experiences. And
you don't have any evidences. You don't have any graces. You
don't have any works on which to lead. What do you do? Trust
in the name of the Lord. Trust Jesus Christ, your Redeemer. And stay upon his God. Stay. That's a good word. That's a good word. Lean the
whole weight of your soul upon God your Savior. That's the thing
to do. That's the thing to do. You say,
well, I can't do that. If I can't trust God in darkness,
I don't trust God in light. If I can't trust him when I have
no evidences, the reason is because I really trust my evidences.
If I can't trust him when I have nothing in myself to give me
any hope, nothing in my experience, nothing in my knowledge, nothing
in my feelings, if I can't trust him then, the fact is I don't
really trust him at all, but rather myself. Martin Luther said, feelings
come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving. I trust the living
word of God, naught else is worth believing. The fact is God's
promises were made for dark times, not for the light. And when thine eye of faith is
dim, still hold on Jesus, sink or swim, still at his footstool
bow the knee, and Israel's God thy strength shall be. My hope is built on nothing less than
Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. When darkness veils his
lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale
my anchor holds within the veil. His oath, His covenant, His blood,
support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives
way, He then is all my hope and stay. When He shall come with
trumpet sound, oh, may I then in Him be found, robed in His
righteousness alone, thoughtless, to stand before His throne. On
Christ, the solid rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. Amen.