Get Right In The Light Or Left In The Dark

Get Right in the Light or Left in the Dark

(Psalm 51:1-6)

Scripture Reading (Psalm 51:1-6, NKJV)

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”

Introduction

Church, the Lord dropped a phrase in my spirit that I can’t get away from:

“Get right in the light, or left in the dark.”

That’s the whole message tonight. That’s the heartbeat of Psalm 51. That’s the story of David, the broken king crying out for mercy. That’s the story of every one of us.

David thought his sin was hidden. He thought his cover-up worked. But Nathan stood before him and said, “You are the man.” Suddenly the lights came on. And David had a choice: Get right in the light, or be left in the dark.

And I believe tonight the Holy Spirit is calling us to step out of the shadows, step out of fake religion, and step into REAL righteousness — truth in the inward parts.

Darkness Changes Behavior

I remember back in the Marine Corps during one of our training exercises. We were running a force-on-force raid against another platoon. The floodlights lit the whole area up like daylight, and every movement was visible.

But then — by accident — one of our comm guys leaned on the main switch. Boom. Darkness. For maybe 10 seconds it was pitch black.

And let me tell you, in 10 seconds of darkness things happened that would’ve never happened in the light. When the lights came back on, their squad leader was down, their formation was broken, and the whole momentum of the exercise shifted.

That’s how sin works. That’s how compromise works. When we step out of the light, the enemy does his best work in the dark. But when the light of God shines, everything is exposed.

That’s why I keep saying: Get right in the light, or left in the dark.

David’s Lesson — Truth in the Inward Parts

David writes in Psalm 51:6 —

“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”

• God doesn’t want Sunday-morning-only righteousness.

• God doesn’t want outward religion.

• He wants inward transformation.

And here’s the key: you can fake it with men, but you can’t fake it with God.

Looking Good From the Road

Let me bring this home with a farmer’s example.

I was walking with a friend through one of his fields. From the road, that corn looked perfect. Tall, green, strong. But when we pulled back the husks, some ears were thin, some undeveloped, some had no kernels at all. From a distance it looked like a picture-perfect field. But up close, the truth was exposed.

That’s the question for us today: Do we just look righteous from a distance, or are we truly walking in righteousness up close?

Because you can look right from the road, but if there’s no fruit in the husk — it’s not real righteousness.

That’s why I say: Get right in the light, or left in the dark.

Hidden Problems

You all know I build production lines and do a lot of maintenance activities at work. know what I’ve learned? Machines will run “good enough” for a while with hidden problems. Bearings wear down, belts crack, oil runs low. From the outside, it may still look okay. But eventually, when the pressure hits, what’s hidden shows up.

That’s how sin works. That’s how unrighteousness works. You can keep it hidden, but eventually the pressure will reveal it.

Jesus wants us to live in the light where the inside matches the outside.

Scripture Foundation

• Proverbs 2:13 (NKJV):

“From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness.”

• Isaiah 5:20 (NKJV):

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

• 1 Peter 3:12 (NKJV):

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

God is clear: there’s no middle ground. You either live in the light, or you walk in darkness. You either get right in the light, or you get left in the dark.