Into The Darkness
Scriptures: Hebrews 11:1; John 20:24-29
Introduction
This morning I want to briefly talk with you about walking in faith. Do you know that in order to walk in faith you must become comfortable with being in the dark? I am not necessarily talking about the physical darkness, although there are some similarities that I will talk about shortly, but the mental darkness – the darkness that we experience when we do not know what is happening around us. Walking in faith means that we are believing in and hoping for something that we cannot presently see. But let me first spend some time talking about the natural darkness.
I do not know about you, but when I was a small boy, there were times when I was afraid of the dark. There was just something about not being able to see what was out there when everything was dark. When it was dark you could not know everything that was going on around you because you could not see it. There were times when my parents would ask me to go into another part of the house to get something and immediately I began to turn on lights as I went to make sure there was noting going to jump out at me. Although we were allowed to play outside after dark during the summer, we had to stay pretty much in our yard or in the school yard right across the street from our house when we were pre-teens. We were taught that bad things happen in the dark so you had to be extra careful where you went. How many times have we heard about places that we should not go to after dark? The reason is that bad things happen in the darkness. The physical darkness complicates our lives. We are limited as to what we can do and where we can go after it becomes dark. The darkness limits us and for some people it terrifies them. I have been traveling on roads in the daytime that I would not want to travel at night. These roads had no lights and it would be pitch black with many miles between two cities. I always imagine what it would be like to have car trouble on one of those roads late at night and having to sit there in the darkness – not being able to see anything. The physical darkness is scary and so is the mental darkness. The mental darkness is represented by our not knowing everything and yet we must continue forward until the light breaks through. This, my friends, is called walking in faith.
If you contrast the darkness with the daylight, there is only one difference between the two; in the daylight you can see what is around you. You can be in the exact same spot at two different times of the day and have complete confidence at one time and be utterly scared the next. Why does this happen? Because in the daylight you can see what is around you and you can see great distances and know that no one can sneak up and attack you without you seeing them. This is not the case when we are in total darkness. During those times we cannot see what is around us and it would be easy to be attacked from behind. One more point I want to make about the darkness. When there is a bad thunder storm at night, the storms seem worse because at night you cannot see how dark the clouds are. You cannot see a tornado in the distance. Also, when the lightening flashes, it is magnified by the darkness. Darkness magnifies storms because we cannot “see” how bad they really are so our imagination kicks in. We can imagine worse storms in the darkness than we can in the daylight because our minds can be extremely active at night. I want you use this analogy of the physical darkness to help you understand that when you are walking in faith it means you are holding on to God through the darkness. This morning we will take a walk into the darkness together.
I. Calmness In The Darkness
Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the assurance (substance) of things hoped for, the conviction (evidence) of things not seen.” Now focus on the last statement “of things not seen.” Remember the difference between being in a location in the daylight and being in the same location when there is total darkness? The only difference is that when we are in total darkness, we cannot see things. So to put it plainly, to walk in faith means that we must get very comfortable being in the dark knowing that while we do not know what is happening around us, God does. Although we know that God is in control sometimes we still find ourselves experiencing fear. Remember earlier when I talked about some people being terrified of the dark? There is a physical response within our bodies when we are scared. We breathe quicker; our pulse rate increase and we become agitated. All of these symptoms prepare us for what is know as the fight/flight response. Our body prepares us to get ready to fight or to run like crazy. Again, we all encounter this daily in our faith walk because when we are walking in faith there is darkness surrounding us. When we are standing in faith, we are standing for an outcome that has not happen so the outcome is still dark to us. Once we have seen the fulfillment of what we were standing for, then we can see in totality how God worked it out. But while we are in the midst of going through, we are walking blindly as we wait on God. Let me get back to the point I was making on our physical response to being afraid. When our bodies begin to go down the road towards a fight/flight response, we have too choices: we can lose control or we can calm ourselves and remain in control. If we lose control, we stop thinking clearly and we begin to operate on impulse. However, if we calm ourselves, we retain control and are able to make sound decisions because we are thinking clearly. Let me give you an example.
I was talking with someone this week about an exercise routine I do that causes my muscles to shake after a period of time. As I was describing this, she told me that it is important to make sure that I breathe throughout the exercise program. Well this was a no-brainer because everyone breathes when they exercise. Then she said something that struck me; she said that I must breathe correctly and to do that I must breathe through my nose and not through my mouth. I looked at her strange and decided I needed to do some research on this because she explained that if you breathe through your mouth during exercise, it could make the exercise more difficult. I began to think about our faith walk and how some walk in faith easier than others. Do you see where I am going with this? Before I tell you what I learned, I want to do a one minute experiment. I want each of you to keep you eyes open and for thirty seconds, breathe through your mouth only. Now, I want you to close your eyes and take deep breathes through your nose. Don’t fall asleep! Did you notice anything within yourself while you were breathing through your mouth versus when you were breathing through your nose? If you did this long enough, you would have. Let me explain.
When I researched what happens within our body when we breathe through our mouth versus when we breathe through our nose I was amazed at what I found and how it relates to our faith walk. First, when you breathe through your mouth, you stimulate and produce adrenalin which is important to our fight/flight response when we are scared. It produces a state of panic which is why when people are shocked, they immediately grab their mouth. This is not a learned response; this is a physical response because the body knows that if you continue to breathe through your mouth in these situations you will produce a state of panic within your body. This is also why when someone is hyperventilating we have them breathe into a paper bag. Breathing through the bag has a calming effect and allows the person to regain control over their breathing. Now the opposite happens when you breathe through your nose.
Our lungs are one of the primary sources of our energy level. They extract oxygen from the air we breathe primarily on the exhale. Because the nostrils are smaller than the mouth, air exhaled through the nose creates back pressure when we exhale. It slows the air escape so the lungs have more time to extract oxygen from them. When there is proper oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange, the blood will maintain a balanced pH. If carbon dioxide is lost too quickly, as in mouth breathing, oxygen absorption is decreased. Also, the afferent stimuli from the nerves that regulate breathing are in the nasal passages. The inhaled air passing through the nasal mucosa carries the stimuli to the reflex nerves that control breathing. Mouth breathing bypasses the nasal mucosa and makes regular breathing difficult as the reflex nerves that control breathing are not being stimulated. This is why during sleep, breathing through the mouth predisposes one to loud snoring and irregular breathing and can lead to a serious condition called sleep apnea and heart conditions. This also explains why our bodies get tired easily when we have a cold and our sinuses are blocked and we must breathe through our mouth. Also, breathing through the nose limits air intake and forces one to SLOW down. Proper nose breathing reduces hypertension and stress for most people and why it is practiced in some exercises like yoga. Another point, the nostrils and sinuses filter and warm the air going into the lungs. The mouth breather bypasses this. Mouth breathing accelerates water loss increasing possible dehydration and it can affect body temperature. One final point about breathing through the nose and it pertains to our sense of smell. Maintaining a keen sense of smell is very important for enjoying life and for safety and social acceptance. Think of all the beautiful smells we enjoy with our nose. Smell influences our behavior, our memories, and many autonomic nervous system functions which are below the level of conscious awareness. This is because the receptors in the nose, known as olfactory bulbs, are direct extensions of a part of the brain known as the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus, also known as the Brain’s brain, is responsible for many functions in our bodies, particularly those that we consider automatic: heartbeat, blood pressure, thirst, appetite, and of course, the cycles of sleeping and waking. The hypothalamus is also responsible for generating chemicals that influence memory and emotion. Mouth breathing adversely affects how the “brain’s brain” does its job.
When we breathe through our mouth we start the process for our body to become excited, agitated and ready to fight. When we breathe through our nose, we calm our body and maintain control over your emotions. As you consider what I have shared with you, think about how you walk in darkness during your faith walk. As we stand in faith believing God for the outcome, we can breathe through our mouth which will cause us to panic (spiritually) or we can spiritually breathe through our nose which will bring about a sense of calmness and peace. It is all about how we choose to walk through our situations.
II. Mental and Spiritual Darkness
As we walk in faith, there are two types of darkness that we encounter. The first type of darkness is what I call the mental darkness. Mental darkness is when we are standing in faith and our minds are fighting against us. Our minds tell us that we are believing for the impossible and therefore we must be crazy. During a state of mental darkness, we can only believe and accept what our mind sees and accepts. If the mind sees the evidence, sees the proof, then we will accept it. Mental darkness if left unchecked will lead to the second type of darkness, spiritual darkness. Although spiritual darkness can be defined as the one who has not accepted Christ and is walking in spiritual darkness, I want to use the term for the Christian who is unable to walk by faith because they always need proof before they can believe. Spiritual darkness is a dangerous place for a Christian because it speaks directly to what we do not know and it is what we do not know that Satan counts on. Let me give you an example of how mental darkness caused someone who was a believer to experience spiritual darkness. Turn to John 20:24-25.
“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Have you ever wondered why Jesus came to the disciples when He knew that Thomas would not be there? Think about it – Jesus knew that Thomas was not with the disciples at the time that He chose to visit them. I believe this was on purpose. Thomas needed to make a change and Jesus knew it.
So Jesus came and visited with His disciples. When Thomas returned, they began to share with him that they had seen Jesus. Thomas told them that unless he could see for himself the imprint of the nails in His hands as well as place his finger into the place, he would not believe. He did not say that he would not consider it; he said he would not believe. Thomas was experiencing mental darkness and he needed to see the proof before he could believe. Thomas mental darkness led him directly into spiritual darkness. The spiritual darkness came on because of Thomas’ need to have proof that Jesus was alive. Thomas had walked with Jesus and his brethren disciples for three years. During this time he had witnessed miracles, deliverance, healings and was involved in a lot of these. But when his mind witnessed Christ crucifixion, his mind refused to accept anything else but what it had witnessed. This was the mental darkness. But because of this decision, Thomas forgot what Christ had taught them; he forgot about what he had experienced with his fellow disciples: and he forgot how he had been walking for the last three years. This, my friend, was spiritual darkness. It was not that he turned away, he just needed proof and his need for proof caused him to forget who he was and what he had learned. Therefore, because he forgot all of this, his spirit was not able to override his mind.
But notice what Jesus told him. When Jesus came back to the disciples when Thomas was there, He addressed Thomas openly. He exposed Thomas weakness in an attempt to help Thomas become stronger. You see, Thomas could not fulfill what Christ had called him to do if he had to always see something before he could believe it. He could not walk in spiritual darkness and accomplish the mission that Christ had for Him. When Jesus came back, He already knew what Thomas had said so He provided Thomas with the proof that he needed to believe. But Jesus told Thomas this which applies to each of us: “...Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.” Jesus basically told Thomas that he believed because he saw Jesus, but there is a blessing for those who believe who have not seen Him.
Conclusion
I titled this message “Into The Darkness” because many of us are walking in the darkness right now as we are standing in faith. This darkness does not have to scare us as it is part of our faith walk. Remember, when we are walking in faith, we are believing God for something and although we do not presently have what we are believing Him for, we know it is on its way. So we begin to give thanks and praise to God because spiritually we know we have what we have been seeking. When you are experiencing a time when your spirit is in spiritual darkness, that spiritual darkness comes about because your spirit does not have the assurance that what you are needing will be provided. When you are spiritually panicking because of your situation and your physical body begins to show the manifestation of your panicking, remember to breathe though your nose spiritually. To do this, you begin to remember all of the promises that God has already fulfilled in your life. You begin to remember who you are in Christ and the assurances that have been given to you because of the relationship. You remember that everything you need has already been given to you and you do not need to “purchase a blessing” with your tithes and offerings.
I turned on the TV early one morning and was flipping through the channels. I came across an infomercial for a man known as “The Prophet”. There were many people including Rev. Ike (famous for the slogan: “You can’t lose with what I use.”), Rev. Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons, the author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and Judge Hackett all giving praises to this man who had changed their lives through his prophecies. As I watched this, my mind immediately went to a place where I was thinking about all these people being in spiritual darkness following this man. Do I believe that there are true prophets of God in the world today? Absolutely! Do I believe that this man was one of them? I have serious doubts and here’s why. All of the testimonies were about how the prophet was able to help them financially. On the infomercial you could call in and request your first “free prophecy” and once you were hooked, you could purchase others. What I found interesting was that all of these people said that every prophecy he had given them came to past – yet they had to purchase them. I cannot find no where in the Bible where the prophet charged for the prophecy and gave you one for free just to get you started.
My point is this. We do not like walking in the dark when we are walking in faith. We’re like Thomas, we want the sure thing. We do not want to be patient and allow God to move, we want to know how He will move and when. Because of this need, we will seek out anyone who will tell us what we need to hear and ignore where God is trying to take us. I am asking you this morning, if you are standing in faith for something and you have not received your answer, although darkness may surround you, your answer is coming. Just hold out – don’t give us. If everything seems to be crashing around you, stand on your faith. Don’t tell God that now that He has answered your prayer you will believe. Tell Him that you know He will answer and you are going to wait and be led by His Spirit.
May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
(I want to share with each of you that this message is one that I have preached to myself this week – it is very personal. I needed this message. There are a lot of things happening around me and I felt my focus and assurance wavering – a very scary feeling. I felt darkness engulfing me in a way that I have not experienced in years. Within that darkness, God told me that this was faith. Walking in faith means you must have times when you are in the dark and must totally rely on Him. I just wanted you to know this about this message. Take care.)
