The Treasures of Darkness
PPT 1 Title
PPT 2, 3 Text: Isaiah 45:1-3
Isa 45:1 Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him, And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
Isa 45:2 "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze, and cut through their iron bars.
Isa 45:3 "And I will give you the treasures of darkness, And hidden wealth of secret places, In order that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
The text is written of Cyrus. But I believe the text can be applied to all of God's anointed. Certainly everything that was said here to Cyrus equally applies to Jesus. The text is to God's anointed. God's anointed is Jesus.
Anointed -consecrated - set apart
God holds the hands of the anointed ones.
God opens the gates and they are not shut.
God makes the crooked places straight. (Do you have any crooked places?)
God breaks in pieces the gates of iron and brass. Didn't Jesus promise us the gates of hell will not prevail (stop us).
This morning we are going to preach on the treasures of darkness that God wants to give us, and how knowing such is of benefit to us.
God has a message for someone today - your darkness has a treasure hidden in it, and God means for you to have it.
Let me begin by explaining the frustration of darkness, then we will move on to what are the treasures of darkness, and how knowing such is of benefit.
The frustration of darkness is:
Darkness is a time of moving slower, feeling awkward, feeling unsure.
Darkness is a time of shadows, of not seeing clearly. Of flying by the instruments and not sight.
(Trusting the Word, while for a season not seeing it yet fulfilled)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things NOT SEEN!.
Of trusting your memory on where things are and how they should be. We have to navigate by things other than our eyes, and that is usually very uncomfortable for us.
Frightening sounds, think of the different way sounds impact you in the day and the night. If my dog barks during the day, I assume it to be a squirrel or some other critter in my backyard, but at night we think of burglars. Why? Because night and darkness cause fears to manifest.
In our text this morning God said in this text He would give His anointed the treasures of darkness.
That puts a different spin on darkness, doesn't it. Even as there are fears and awkwardness in a season of not seeing, there are also treasures available, so let's discuss them.
A. What are the treasures of darkness?
God has treasure even in places of darkness.
No the text says more than that it says He has "treasures." (Plural)
1. The first treasure I want to speak of is the treasure of the presence of God.
PPT 4, 5 text
1Ki 8:10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy [place], that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
1Ki 8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
1Ki 8:12 Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
Whenever I read that text I always thought of some super bright cloud. But that is not the cloud God dwells in. Even though in Him is light and no darkness, I think He wraps Himself in dark clouds to remind us that there always is mystery about God.
Ex 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God [was].
Who is in the thick darkness? Us alone? No that is God's dwelling place! So the truth is that in times of darkness we may come away with some of the greatest moments of intimacy we will ever know in our lifetime here on earth.
2. The second treasure I want to speak of is the treasure of new revelation.
We just read of Moses drawing near unto the thick darkness where God was, and what happened there?
God gave him the revelation of the 10 commandments and so many other things. You will find that in a season of darkness will sometimes be the season in which you get some of the greatest revelations from God you will ever have.
Consider this passage from the life of Abraham:
Ge 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
The first thing I want you to notice from this text, is also the first thing we notice about a season of darkness, that it is usually extremely uncomfortable. Did you notice the phrase, "a horror of darkness?" The NIV puts it this way: "a thick and dreadful darkness came over him." This text reminds me of a similar from the book of Exodus:
Ex 10:21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt."
A darkness which may be felt. And yet, Abraham is about to have an incredible revelation of the future of his posterity, the length of time they would stay in Egypt as slaves, ant that afterward they would come out rewarded and finally take possession of the promised land.
Jewelers often put their wares on a black background to show their goods in stark relief. In that setting nothing distracts the eye from the jewels. In the same way, in a season of darkness God often speaks and gives revelation so that the word can be more clearly heard and appreciated. When I speak of revelation, what I mean by that is that God takes truths already found in His word and makes them especially real to us. All of a sudden we have an "aha!" moment about some of God's wonderful truths, and they are more firmly pressed into our understanding.
2. The third treasure of darkness is Secret deliverance's and victories
PPT 7 text
Ex 14:21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go [back] by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry [land], and the waters were divided.
The real miracle God did, was not in the daytime, but in the night.
In the shadows of the night, when men slept - God was secretly working on His deliverance plan.
They couldn't see what He was doing.
The bible gives us God's night vision goggles! Just because you can't see anything, doesn't mean God isn't moving, in fact it is quite the opposite. His wind is blowing on your impossible situation, and come morning you will see and praise Him for what He did in your night season.
PPT 8 text
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
God worked all the night - there wasn't one moment that He wasn't working
God has something cooking for you. A cake that will make you sing and dance. Not simply a deliverance from your enemies but a triumphing over them!
4. The last treasure I want to speak of is the souls of lost men and women
What does hell treasure most? Lost souls.
I will shatter through their doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
Though men and women are encased in the thickest darkness hell can create God still is in the business of setting them free. Dark places are where lost men and women dwell. Often God sends us there to minister to them. I don't mean we participate in their sins, but we wind up in dark situations so that we can minister to lost people who are there. For example, the unemployment line, or the emergency room, you get the idea.
Finally, now that we see what God does in a season of darkness how can we use this truth to benefit us?
PPT 9 text
Ge 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew [it] not.
1. When we recognize God is working in a season of darkness. It wakes us from a nightmare.
Jacob said God was in this place and he didn't realize it. But when he did it lifted the nightmare
right off of him.
Jacob woke from his sleep. His daytime nightmare, he was fleeing for his life from his brother. Like a night spent with demons and vampires, and whatever else would vex you so is a night or season being blinded to God's work. Yet the whole time he was guarded by God's best. Just because he was surrounded doesn't mean he was defeated. When he felt the most alone was when he actually was the least alone. He came to his senses, his reason returned to him.
2. It provides us with rest and trust.
When we realize this truth it helps us to calm our fears, steady our nerves, bolster our strength, and rally our courage. We trade peace for anxiety, sleep for tossing and turning, and peace for alarm.
There came a "surely," into Jacob's vocabulary. (Spurgeon) It was a rock of confidence, a trustworthy foothold on a slippery slope.
3. Finally, it causes us to rejoice over that which we had been weeping over.
Thou has turned my mourning into dancing for me.
I knew it not. This is what all the Lord's Jacob's proclaim when God by His grace causes us to wake from their sleep. We go from weeping to rejoicing, because we find out what the night had blinded us to, and that even in the night season God has treasures for us.
Close: Have you been in a season of a darkness that can be felt? As we close in prayer, I remind that Jesus said He would never leave or forsake us, and my prayer will be that like Jacob God will open your eyes to His ever present help, and to treasures He has for you even in a season of darkness.
