“The Sun Will Shine Again!”
2 Corinthians 4:1-10
David P. Nolte
One thing we appreciated about south-central Oregon was the clear skies. It would cloud up and snow and then the sky would be blue and clear and the day would be Sunny. It has been said that life is like that – storms and Sunshine; dark nights and Sunshine. And what most people like best is SunSHINE!
God is eager to shine light into our lives. The scripture says, “Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-10 (NLT).
THE SUN WILL SHINE AGAIN. IT WILL SHINE:
I. SUPERSEDING THE DARKEST NIGHT
A. “We are pressed on every side by troubles; We are perplexed;. We are hunted down; We get knocked down.” Those things make for dark nights! Sometimes in the Bible,
1. Darkness is used to illustrate sin or evil. John wrote, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:19-21 (NASB).
2. Darkness is used to represent God’s chastening with the purpose of securing repentance. We read, “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.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.” Exodus 10:21-22 (NASB).
3. Darkness is used to denote sadness. The Psalmist wrote, “Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 (NASB).
4. Darkness suggests profound and bitter despair. We read about Job, “Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, ‘Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, “A boy is conceived.” May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it.’” Job 3:1-4 (NASB).
B. What dark night are you experiencing? What is obscuring the light?
1. Is it bondage to some sin? Lust, greed, anger, hatred, rebellion?
2. Is it God’s chastening and discipline?
3. Is it some sadness, depression, sorrow or grief?
4. Is it some despair?
5. Is it regret, remorse and resentment?
6. Is it the darkness of addiction to alcohol or pornography or gambling?
C. No matter what is darkening your life right now, Linda’s song said,
“The Sun will shine again,
You’ll make it through your darkest hour.
Jesus will be your friend;
The Holy Ghost will give you power!
So whatever challenge you may face,
Don’t give up, keep the faith.
Put your trust in Him, your Sun will shine again.”
D. The darker the night the brighter the stars shine! This is a Biblical truth: “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:4-5 (NLT).
E. A little boy had frequent nightmares and the worst was that of a bony hand reaching up from under the bed to grasp him by the ankle with the intent of dragging him under there too. That same boy could manufacture all sorts of flesh-eating bogeys out of the shadows. One night he was staying at his brother’s house and saw a horrid monster hand trying to open the window next to the bed. Turned out to be a tree branch.
All those frightening night-time horrors were stripped of their power when the Sun rose and shone in all its glory.
I was that boy and I have known the fear of night and the joy of a Sunny day!
It is often in our darkest nights that God makes His presence known most clearly. And when we see this truth, we receive new hope.
THE SUN WILL SUPERCEDE THE DARKEST NIGHT, AND, IT WILL SHINE AGAIN. IT WILL SHINE:
II. AFTER THE FIERCEST STORM:
A. The pressures, troubles, perplexities and hard knockes Paul mentions are like storms in our lives.
B. Bad days come; sometimes like a sudden squall or blizzard or torrential rain.
1. When the storm strikes the lights go out and the skies blacken and we are engulfed in the storm’s darkness.
2. The song said,
“Everyone has a story of storms in their life;
Some are survivors, while others never arrive.
God bless us with a new day, love and happiness.
If we fall we can repent, our Sun will shine again.”
C. What is your storm?
1. Is it a failed marriage?
2. Is it a grim prognosis from the doctor?
3. Is it loss of employment?
4. Is it depression, despair and defeat?
5. Is it fear, anxiety and worry?
D. From the day the first storm broke the calm to this day there has never failed to be a Sunny day after the storm! There is a song that declares,
“Someone said that in each life
some rain is bound to fall
and each one sheds his share of tears
and trouble troubles us all
but the hurt can’t hurt forever
and the tears are sure to dry
And it won’t rain always
the clouds will soon be gone
the Sun that they’ve been hiding
has been there all along
And it won’t rain always
god’s promises are true
the Sun’s gonna shine
in His own good time
and He will see you through.”
E. The two fiercest, darkest storms I ever experienced are the Columbus Day Storm and the one in December, 2011. In the latter, we were on our way to Klamath Falls and just outside of Oakridge on Highway 58, a blizzard hit with a fury. We were suddenly in a white-out storm. When we’d drive under overhanging tree branches, they would dump their load of snow onto the windshield and the wipers barely moved it off.
We could not see more than a couple of car lengths ahead. Stopping was impossible because we feared being rammed by a following vehicle; going over 20- 25 was out of the question lest we ram someone ahead of us.
We white-knuckled it, praying without ceasing, trying to stay in the proper lane and not going off the road on the right.
Twelve horrible hours later we arrived at Klamath Falls, worn, weary and whacked – but grateful! And the next day was Sunny and bright!
When you are in the midst of a storm, don’t stop, don’t rush ahead; keep alert, look straight ahead, press on and pray!
THE SUN WILL SHINE AGAIN AFTER THE FIERCEST STORM, AND, IT WILL SHINE:
III. FOLLOWING THE BLACKEST ECLIPSE:
A. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks (“eclipses") the Sun. It can be darker than night when that happens.
1. There is also such a thing as “Soular Eclipse,” caused when “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News.”
2. An eclipse of the glorious light happens when Satan blinds an unbelieving mind and makes a life exist in darkness.
B. Now consider this: The Sun is roughly 400 times bigger than the Moon, but it is also about 400 times farther away from the arth.
1. Yet the small Moon blots out the huge Sun because it stands between it and us, and closer to, us.
2. So it is when we let even small things get between us and God so as to eclipse Him.
C. Now, I do not advise you to try this or to look directly at the Sun for any reason. But you can make your own eclipse if you hold a nickle very close to your eye. Small as it is, it will block out your sight of the Sun.
1. What are you focusing on that blots out your vision of God?
2. What is it that eclipses His light in your life?
D. Sometimes the occlusion is inside us. For example, my dad was for all practical purposes, blind. Cataracs had eclipsed the light. When he and mother came to our wedding he had to be led by the hand. He couldn’t see things that were right in front of him. But when he had his cataracts removed the eclipse was gone and then he was eagle eyed!
1. Look inside your heart and mind. What spiritual or moral or mental cataracts are eclipsing God’s light?
2. His light still shines behind the eclipse ao when we remove everything that blocks our vision of God, the eclipse ends and the Sun shines brightly again.
E. Here are some common causes of spiritual eclipses.
1. It may be love of money and material possessions.
2. It may be a desire to get even with someone who has wronged you.
3. It may be some passion, desire and lust for some forbidden fruit.
4. It may be a consuming desire for popularity, power, prestige or position.
5. It may be self-righteousness that refuses to acknowledge our need of forgiveness and salvation through Christ.
6. It may be pride, arrogance or conceit or a sense of superiority.
7. Whatever it may be that stands between you and God will eclipse your view of His light – that’s called a ”SOULAR Eclipse.”
The song said,
“There are millions of lonely people, young and old Alike
Some are rich, some are poor, some will never see daylight.“
The Psalmist said, “Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. They rebelled against the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High. .... ‘LORD, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; He snapped their chains.” Psalm 107:10-14 (NLT).
David wrote, “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,’ Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” Psalm 139:11-12 (NASB). Because of His light, the Sun will shine again!
PRAY / INVITE
No matter what your darkness, a cry for help will touch God’s heart and He will lead you from darkness into light. The Sun will shine again! “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts.” COME TO THAT LIGHT!
