DEEP THINGS OUT OF DARKNESS
JOB 12:22 “He discovers deep things out of darkness, and brings to light the shadow of death”.
The attributes of God, as revealed in the Bible, are crucial to understanding the truth about God, who He is and what He does. He created everything according to His perfect plan to reveal and reflect Himself in the creation. As creator of the heavens and the earth, there is nothing made that He has not known (John 1:3). God knows all things because He created the world, the light and darkness and everything therein. God Himself said: ‘I form the light, and create darkness…’ (Isaiah 45:7). Therefore, God is the creator of both the light and the darkness.
God reveals Himself to mankind through His works, which shows His infinite power to reveal/uncover mysteries about His works that are invisible to human eyes. King Nebuchadnezzar attested to this when the Lord gave him the interpretation of his dream through Daniel, He referred to God as a revealer of mysteries. “The king answered Daniel and said, Surely, your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” (Daniel 2:47)
THE MYSTERY OF DARKNESS.
Darkness is a complete absence of light, which blurs human’s vision. It is a state of being in misery and adversity (Psalm 107:10); It’s also a symbol of ignorance (Ephesians 4: 18). Those who walk in the darkness do not know where they are going; a confused and chaotic situation. God can reveal everything in darkness, even the deep things that are in the darkness; because the darkness is not dark to Him, and the night is as bright as the day, darkness and light are alike to the Almighty God (Psalm 139: 12).
DOWNLOAD FREE PDF OF THIS SERMON - https://mountzionblog.org/deep-things-out-of-darkness/
He can unfold what is wrapped up and manifest what is hidden. Deep places are hidden places; God discovers those things which are most hidden, even deep things out of darkness. What is deep is usually dark. The further we move away from the fountain of light, the more darkness prevails over us; and therefore, every degree of deepness adds a degree of darkness, all depth being downward.
In the beginning, darkness was upon the face of the deep (Genesis 1:1) but (after creation) darkness is always at the bottom of the deep. He discovers deep things out of darkness, that is, the remotest, lowest and most retired depths.
.
THE SHADOW OF DEATH
The shadow of death can be described as extreme darkness, thick darkness. It denotes the strength and veracity of darkness. It is the highest, the superlative degree of thick darkness.
Grave is a place of darkness, and things that are buried lie in the dark. (Job 34:22) - there is no darkness, no shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. According to this scripture, the workers of iniquity cannot be hidden in the thickest darkness.
God does not only bring deep things out of darkness but also the deepest things out of the darkest darkness; even out of that darkness that is as deep and dark as the grave. God can bring to light those hidden plans and conspiracy in the depth of a man’s heart, those hidden secrets concealed for ages. This is an assurance for us as believers when we walk in extreme danger, through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, because God’s light will overshadow us in the dark.
ALL THINGS ARE KNOWN BY GOD
The creator of all things knows all things that He made. He can make unknown things to be known, and easily known. The God who discovers deep things out of darkness can see those things which lie on the open sun. God’s knowledge of all things does not limit His intimate knowledge of us. It’s only God, who is infinite in knowledge and can reveal deep things. Nobody on earth can unravel deep things; those things which are far off, and exceeding deep, who can find them out? (Eccl. 7:24). He knows your place in His creation (Psalm 139:2–3), He even knows your thoughts (Psalm 139:4). God knows exactly where you are and what you’re thinking about right now.
There is a depth in a man, bigger than his words, and that is the depth of his thoughts (Psalm 64: 6), both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart is deep. The inward thought is an act of the heart, and the heart is the faculty, or power of thinking. Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water (Proverbs 20: 5). The heart of man is so deep that none can find it out but God, Himself (Jeremiah 17:10).
Some men flatter themselves thinking God cannot find out the things in their spirits, but (Isaiah 29 15) says “Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the lord”. No degree of the depth of a man’s heart can hide his counsel from God. God needs no one to tell Him about the content of man’s heart, He makes His way into the depths of the core darkness with His own eyes.
GOD IS LIGHT.
God is light and dwells in the light. As He has no darkness at all in Him, so also nothing is dark to Him. Nothing is hidden to Him. His creating wisdom is perfect and is beyond human comprehension. No man, not even the angels can search out His great wisdom. Many things are hidden to the human eyes, they have masks and clouds cast over them, which eyes of flesh cannot see through; but these are all naked before the eyes of God.
God sees all things. “He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.” (Daniel 2:22).
GOD REVEALS THE DEEP THINGS WHICH HIMSELF SPEAKS
Sometimes God reveal to man, what is always and already opened to Him. The deep things of God are His words. Unless God expound His own words, human beings would have distorted it. No prophesy of scripture (whether doctrinal or prophetical) is of any private interpretation (2Peter 2:20). His words contain either doctrines to be believed, or prophesies to be fulfilled. The word of God has its shallows and its depths, in there a lamb (a new believer) may wade in, and a Whale (the saints of God) may swim.
Man, with all its wits and knowledge cannot interpret the word of God, only the Spirit of God can. However, Man can be assisted by the Spirit of God for its interpretation.
The word of prophesy needs to be heeded carefully “For the prophesy were not revealed in the old time by the will of Man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy ghost”. (2 Peters 1:21). The prophets were the interpreters of the mind of God to the people, not the messengers of their own minds. False prophets render their own dreams, and render private interpretations to the things of God to deceive the gullible. They opened to the people things they authored by themselves, unlike the old prophets.
As the Scripture itself is not the interpretation of man’s mind, so neither can any true interpretation of the scripture come from the mere mind of man. The spirit of God (in man) searches all things, even the deep things of God (1Corinthians 2:10). Without the Holy Spirit, man cannot find anything of God, whether what lies in the uppermost or most hidden in sight.
GOD REVEALS THE DEEP THINGS WHICH HIMSELF DOES
Surely the Lord will not do anything until He reveals His secrets to His servant the prophets (Amos 3: 7). The secret of God’s decree (to bring evil upon a land, to take away the voice of mirth and gladness, and to make them offer an astonishment, or experience a perpetual desolation) is revealed to His prophets that they may warn the people, either to prevent or prepare for the evil which is to come.
When God was about to destroy Sodom, He said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do (Genesis 18: 17).
God revealed the rise and fall of the kingdom of Antichrist, the making of the kingdoms of this world, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ to Apostle John through the Spirit of God, which was recorded in the book of Revelation.
When King Nebuchadnezzar desired to hear the interpretation of his dream, Daniel ascribed all glory to the Almighty God for revealing the interpretation of the King’s dream. He reveals the deep and secret things, He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwell with Him (Daniel 2: 22).
Besides these deep and dark things which concern future events, the Lord also reveal the deep things of doctrine, the supernatural mysteries of religion: the incarnation of His son Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the body, the mystery of justifying faith and of the new birth, which are absurdities to nature; these are all revealed in the word of God to our ears, and by the Spirit of God to our hearts.
GOD REVEALS THE DEEP THINGS OF MAN’S ACTION.
The actions of man revealed by God may be good or evil. Though the sinner may go as deep as hell, yet his life and sin are under the eyes of God. As our secret iniquity is before him, so He sometimes sets it before man (Ecclesiastes10:20).
It is hard for a man to conceal his own thoughts (when the mind is full, it may quickly run over out of the mouth). However, it is easier with God to find out a way for the revealing of our thoughts even when it is concealed deep down in our hearts.
What can be more secret than a thought? Who can hear the sound of our thoughts? A thought is the most secret act. Thought is free. Thoughts do not fall under the censure of any court. Those things which fear no evidence, fear no sentence. Yet, God can send in evidence against our thoughts.
A bird of the air shall carry the voice of that which has no voice (Ecclesiastes10:20). It is a proverbial speech, that by the most unlikely means, if other means fail, God will reveal those curses and reveal them speedily.
a) It shall be revealed by some unexpected means, or by least suspected means. God can make birds speak, chamber doors, the stone out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall speak rather than silence to cover wickedness.
b) It also means that the matter shall be revealed by some speedy means. A bird shall do it; the messenger shall fly; a winged messenger shall be dispatched on this errand.
Furthermore, God bring good things as well as evil, just and holy actions as well as sinful and unjust, out of the deep of darkness. Many works of light lie in the darkness, many excellent things are under concealment. David’s integrity laid in the dark, yet God brought it forth as the light, and his innocence as the noon day. God is not unrighteous, to forget or conceal, either our labor of love, or labor in holiness, though men do.
The Psalmists cried out to God,” Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers.” (Psalms 64: 2). Evil has been in existence since ages, many of them concealed. There are many evil plots that are done, hidden and concealed in the palace of justices, courts of law, King’s palaces, Government and religious institutions, which can’t be discovered by men except God’s divine intervention. God, in His infinite wisdom, reveal such deep secrets out of darkness and make them known in the public, where it can’t be hidden again.
There are three ways by which God can reveal and expose Evil plots lying in deepest darkness:
(a) By the confession of the person whose head has contrived, or whose hand did the evil plots. They are trapped in their own answers and their tongue witness against them. Evil in the heart drops out at the mouth by queries/questions put to the guilty (Proverbs 20: 5). He draws it out by questions and examinations, when those black waters do not flow out of themselves, they are pumped up by the art and industry of others.
A confession of these deep things out of darkness is made by the workings of a man’s own conscience. Whatever you do, is done in the eye of conscience. Therefore, take heed. Conscience will examine a man as strictly as any inquisitor.
(b) God reveals deep things immediately by His own Spirit. As the Spirit reveal the holy counsels of God to us, He can expose the most secret evil designs and counsel of men. (2kings 6:11); from this scripture the Spirit of God revealed the deep counsels of the Syrian king to the prophet, and the prophet revealed them to men.
(c) The Lord discovers deep things out of darkness by wonderful providences. He makes some acts of His own providence, as keys to unlock the secrets of men, as hands to remove the veil, as winds to dispel clouds and scatter the mists which hid their actions or intentions.
In the story of Joseph, we have a good demonstration of this. It was a secret, a deep thing of darkness that his brethren conspired against him, they sold him out of Egypt, and brought his bloody torn cloth to his father, which caused the plain hearted old man to conclude, “that some evil beast has devoured him” (Genesis 37:20). Thus, the matter was locked up; yet God makes several acts of His providence as keys to open it. First, Famine pinched Jacob and his family, then Joseph’s brother must go to Egypt, and then Benjamin must be detained and Simeon bound. Here was a strange series and succession of providences till the whole matter was discovered.
Also, a letter written with uncouth expressions mistakenly put into a wrong hand can bring all deep things and secret things to light. The best intelligence we have had of secret counsels have been from the cabinets who contrived them.
There are so many lessons learnt from the study above, about God’s discovery of deep things out of darkness. God’s eye is everywhere, nowhere to hide, darkness cannot hide from Him. Therefore, let us take note of the following inferences:
Be afraid to do or to plot any evil secretly. Usually, those that do things that are not fit to be seen do conceal them, for them not to be seen either in doing them or when they are done.
Be not afraid of the secret plotting of evil men, or of the deep things done in darkness. No matter how deep the way and counsels of men are laid, yet they are all above board to God. Suppose enemies are taking counsel against us, yet we have a powerful friend behind them, who hears every word they say, and will in surest season, both discover and disappoint them. Our father in heaven knows and overrules the darkest designs of wicked men on earth.
When men are plotting, let us be praying. David knew Ahithophel could give desperate and deep counsel against him, therefore he prayed. “Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness”.
Man’s uprightness shall not be hidden. God will vindicate the innocent. God, who can expose the guilty can also defend the innocent. In the midst of all these dark thoughts of men concerning our works, God knows them and will bring them to limelight just as they are (Matthew 10:25).
I will encourage us to do good, even if it is hidden from people or not recognize by men or we forget them; the Lord will redeem our works out of this darkness (darkness of our ignorance or forgetfulness). No secrecy nor oblivion can cover a good work for a long time.
It is our duty to do good. Through the uncompromising faithfulness of Jesus Christ, no good which we have done shall be lost or left in perpetual darkness. God has made discoveries of many deep things out of darkness in the past, He will yet do it again and again and will make universal discoveries at last.
God has revealed many deep things out of darkness to us, which our forefathers never saw. Those divine and human deep things stretched out of darkness by the mighty power and unsearchable wisdom of God. It is well thought to note that there are deep things about this world that will be revealed to the next generation, things that are still in darkness to our generation, same way it was concealed by divine providence from our forefathers.
The deep things of God can be revealed to us through a deeper walk with Jesus Christ (John 14: 16-18). We should avoid sin and have a close relationship with Him, He will reveal hidden things to us easily. Even Salvation itself is a mystery of God that is now revealed (Ephesians 3:9), a plan conceived before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1: 3-14). Salvation means death to sin and freedom from sin (Romans 6).
Everyone wants to know about heaven and everyone wants to go there. We were made to live forever somewhere. In a real sense we were made for heaven, a dwelling place of God.
(John 14: 1 -3) "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am".
The throne of God is there, the angels are there, and the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven. It also includes every true believer from every continent and every denomination. Everyone who has genuinely trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior will be there and the saints of God who died on this earth are in heaven.
The things we can know for certain about heaven are those revealed in the Bible. Everything else is just speculation and hearsay. The Bible tells us everything we need to know and I believe it also tells us everything we can know for certain about heaven.
Not everyone is in heaven now. Some people won't make it. The Bible speaks of the saved and the lost. The saved are those who trust Jesus Christ as their eternal Savior. The lost are those who do not trust Christ as Savior. This is the great dividing line of humanity; you are either saved or you are lost. And there is no middle category. You will either spend eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. If you were to die tonight, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven?
What we need is solid ground on which to stand. And we have it in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our entire hope of heaven is wrapped up in what Jesus did when he died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead.
One of our most beloved hymns puts it this way:
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. On Christ the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand; All other ground is sinking sand.
That says it all. If you want to go to heaven, and see the deep things of God, you must base your hope on the solid rock of Jesus' blood and righteousness. Are you standing on the Rock? Are you wholly leaning on Jesus' name?
No one goes to heaven by accident.
Heaven is God's prepared place for prepared people. We prepare for heaven and then God prepares heaven for us. Most people believe in heaven and most people think they are going there. But are they on the right road? Are they building their lives on Jesus Christ; the solid rock? Too many, I fear, are standing on sinking sand and do not know it.
What is your hope for heaven? Mine is Jesus Christ. I have staked everything I have on him. If He can't take me to heaven, then I am not going there. What about you? When the dark night falls, the lights go out, and the waters of death swirl around you, what will happen to you then? If you know Jesus, you have nothing to fear. Put your trust in Jesus. Run to the Cross. Stand with your full weight on the Solid Rock of our salvation. May God help you to trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone for your salvation. And may God grant that we will all meet one day in heaven and live in the light of God where there is no darkness, in Jesus name, Amen.
"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness (whether good or bad) and will expose the motives of the heart (whether just or unjust). At that time every man (who is praise worthy) will receive their praise from God" (1 Corinthians 4:5)
Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever, Wisdom and Power are His. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14).
James Dina
james@mountzionblog.org
30th June,2020
https://mountzionblog.org/deep-things-out-of-darkness/
(In my research for this sermon, I used JOSEPH CARYL outline from his EXPOSITION OF JOB with practical observation).
