It was a dark, dark night. A man was making his way home from working late, and as he often did, he walked home through a cemetery because it was a quicker route. However, because it was so dark, he didn’t notice a new grave had been dug in his path, and he tumbled into a 7 foot deep hole in the ground. For some time he struggled to get out of that deep, deep grave, but finally gave up and sat down in one end of the hole for the night. About an hour later, a farmer who’d been out possum hunting came walking through the cemetery and he too fell into the grave. And the farmer began desperately to attempt to get out - jumping, and reaching for the ridge above him - but he couldn’t get out either. And, he was unaware that there was anyone else in the grave with him. The first man listened to the farmer’s struggles for a few minutes, and then he got up reached over in the pitch darkness and laid a HAND on the man’s shoulder. And he said “You’re never going to get out of here,” But you know… he did.
We’re starting out on a colorful 6-part sermon series entitled: “Colors of Faith”. It’s based on a “witness bracelet” that’s very popular with young folks. As you can see, the beads on this bracelet are BLACK (for sin); RED (for the blood of Jesus); BLUE (for baptism into Christ); WHITE (for purity); GREEN (for growth in Christ); and YELLOW/GOLD (to represent Heaven).
Today’s sermon is focused on the 1st bead – the BLACK bead, representing sin. As you may know I work on these sermons with other preachers in the area and we decide ahead of time what sermons we’re going to preach so we can share thoughts and illustrations. And, like I said, today we’re focusing the blackness of sin. So, I started looking for a verse that identified sin as being “BLACK”. I mean – if you’re going to preach a sermon on sin being black you really ought to have a Scripture that says that. But I couldn’t find one. I could NOT find one Bible verse that spoke of sin, iniquity, or immorality as being BLACK. Maybe there’s one somewhere in Scripture… but I couldn’t find it.
The closest thing I could find was this passage I read in Proverbs 4:19 “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.”
That BLACK bead on the witness bracelet, was the color that folks associated with that darkness. But not just darkness… but with a DEEP DARKNESS. And that description of sin being a deep darkness shows up several times in Scripture
In the book Acts, Paul said that Jesus had sent him to preach to people “To open their eyes, and to turn them FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me Acts 26:18
Paul’s purpose was to turn people away from darkness (SIN) and bring them to light. To turn them from the power of Satan and bring them to God, and to bring them to the point—where the sin in their lives no longer had control of them, because God offered to bring them forgiveness of sins
Now, there’s a similar passage in the Gospel of Matthew. And it says “The people which sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Leaving Nazareth (Jesus) went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles?—?the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." Matthew 4:13-16
You see, these people dwelt in the SHADOW OF DEATH, and they SAT IN DARKNESS. And when I read that -- the first thought that came to my mind was that these people lived lives of hopelessness and despair. THEY LIVED IN DARKNESS… and they KNEW IT!!!
ILLUS: One of the most dynamic entertainers of the past was a blind man - a singer and piano player named Ray Charles. There’s a story about the time that Ray Charles performed at a premier hotel in Reno, NV. Apparently, a friend of his called him and said he had a payment for Charles’ performance that night, and he asked if the blind singer wanted him to give the check to his manager. Charles responded “Nah, just bring the money up to my room the door will be open.” So, the friend went up to Ray's room, and the door was ajar. He knocked and heard Ray say come in. And when he walked into the suite, every light was off. The apartment was completely black. And the friend called out, “Ray, where are you?” Ray said, “I’m in the bathroom, shaving.” Before the friend realized what he was saying, he called out “what are you doing shaving in the dark?” Ray's response was, “I do everything in the dark; I live in darkness.” (related by William Wyne)
The Bible tells us that a lot of people live in darkness - not a physical darkness, but a spiritual one. Now, I could go into a long dissertation about what SIN is and how you’d recognize SIN in your life. But most people don’t need that. They don’t need a long blow by blow description of what sin is because they already know they’ve sinned. They know they’re living in darkness. They know they dwell in the SHADOW of DEATH - and they’ve kind of grown used to it. But they’re a little afraid of that darkness. They’re afraid they’ll be discovered and their lives will collapse around them. So they hide their sin.
ILLUS: It’s kind of like the story of Adam and Eve. They ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and their eyes were opened – and they realized they were naked. And that they’d sinned. And then God came down for a visit. Adam where are you? And do you remember what Adam replied: "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." Genesis 3:10
God didn’t have to tell Adam he’d sinned. Adam knew it. But Adam preferred hide in a DARK place because his sin had caused him shame. And sometimes people get so good at hiding their sin… you’d never guess.
ILLUS: Years ago there was an Elder in my home church that I really liked. He taught Sunday School… and his class was packed with people. He was highly regarded and deeply respected. But then, one day, someone told me that this man I respected so deeply was fooling around on his wife. I couldn’t believe it! So I confronted him one day about the accusation. I was respectful… I just wanted him to tell me it wasn’t true! And he did… he told me it wasn’t true. But he lied to me. He looked me right in the eye… and HE LIED. He WAS sleeping around. I didn’t know it at the time but I found out later .
You know, he was so good at hiding the darkness of his sin… that I believed him!
God warned the Christians in Ephesus – “At one time YOU WERE DARKNESS, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.” Ephesians 5:8-13
So people DO hide their sins because they’re afraid of being found out - just like Adam and Eve, and just like the elder I knew. But there are others who hide their sins because they’re so ashamed of it. They don’t need anyone to tell them that they’ve sinned. They KNOW they’ve sinned! And every once in a while – that shame of that sin will sweep over them. They’ll be out for a walk, or be at home taking a shower, or they’ll doing some housework. And suddenly the memory of what they’ve done/said/thought will come to their memory and they’ll want to roll up in a ball and hide. The darkness of those memories will overwhelm them. And all they can do is wait for the pain, the shame, and the guilt to pass. Because they can’t do anything about it. They just have to wait for the embarrassment to fade - because they can’t fix it and they can’t make it go away. Sometimes they think that - Maybe pills would help, or a trip to a psychiatrist could fix what’s wrong. But it rarely gets the job done.
You see - the problem is NOT that they FEEL BAD. The problem is that they’ve BEEN bad. The problem is - they ARE GUILTY OF SIN.
ILLUS: A preacher recalled having seen a very stern man standing on curb in Chicago. As people were hurrying on their way to lunch or business, he would solemnly lift his right arm, point to the person nearest him, and loudly say a single word: “GUILTY!” Then he’d resume his stiff stance and repeat the process. Over and over he would raise his right arm, point to a person and pronounce them “GUILTY!” The preacher said the reactions of the pedestrians as almost eerie! It was as if they didn’t quite know how to respond. One man, perhaps describing how many others felt, turned to another person and exclaimed: “How did he know?”
Most people do have a sense of their own guilt. They feel guilty - not because someone tells them they’re guilty - but because they truly are guilty.
(PAUSE)
Now, oddly enough… that’s good news. That news (WHEN people REALIZE that they have messed up their lives) is good news because it’s what causes a lot of them to want to have what Jesus offers. They’re tired of hiding their past. They’re tired of not being able to fix what they’ve broken. They’re tired of walking in darkness. And the GOOD NEWS is - that’s where you can come in. When people realize they’re guilty, that gives you the opportunity to introduce THE LIGHT into their lives. Introduce them to Jesus.
Just like Paul… all you have to do is focus on opening their eyes, and to turning them FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Jesus. Acts 26:18
You don’t have to make them feel guilty. NOT YOUR JOB! Your job is to listen to the people around you, and if they trust you, and if they’re hurting badly enough they’ll tell you about what’s bothering them. And when that happens just bring them to the light. Introduce them to Jesus. And then let Jesus do the rest, because Jesus has promised: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
You just have to be ready to tell them about Jesus. Lots of folks spend their lives dwelling in the shadow of death because of their sin. And they KNOW they’re living in darkness, they KNOW they’re living in the shadow of death. But they don’t have to live that way. You can bring them the knowledge of the light Jesus gives… and you can help them change their lives, and then they can receive forgiveness for ALL the sins they’ve committed, and walk in the Light of Jesus.
INVITATION
