From the desk of Pastor Toby Powers
Truth Baptist Church
Hwy 78
Bremen, GA
Correspondence Address:
56 Taylor Cir
Carrollton, GA 30117
Email: tjpowers@gfb.org
Are You Scared of the Dark?
Deuteronomy 28:28-29
Intro: This passage discusses the penalties that God levies on a soul that has rebelled against him in sin. Many things are shown here to be parts of God’s punishment, but one of them is that man will walk in darkness. Darkness is not an entity of itself, but it is simply the absence of light. Without the presence of light, darkness occurs. Nothing must be produced to have darkness, but all sources of light must simply be removed. Without some one intervenes by shining a light in the darkness, it will forever remain. Most of us, if we will admit it, have at least some reservations concerning darkness. There is the element of the unknown in darkness, and that frightens us. There is also, however, a level of comfort in darkness. When we become accustomed to the dark, and some one shines a light into it, it is irritating. We have spent long enough in the dark that we have come to prefer the ambiguity and emptiness. These concepts are referred to in the Bible on many occasions. I want to examine three of them:
I. Natural Darkness: Genesis 1:1-5, before God ever stepped into the situation and set up another way, this world was dark. Yet the voice of God gave light in the darkness. This was a display of hope that God gave to this darkened world. This display of hope was even removed on two occasions in the Word of God in order for God to catch the attention of man. Exodus 10 darkness was the ninth plague just before the death of the firstborn. Matthew 27:45 darkness came to the earth just before the death of the firstborn. In order to have light after darkness, there had to be the death of the firstborn. In our lives, when it was revealed to us that we were darkened in sin, if we are to have light, we will have to accept the death of the firstborn. He has often reminded us that the natural light is a blessing from God and when all the world was dark and void, God gave us light.
II. Inner Darkness:
Mic 3:6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
Matt 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Deut 28:29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
Ps 35:6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
Ps 82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
Prov 4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
Isa 59:9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
Jer 23:12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.
Man’s heart is just like the world was before God said let there be light. The world was dark until God intervened, and man is darkened until God intervenes, John 1:9, “(Jesus) was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” The light that shines into us is his spirit. When it shines it:
a. Exposes our condition: many are in darkness and know it not, until the light shines.
b. Reveals our surroundings: you understand others as well. Men are going to hell.
c. Changes our sight.
If we are exposed to the light, but try to turn it off, we will see spots of it for yet sometime. But if we will leave the light on and remain in it, we can see clearly the things that otherwise would be hidden. In the dark there is much to be afraid of, but there are also many beauties that are never seen. When the light of the Gospel shines on us, it shows us how rotten our sins are, which is frightening, but it also lets us see how great his grace is, which is comforting.
III. Outer Darkness: Matthew 25:30, “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” God gave hope when the world was in natural darkness by creating light. God gave hope when man was in spiritual darkness by sending the Light. But there will be a time and place, where God will never give hope in outer darkness, for there shall never be a light.
Conclusion: Today is the time to surrender to the light. You can have hope for a brighter tomorrow, where Jesus Christ himself is the light. You can escape the darkness of the wicked world and have light and life in him, if you will accept him today. It is high time that people get scared enough of the dark to get out of it. Are you scared of the dark?
