| (Luke 11:34-36) Your eye is the lamp of your
body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full
of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of
darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not
darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and
no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light
of a lamp shines on you." (NIV) (John 3:21) But whoever
lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen
plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (NIV)
To the non-Christian…or even the new Christian the whole idea
seems risky,…as you mature in Christ you begin to discover that
bringing your whole life to God and letting Him guide each step you
take brings, not ultimate bondage…. but ultimate freedom.
We begin to stumble far less…
Our righteous decisions actually begin to make a difference in
our lives and the lives of people close to us.
We begin to fell more and more comfortable living with the
presence of God in and around our lives.
The life that is led by the Spirit of God is the ultimate human
lifestyle…it is the total reason why you were put on this earth.
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I. Exploring the Trail Ahead
But what of the person who is faithfully following God, walking
in the Spirit, and suddenly all external circumstances turn sour…
The bottom falls our of your world!
The comfortable assurances of yesterday are replaced by the
uncertainties of tomorrow.
A blanket of heaviness tightens around you, the sense of
God’s care that was so strong last week seems to be fading into the
distance.
Many of us have lived through dark times these last few months.
If you had existing trauma in your inner lives the hurricanes and
the aftermath just magnified it. If you were living with grief…it
just got worse. Some have physical trauma added to the mental
trauma. Some have had a once meaningful relationship with someone
you loved dearly erode away just in the last few months.
You that are not experiencing such things may look across the
isle and think, I’m glad those things don’t happen to me!
They will!!!
And when they do you, like the others, will be tempted to ask the
same questions:
Where are you God?
What did I do to deserve this?
Is this what I get for living a righteous life?
Did I miss a turn in the road?
Walking through dark times has always been part of man’s
existence. For the Christian, the dark path is leading somewhere…The
dark path is not a path into a black hole:
Isaiah certainly was familiar with this unlighted walk:
(Isaiah 50:10) Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of
his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust
in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. (NIV)
It’s a joy for me to tell you that you can walk daily in the
Spirit, that you can life in the abiding presence of God….but in all
fairness to you I have to add that sometimes “God will dim the
lights.”
You can be walking in the light on a spiritual level and walking
in the darkness on a physical or emotional level all at the same
time….Well thanks a lot Pastor, you’ve been helpful…..Actually I
have:
If you listen… in the darkness you can hear His questions to you:
Do you walk by faith or do you walk by sight?
You believed me last month…do you believe me now?
Do you love me or do you love my blessings?
Do you worship me for who I am or for the blessings I bring you?
If I suspend My conscious presence in your life, will you still
trust Me?
Isaiah’s message is clear: No matter how dark it gets…you must
keep walking….When there is light, you can see your next step, the
path ahead seems clear. When darkness settles in our natural
tendency is to stop.
Isaiah say’s no way:
(Isaiah 50:10) Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word
of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light,
trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. (NIV)
When the path gets tough, the spiritually tough, buckle down,
trust in their Lord, rely on the character of their God and keep
walking!
Let’s look at someone who already traveled this road:
II. Examining the Traveled Road
Let me introduce you to a 17 year old boy…that stage where you’re
no longer a boy but don’t yet feel like a man. You feel like you
know everything and nothing all at the same time.
This boy loved God, studied about him, served him in his boyish
way:.. But from a practical standpoint the boy was spoiled rotten.
While his brothers worked hard outside he stayed inside.
While they baked under the sun servants waited on his every wish
They had the standard one color model coat…he had the
multicolored one
Joseph worsened his situation with them by sharing with them a
dream that suggested he would one day be their ruler.
They hated him….They jumped at the chance to kill him.
But preserved him from death…but…in one 24 hour period he went
from being the pampered son of a Hebrew rich man to a prisoner in
the bottom of a well, to the legal possession of a group of
Ishmaelite merchants.
I’m quite sure in the bottom of that well, or later lashed to the
back of a cane wagon, his back loaded with baggage for the Egyptian
market, he probably was asking the same questions we ask:
Where are you God?
Is this anyway to repay my devotion to you?
If you care about me at all you will get me out of this and back
home to my daddy!
Think about it:
The high hopes when he got to Egypt that somebody would rescue
him.
The despair when more money changed hands and he became the
possession of Mr. Potiphar…Captain of the guard in the most wicked
society on earth.
Hope returned when Potiphar put him in charge of his household.
Despair returned when Mrs. Potiphar accused him of attempted rape
and tossed him in prison.
Hope when he interpreted the Butlers dream..
Despair when the butler forgot him for two more long years.
Scripture records a very interesting statement through all this:
The Lord was with Joseph and Joseph found grace in the eyes of
the Lord!
(Genesis 39:2) The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he
lived in the house of his Egyptian master. (NIV)
It doesn’t say that about him when he was a spoiled child in his
father’s house.
In a few short hours Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream, and
becomes the Prime Minister of Egypt. That is a historical fact!
You see: When God looked a Joseph he didn’t see a prisoner
tied to a wagon, or a slave in a dungeon. He saw a committed person
who was a vital link in his plan for the redemption of the world.
Joseph was there to forgive his brothers and give his family food
and a home during a terrible famine.
But who could possibly know:
That Joseph would die..
That Pharaoh would die (Semitic/ Hyskos)
Another non Semitic Pharaoh would rise to power
He would make slaves of the Hebrews
God would raise up a Hebrew, raised by an Egyptian Princess to
lead them to freedom.
God would give Moses his Law.
Who could guess that through Jacob’s line the Messiah would be
born?
He would die, rise from the dead, offer eternal life to all who
would believe..
His Good News message would make it’s way to the ends of the
earth.
You would one day hear it and believe in Jesus as your Savior and
Lord!
No brotherly jealousy..
No sale to a Midianite trader
No descent into Egypt..
No meeting with Potiphar
No trouble with Potiphar’s wife
No time in prison
No interpreting dreams
No elevation to Prime minister
No reconciliation with his brothers
No migration to Egypt
No Exodus out of Egypt
No Moses
No Law
No Prophets
No David
No Jesus
No salvation!
God isn’t looking at your life, wringing his hands, saying “OH
my…Oh my..things have certainly gotten out of hand in _____’s life.
Instead he’s saying: I have you right in the palm of my
eternal hand!
Trust me! Lean on me!
Isaiah 50:10) Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of
his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust
in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. (NIV)
III. Experiencing the Triumph of Faith
(1 Peter 4:12-13) Dear friends, do not be surprised at the
painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were
happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings
of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
(NIV)
The purpose of sometimes being called on to walk in darkness is
to learn to trust in the Lord! Always seeing your path clearly
marked out ahead of you takes little faith.
Not knowing what your next step will be expands your faith…or
kills it!
It’s during those times that we learn compassion…We learn to bear
patiently with others…We learn to respond to the emotional needs of
others who have lost hope.
Let me leave you today with some advise:
1) At no time should we think of difficult times as God’s
anger directed toward us!
The exact opposite is true…it’s during those times that God
is able to move aside the surface slush of our lives, still our
minds, and work an inner transformation of our soul.
Most mature Christians will tell you that before every great
period of personal growth in their life came a major time of
testing….working the spiritual muscles. (no pain.. no gain)
2) Don’t make any major decisions during those times!
You’re thinking will tend to be all over the road…Hang on to
what God has taught you in the past.
Never doubt in the darkness what God has clearly shown you in
the light!
If it was truth for you six months ago it probably still is!
3) Don’t try to light your own fire!
Abraham did!… Moses tried. Isaiah says “Don’t do it!”
(Isaiah 50:11) Look, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle
yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the
sparks you have kindled-This you shall have from My hand: You shall
lie down in torment. (NKJV)
When you walk in darkness:
1) Trust in the Lord with all you heart!
2) Put all you reliance in your faithful God!
3) Keep on walking!
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