Afraid No More

(NLT)

I was so excited the fair was in town and I had finally convinced my mom that it was ok for me to go to the fair with my friends without parental supervision. I know it may not seem like a big deal but in the little town of Lynn Indiana the fair was a big deal. There were carnival games, rides like the tilt -a-whirl, a small roller coaster and above all else a haunted house.

Not a haunted mansion mind you like the one at Disney land but as I look back on it was probably a 100 foot long and maybe 50wide if that wide trailer with goofy pictures of Dracula, Frankenstein, green goblins and Ghosts painted on the side of it. But it was the closest thing to a haunted house I had ever seen.

At first it was kind of funny but as we stood in line and I listened to the prerecorded screams of people going through the house my anxiety started to go through the roof…then I gave my ticket and walked in with a group of my friends. As we walked in it was not terrible but somewhere in the middle of our tour we walked into a room that was the darkest palce I had ever been in.

I literally could not see my hand in front of my face and as I was walking I found myself walking in to walls and walking on something squishy that I could not see. No one jumped out at me no one grabbed me there were not even sound effects it was just dark and I was afraid to reach ahead of me for fear that I would grab on to something or someone very unfamiliar.

So in that moment of extreme fear not being about to see where I would put my foot I just froze. I stood right in the way of the people behind me....and I must have been standing there for quite a while because the next thing I remember is the lights coming on super bright illuminating the rubber skulls under my feet and the maze like layout of that part of the attraction as I rushed out of the haunted house before people could see who it was that was so scared they just stopped in there tracks until some one turned on the lights.

When we think about the darkness that is talked about in this passage it

Fear of the dark is probably the most common fear that many of us have. I mean think about when the power goes out our heart skips a beat…there is nothing more unsettling that complete darkness.

ASK…WHY IS DARKNESS CREATE SO MUCH FEAR?

Asl l

All of these are true but darkness seems to symbolize many of our greatest fears.

Fear of being alone.

Fear of the unknown

Fear of being wrong

Fear of what we cannot control

You name it when we talk of darkness we usually think of the worst possible thing that can happen and that is what we identify it with.

This is the idea of darkness that the writer is getting at here.

New Living Translation Chapter 9

1 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever.

When Isaiah speaks of people walking in darkness and living in a land of great darkness, he is using imagery that is common to humanity. Not only that; Isaiah is also using imagery that we find across Israel’s history.

Let’s go all the way back to the beginning-the creation story. In the beginning, there was a formless void, chaos and lack of light. The Spirit of God hovers over the face of the waters to bring substance to the void and order to the chaos. What is the first thing God does to accomplish those goals? God creates light.

Flash forward to God’s children wandering in the desert. Though they were saved by God, they did not believe God was able to bring them into the promised land, so they wandered the desert. Rather than abandon them, God continued to lead them. How did God lead them? With a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The people of God were lead through the dangers of the wilderness by following a pillar of light.

We see that God intervenes in all of the circumstances by introducing his light.

This is not always in the form of actual light like candles, flash lights lightning etc…God’s light come to us today in the form of the Holy Spirit. The presence of God in our darkness is enough to light the steps He wants us to take in the moment.

The idea of Epiphany is not that we will all the sudden be overwhelmed with THE ANSWER for the rest of our lives. Many times it gives us the only the instruction for right now.

Isaiah says that the yoke of the people will be broken “as on the day of Midian”. Back in , we hear the story of Gideon and his defeat of the Midianites. Though Gideon begins with an army of 32,000, God pares the number down to a mere 300. Gideon and his army of 300 go into battle as God leads them, not with swords but with trumpets and empty jars. In the midst of the cacophony, the Midianites turn their swords on each other and they are defeated.

God called the weakest in Gideon which he did not understand yet he walked in the light he had…then with the Middieon battle we see the God had Gideon whittle down his army in increments 32,000 too many... 22,000...too many 10,000...too many down to...300 just right…Then on top of this we see that The men are instructed to take a rams horn and torch in place of a sword and armor.

To a man that was already struggling with believing God’s call on his life it was a lot to ask not to be given then whole plan....God gave him step by step instructions because if he had told the whole story there is no way the Gideon would have gone for it.

New Living Translation Psalm 119

105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path.

Today God is still providing his light or instruction to us step by step for the same reason. If God were to try and explain to you and me what is he is going to do we may not believe it. Just as God promised to break the yoke of Midian from Isreal…God want to break the yoke or the bondage of this enemy from your life.

God works-through unpredictable means. Not with war boots and blood-soaked garments but with trumpets and empty jars. Not only with four-star generals and famous kings but with wandering nomads and little babies. God’s kingdom comes in unexpected ways.

God works-through unpredictable means. Not with war boots and blood-soaked garments but with trumpets and empty jars. Not only with four-star generals and famous kings but with wandering nomads and little babies. God’s kingdom comes in unexpected ways.

So in the season of epiphany, God reveals Godself to us. God is the one who brings light where there was no light before, in order to bring order from chaos. Not only that, God does it in ways we would never imagine. This is the Good News, thanks be to God.

The oppressed, the hurting, and the faithful will be delivered, but it will happen in a way nobody would’ve imagined.

You will be delivered but in ways that no one would or cold imagine…will you just step in the place God is giving you light to step?

Pheasant hunting illustration maybe here

God wants us to walk in the light he gives us to He can lead us to the place he has for us....Stay the corse and allow God to show you The Way not Your way.

I am sure that this has kept me from successful hunts…this is the reason God gives us limited information. He does not want us to see all the options sometimes because we have a tendency to vear from the original destination He has for us.

God want us to walk in the light he gives us to He can lead us to the place he has for us....Stay the corse and allow God to show you The Way not Your way.

James

The only way to walk in the light is to invite the presence of Jesus into your life by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you. This happens when we open our hearts to receive the physical presence of Jesus into our bodies by receiving his broken body and shed blood symbolically by receiving the bread and the juice into our mouths.

Just like the story of Gideon this makes no sense to those that are not allowing themselves to be lead by the light that Jesus is giving.

communion slide

On the night before Jesus died......