The Lord Reigns in the Darkness
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Scripture: Psalms 97:1-12
Point: Do not be afraid of the darkness, God resides, shrouds, and conquerers the darkness.
Where you ever scared of the dark? Are you still scared of the dark today? I was petrified of the dark when I was a kid. Mom would come and tuck me in, and as she shut off my light, I would remind her, beg her, not to shut my door. When I was old enough, I was responsible to put myself to bed, and I would always keep the door ajar, so that there was always a sliver of light. Light dispells the darkness and everything that resides in the darkness....monsters, strange noises, nightmares, closets, and ....clowns.
Yup…clowns. I hate clowns. Clowns are agents of darkness. They hide behind makeup and conceal who they are, and what their intentions are. Clowns give me the hibbie-jibbies. Been that way ever since my mom and dad let me watch Poltergeist, as a kid when I was 12 (Poltergeist is a horror ghost story written by Steven Spielberg).
A normal family of five live in a house visited by the paranormal. These spirits move things around in the house, and then they start talking to the youngest child, a girl, through the television set, on the grainy station (the black and white scramble station). I hate the grainy station. Makes me nervous.
The young girl, at one moment in the movie turns around and says, “They’re here.” Who’s here? The TV people. From that moment on all _____ breaks loose. Where does my dislike of clowns come in? From the closet....under the bed…in the dark…that’s all I will say.
I hate dark closets, clowns, and grainy tv stations. But why did I tell you this? What is the point of my story? That God resides in darkness, and in the darkness. Psalm 97:2 says,
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
1 Kings 8:12 and 2 Chronicles 6:1 speak the same truth...
Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.
Psalm 18:11 says,
He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
When Moses received the 10 commandments, God’s Word tells us that the people did not want God to speak to them directly, because they were afraid of God. What was the scene before them? Why were they scared of God?
Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
These words the Lord spoke with a loud voice to your whole assembly at the mountain, out of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, and he added no more. He wrote them on two stone tablets, and gave them to me.
Darkness, things of and things in darkness tend to scare us, drive us away, cause us to flee. Why? Because we believe them to be evil and promote evil. Darkness is destruction and devastation. Darkness is the Devil. Darkness is the opposite of God, in whom no darkness dwells, but only light (1 John 1:5).
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
We believe this and strongly affirm this as believers and followers of Christ. The pictures we receive through Scripture affirm this fact time and time again.
Then the glory of the Lord rose up from the cherub to the threshold of the house; the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of the Lord.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.
Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God;
But what of this fact that God surrounds and dwells in thick darkness? Why would a God of light dwell and surround Himself with darkness? When God appeared to Moses He came in dark cloud, tempest, and thunder. When God appears on earth how shows Himself in earthquakes, hail, lightening, storms, and fire (Isaiah 29:6). He took the prophet Enoch up in a whirlwind.
you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
Why does God shroud Himself in darkness, and reside in darkness? Moses said this to the Israelites as they feared and trembled before Mount Sinai,
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”
1. God Comes to Test & Put Fear in Us so We Will not Sin
God comes in darkness to test and put the fear of Him upon us, so that we do not sin. The word translated test means exactly that, “God testing the faith and faithfulness of human beings”. This does not always mean tempting or enticing one to sin, but instead to strengthen and prove, like the Queen of Sheba testing King Solomon’s wisdom, God allowing Satan to test and afflict Job, and Christians being tested, afflicted, and even killed for their faith in these Last Days before Christ returns (1 Kgs 10:1; Job 1; 1 Peter 4:12; Rev 13:7).
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation,
When we lack the fear of God we will walk the way of sin, therefore God tests us when we need a u-turn and to be reminded of Him and His way. We should not fear, or dread, God when He comes in darkness, because He comes for our salvation and benefit. He reminds us of the respect and honor He deserves and is owed.
Do I welcome God when He resides and shrouds Himself in darkness? Or is all darkness just evil and bad?
2. God Protects Us From His Glory
God shrouds Himself in thick darkness so that we are protected from His glory. No man, woman, and/or child can behold or withstand the pure radiant glory of the One on the throne. Moses returns from receiving the tablets of God’s 10 commandments. In his absence, because he was a long time gone, maybe he died before God, the people figure, the people create two golden calfs and attribute their salvation and worship to them (Ex. 32). Many are put to death and the LORD God wants to snuff out all of them because they are stiff-necked, obstinate, and dishonoring of God (Ex. 33:3-5). Moses intercedes for the people seeking God’s favor and forgiveness and asks God to continue with Israel, so they might be the LORD’s people on the earth (Ex. 33:12-17). Moses asks God to show him His ways and His glory. Moses does not know what He is asking, and God protects Him, in His mercy, from certain destruction.
But He answered, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
The Lord said, “Here is a place near Me. You are to stand on the rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
You ever wanted and/or asked God that He would show you His face? Do I really want that? Do I really desire that? That prayer would never be yes with God because He is full of grace and mercy and loves you and me more than what we know, and more than what we know to pray and ask. The fool with no fear or respect for God would ask to see God’s glory, only to have his life ended on the spot.
God always gives us what we need, when we need it, and how we need it…not how we necessarily desire it. Am I living in the fear of God or the fear of the world? God lives in, controls, allows, and creates the darkness. John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.
Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
What do you and I have to fear of and in the darkness when God is there? What do we have to fear today, when God resides, shrouds, and lives in the darkness? Do we remember that God sent His Son into the darkness, to work in, and through the darkness to dispell it and conquer it? That He has given His Spirit to us to walk as conquerers in the darkness? Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Do I know the love of Jesus? Have I trusted and believed in the love and person of Jesus? If so, I have nothing to be afraid of, except for God Himself and my relationship with Him. Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
Grainy tv, closets, clowns no longer scare me…though I may not like them…I do not entertain them. I choose to entertain and focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and His faithfulness in the darkness. What about you? Psalm 18:19 says this,
He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
The LORD delievers those whom He is delighted in. Is God delighted in you?
One of the deadliest natural disasters in history was the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, also known as the Boxing Day Tsunami, because it took place on December 26, 2004. Its epicenter was off the west coast of Indonesia. An estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries died as a result of the tsunami.
In some places, the waves from the tsunami were 100 feet high. The destruction caused in just a few minutes was unimaginable. In Sri Lanka, for example, close to 40,000 people lost their lives and thousands of homes were demolished. It took months to recover from the devastation.
As the rebuilding process began, one of the strange discoveries found out that prior to the tsunami, animals in the wildlife reserves close to the sea, instinctively seemed to sense the danger that was approaching. As a result, they moved to higher ground or further inland and escaped the effects of the killer waves. After the tsunami, people also are now wiser as to what they should do, if a similar disaster threatens to strike again.
Friends, the Lord is coming again. The Second Advent of the Lord will take place. It will take place suddenly. But you are not without warning. The Bible says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). I urge you to prepare for the Second Advent of the Lord.
How should you prepare? You prepare for the Second Advent of the Lord by repenting of your sin and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation. If you have never done so, repent and believe today. And if you do so, you will be prepared for the Second Advent of Jesus. Amen.
Sermon in a Sentence: Do not be afraid of the darkness, God resides, shrouds, and conquerers the darkness.