Cave Story And The Not-So-Dark Darkness;

Are you ready to receive it today? The year was 1998. We were living in Dallas, Texas at the time and serving as youth pastors. And we decided to take a group of students down to southwest Texas, kind of a getaway, uh retreat, kind of camp experience with our students. And so we loaded up a bunch of vehicles and drove several hours south and west of Dallas into an area that is like uh New Bronfiels area, and lots to do there. You can raft down a river and go over the falls and swings out of trees into the water, and and we were at a great campsite at Canyon Lake, and uh we got down there and then on the way back we decided we had some extra time on the way back. So we went into this uh we stopped at this um the the darkest, deepest caves in southwest Texas is how it was advertised. And so we got in there and uh we had a large group, so they had to break us up into two groups, and so they sent us down into the deep catacomb of the caves, and uh, and then they had this major presentation, and they were warned us you need to be very still for the next few minutes because we're gonna show you what it's like when there's no light in the cave. It's gonna get very dark. In fact, you're not gonna be able to see your hand in front of your face. You won't be able to reach out and know who's around you, and you need to be very careful uh over the next two minutes until we turn the lights on. We ask that you respectfully don't move or don't walk around, just stand still in your spot. And so we were all excited. We're thinking, man, this is gonna be amazing. So dark that you can't see your hand in front of you. Oh, okay, it's gonna be kind of spooky, and you're in this cave already, you don't know what's gonna happen for two minutes. I mean, my God, what are they gonna do? And so they said, All right, and three, two, one, and then they pushed play on like this this recording that was gonna talk about how deep the cave was and dark the cave was and all the things about the cave, and the voice said, This is total darkness. Only, unfortunately, just a little ways off of that main room of the cave, they forgot to turn some lights off. So it wasn't total darkness. And whenever you have a group of students that are together and they say something that's not true, the group went hysterical and laughing and commenting and uh just giggling, and they could not get through their presentation, and it was just a chaotic moment, but it was a fun moment. But it is the year that I learned as long as there is any amount of light, there can be no amount of darkness. So why don't you just turn to your neighbor and say, you are the light. And then to the one you've been ignoring, look back at them and say, light it up, up, up, up, up. Today we're beginning an all-new series called Light. And this is a series off of what happened last week with Pastor Kevin Heron. How many enjoyed Pastor Kevin with us last week? Powerful message. In the 11 o'clock service, he had a moment where he had a prophecy moment over our church family. And um, he had a declaration that he gave to us that he saw in the spirit world in the vision as he was worshiping, this great beam of light breaking out of heaven and shining into this building, into this congregation, and then that light being expressed and exploding out of this building into the community. And if you remember, he said that it's almost like we're on the very edge of what God wants to do in fulfilling some of our dreams and our vision to see people to know God and find freedom and discover purpose and make a difference, and that we should be ready for something extraordinary to happen in this midst. And when he was making that declaration over our church, I had a moment where I saw the visual, and then I had a moment where I was like, this is what I want to preach from now until Easter, this series, entitled Light. And so we're gonna lean in over the next few weeks, and and with the Lord's help, we're gonna become the light that God has called us to be in this community. Matthew 5 says this you are the light of the world. Everybody say, You are the light. You are, that's you. Everybody say, I am the light. You are the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. So we have to lean into this scripture for a minute, and first of all, it's very obvious what Jesus is telling us. He's telling us that we are, you are the light. I um I have an idea as I was thinking about this message, and sometimes have you ever been uh ready to take a photo with somebody? And it's a dark, the room is dark, darker, it's not a well-lit room. And how many know light makes all the difference in a picture? We spent this week, the middle part of this week, back in Houston with Pastor Kevin and Melissa. They were here with us Sunday. He led our staff meeting on Tuesday, and then we departed for Houston Tuesday night. I preached for them, or Shauna led worship on Wednesday night at their first Wednesday service. We had a powerful service. Altars were filled, amazing time in God's presence. And then on Thursday, we got to go to the rodeo. So we put on our boots and our hats and acted as cowboy as we could. And um we got to the rodeo, and before we went in, we we decided to take some photos. And we were with Pastor Kevin and Melissa, and then our overseers, Pastor Nate and Dina, and spending time with them. And so Arshana took a picture of Pastor Nate and Dina, and it was like the perfect light. They're like the most photogenic people with the perfect light. It was a beautiful picture. I mean, I was like, man, you guys will print that. That can be your Christmas card. I mean, you're done. You don't have to worry about it. And then we took a picture of us, and we had to take another one, and then we had to take another one, and then we had to take another one, and then we had to take another one because we could not get the light right. Because light is everything. And then I was thinking about when you're in a dark setting and and somebody wants to take your picture and they turn the flash on. And uh, and your whole attempt in a picture is not to blink. But they take the picture and the flash comes on, and it's bright, and lights everything up for a second, and then you can't see. But then the light is gone, and really, then, because it's a darker setting, because of that flash of light, then you really can't see at all. And I want to just present to you maybe this idea that in a modern society, what people are used to are flashes of light. Inspirational moments, a sermon here, a song there, uh a catchy phrase or a verse of the day that stands out for a moment, but we're driven by flashing lights. But I'm going to tell you, church, we are not a flashing light church. We are a part of a kingdom whose light has never and will never be extinguished. And because of that, the light that we are is a light that should never go out. This is flashing lights. This is not us. We are not flashing lights. We are a beacon, a steady light, as a witness of God's goodness and the power of his kingdom. If you notice in this scriptures, Jesus says, You are the light, and then at the end of the passage, the second verse, he says, so let your works shine like a light, so that people will see the goodness of God. You notice, and almost every time you read scripture, you're going to find this, that Jesus first deals with your identity before he deals with your responsibility. That he has to confirm and affirm who you are before he speaks to what you should do. It's almost you could say it like this before you do, you must be. The reality is, if you don't know you are our light, how will you be a light? That's why he said no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel. Because once you know you have the light, you want the light. And you are the light of the world. Light and darkness are, it's interesting. They're opposites, but they're not equal. They are opposites, but they're not equal. And this is the way the kingdom of God works. God works really in terms of opposites, not in equality. Let me tell you what I mean. See, if I were to ask you the opposite of good, you would say evil. If I were to ask you the opposite of God, you would say the devil, but they're really not even on the same plane. They might be opposite in terms of good and evil, but the devil is not on the same plane as God. He's not on the same level as God. In fact, God is above all things. In fact, God created all things. The devil is a created being, means that God controls everything He created. He has control over. So things might be opposite, they are not equal. So God is above it all, and the devil is not even close. Light is powerful and overtakes darkness in every situation. The smallest amount of light breaks through the greatest amount of darkness. Darkness can never overcome light, but light always overcomes darkness. You say, PC, you're just talking in circles. What do you mean? Well, good and evil are opposites, but they're not equal. Love and hate are opposites, but they're not equal. Blessing and cursing are opposites, but they're not equal. Good is greater than evil, love more powerful than hate, and blessing above cursing. And light dominates darkness. See, light, light is matter. It can be measured, it's quantifiable. We can tell you how much light in terms of wattage that fills the room. We can tell you how light travels. We can identify light, but darkness is nothing. It's not matter. In fact, it's not even a property. Darkness is just the absence of light. So when I was reading about it, it is actually that darkness is really just a perception that is meaning the light has not yet arrived. So darkness has is nothing. It's the absence of light. And simply is just a perception that light is about to show up. In fact, let's do this little experiment. You guys need to, we gave an hour away this morning. Let's wake ourselves up a little bit. Alright. I want you to take your hands and I want you to uh cup them together and leave just a little spot in there that you can look through and look in there and make sure you block out all the light. Alright? So it should be dark in there, right? Alright, now close that up. So now we know we're holding darkness. All of us are holding darkness. And I would say there's probably about 110 of us in here in this room right now. So let's at this, I'm gonna count the three, and at the count of three, we're all gonna release the darkness we have and see what happens in the room. Are you ready? One, two, three. What happened? Nothing. Because darkness is nothing. And let me ask you, what is the devil the ruler of? Nothing. Nothing. So I want to tell you, as the light of the world, you can say, get behind me, Satan, because you are the ruler of nothing. Get off my kids. Get out of my marriage. Get away from my family. Get away from my job. Get off my finances because you are nothing. I am the light. You're nothing. Nothing. Let's talk about the science of light for a second. You know that light travels at a speed of a hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per second. Meaning, in the time it took for me to snap my finger, light has traveled around the earth seven times. Light operates in a suddenly moment. It's why on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts, it says, suddenly there was a rushing mighty wind, and sitting on each individual was a fire, a light of fire on them in tongues, as a representation of God's gift and his promise of the Holy Spirit arriving into our world. It's suddenly the moment when Paul and Silas in the book of Acts are imprisoned in the dark prison in the deep recesses of the prison, and they decide to keep singing and worshiping into the night, and suddenly the doors opened and the chains were broken. And the ruler called for a light because he thought, surely everybody's gone. You can't determine when a dark room becomes light, except for the fact when you turn the switch on and now it's light and you can see. You can't quantify the speed of that. There's no way to measure how fast the room becomes lit because it happens so fast it's suddenly. Suddenly. But even beyond the speed of light. Focused light has a tremendous power. Focused light becomes a laser, which can cut through steel, meaning it's powerful. Perform intricate surgeries, meaning it's precise. And through fiber optics can be can transmit information globally in a matter of seconds, which means it's practical. And you are the light of the world with the access to the name above every other name, the name of Jesus, so you are powerful. That you can using the word of God divide right from wrong. And you can use the word of God to cut through from thought to heart. You are precise. And you are the light of the world. You have the capacity to dispel and to speak life into every situation. You are practical in this world. You are the light of the world. You're the light of the world. Tell your neighbor, you're the light of the world. So I'm going to close here as we work through this series by revealing a passage of scripture in the Old Testament that shows us God's intention for his people to be the light of the world in a dark place in a dark world. There's a thing in the Old Testament when you read through the children of Israel about the spirit of Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt. We know that the children of Israel, if you're reading the Bible through in the year, you went through this a few weeks ago, and now you're into like we're into like the law of God's law for his people. And you're reading about all the laws that are established for his people. But in the beginning, in the Exodus, we we find that God's people are enslaved in Egypt. What's interesting to me is they did not arrive in Egypt as slaves. Remember, they came to Egypt because Joseph had been sold by his brothers, and then became, as was prophesied, and as he dreamed about his life, he was placed in the second command, and literally his brothers and died. They did bow down to him just like his dream said, but because he was elevated to a place of importance and influence in Egypt, and a family of 70 moved to Egypt, and then in just a few years became a great nation within Egypt, so much so that Pharaoh said, if they keep populating like this, they're gonna take over, so we need to do something. And at that moment, the spirit of Pharaoh began to block, deny, encroach on what God's people were intended to do. These were the people that were intended to live in the land of milk and honey, that were intended to be God's promise and his pride and joy, and to fulfill the promise in the promised land. But now they're enslaved by this Pharaoh spirit. And a pharaoh spirit is associated with a physical restraint, and it is whenever something limits your purpose or your promise or your options so that you feel like you have no control in moving forward with your own life. Listen, you don't you don't have to live in Egypt and have a Pharaoh over your life to be experiencing the Pharaoh's spirit. In fact, some of you are probably feeling that spirit over your life right now, that you're limited in some way in terms of reaching the promise that God has for you or living out the purpose God has for you. You feel like you take one step forward and then two steps back, and your existence is just this all the way through life, like you're about to make some progress, and then there's something there that stops you, and it is that Pharaoh spirit that is trying to control you. And I'm here to tell you today, Pharaoh, let this people go. To break that spirit over your life. Once and for all, and let me show you why it can be brokeness, broken. I'm gonna lean into this pastor of scripture, Exodus chapter 10, verse 21. Let's put it up on the screen. Here we go. Then the Lord said to Moses, now we know that there's a series of plagues that have happened, correct? I'm picking up, I'm not gonna tell you the whole first eight, but I'm picking up number nine. Number nine has incredible significance to us. Let's read it. Then the Lord said to Moses, Lift up your hand over heaven, or toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered. Now remember, I told you darkness has no property. But look at this. Your darkness so thick you can feel it. I think it's what they were intending in that cave we were in that day. They just forgot to turn out the lights. So Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it. Now let me remind you where where do the Israelites live? They live in Egypt. Just make sure we're tracking, right? They're enslaved in Egypt. Sometimes you guys are afraid to answer. It's not a setup. They live in Egypt right now. They're enslaved in Egypt. So the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it. So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. During all that time, three days, the people could not see each other. No one moved. And then there's a butt. I just tell you, God's butt is always bigger. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived. So the entire land was dark, with a darkness so thick it could be felt, except for where God's people lived. And they still had light. And I just want to spend a moment. You want to know why that is? Because if you think back to the beginning, in the beginning, God said, Let there be light. Now, that light was not the sun. He created the sun a few days later. That light was his character shining into that dark, voidless confusion at creation. And then after God said, Let there be light, he divided light from darkness. That's why darkness has no power over light because he divided it so that the light would always overcome the darkness, always overtake the darkness, and any amount of light always wipes out whatever amount of darkness. So when God says, Moses, raise your hand over Egypt, call down darkness from heaven. So thick it can be felt. It fills the nation, except where God's people are, is because God's people aren't relying on the sun in that moment. They are a part of the light of the world. And that's you. That God says, you can live in a dark world and still be light. You can be a part and hear dark news but still have light. That there can be confusion and chaos around you, but you can still live in the light because Jesus is the light, and anybody that follows him will no longer walk in any darkness. Because you are the light, listen, your promise is still intact. Your purpose is still alive. Your potential still has great capacity. Your options are still in front of you in making decisions as you follow Jesus because you are the light. He just simply made sure it did not touch his people. Darkness may surround you, but it cannot control you. It may exist around your life, but it cannot extinguish the light in your life. Because when God puts light in you, darkness loses its jurisdiction over your life. And you will always walk in the light. In fact, not only are you the light, but you have a light. The word of God a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. The word of God precise enough to shine a light on the very step you're about to take, but powerful enough to shine a light down the road for you to see what's coming. You're the light. You're the light. You don't have to fear darkness. You don't have to fear bad news. When you watch global and world news, you don't have to be afraid. You think it's a shock to God what's happening right now in our world? It's no shock to Him. But you know what? We are part of a different kingdom. It is a kingdom of light. And where there's a kingdom of light, there's a kingdom of understanding. And an understanding is that listen, we are temporary inhabitants of this land right here. This world is not my home. I have a future. In fact, my future is in a place where God says there will only ever be light, there will never be darkness when we get to heaven. And so my responsibility as the light is to shine. Shine. You may feel underqualified, underdeveloped. It's okay, it's not on you. Because you're light. And if you'll just be the light, you walk into the room, you remove all the darkness. You are more powerful than any situation you walk into. You are brighter than any dark arena you walk into. You have the capacity to bring a joy that no one else can bring into the room. You have a capacity to walk with a peace that no one else in the room walks in. Because you're the light of the world. And because you're the light of the world, you know greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. Greater is the light in me than any darkness that's in the world. And all you gotta do is walk as the light. Can you receive that word today?