Sermon
# 158 Series: Isaiah
Title: Children of Light Walking In
Darkness And Children of Darkness Walking In Light
Text: Isaiah 50:10-11
Subject: Struggling Faith And
Confident Self-Righteousness.
Date: Sunday Evening – August 1, 1993
Introduction:
Anyone can learn the letter of Holy Scripture. A person can, by diligent study and repeated instruction grasp…
A
person can learn these things and teach them to others, and never be affected
by them. But there are gems of living,
spiritual truth’s hidden in the Holy Scriptures, like treasures in a deep mine,
which no one can learn except by the experience of grace.
Our
text tonight is one of those vast, deep mines.
As I read the text and begin to declare its message, some of you will
find your very souls echoing what I say because you will know by experience
what I am talking about. Others will be
either unconcerned or bewildered, or offended, because what the prophet says in
this passage of Holy Scripture will expose the state and condition of their
hearts.
The
title of my message is a bit unusual, but you will see it clearly justified
when we read our text. This is my title
– Children of Light Walking In Darkness And Children Of
Darkness Walking In Light. Read the text with me – Isaiah
50:10-11.
Here
two distinct characters are traced out by the hand of God the Holy Spirit. One is a child of God, an heir of heaven, a
child of light. The other is a child of
satan, an heir of hell, a child of darkness.
The child of light is described as one walking in darkness. But the child of darkness is said to walk in
light. The one walking in darkness is
comforted. But the one walking in light
is warned.
Proposition: These two verses teach us that True Believers Are After Distressed And Troubled About The
State of Their Souls, While Mere Hypocrites Are Very confident And Full Of
Assurance.
I. Verse 10 describes Children of Light Walking In Darkness.
I will spend the bulk of my time here because my object is to help you whose souls are heavy; and a clear understanding of verse 10 will make the next verse perfectly clear.
A. First, Isaiah shows us The Character of Every True Child of God.
1. The believer is a person who
fears the Lord.
· Not a Slavish, Legal Fear.
2. A child of God is a Person who Obeys The Voice of His Servant.
· Christ His Servant (vv. 4-8).
“Holy
reverence within the heart, and careful obedience manifested in the life, these
are the two infallible marks of the true man of God.” – Spurgeon.
That
is the character of a true believer – He fears God and obeys him!
B. Next, the prophet describes The Condition In Which Believers Often Find Themselves – Waling in darkness and having
no light!
NOTE: This is not the condition of all God’s children. But it is the condition of many. It is not the condition they are in all the
time. But it is the condition they are
in much of the time.
1. When Isaiah says these dear saints walk in
darkness and have no light, he does not mean for us to understand that in an
absolute sense – The word “light” here means “brilliance,” or “clear-shining
light” -
4. Though we often walk in darkness, we are not
excused or absolved from daily duty – The text speaks of those who walk in darkness! True
believers never quit, even when they cannot see!
C. Third, notice The Counsel
Isaiah Gives To God’s Children Walking In Darkness – “Let him trust in the name of
the Lord, and stay upon his God.”
1. Trust The name of the Lord – Jehovah.
2. This is both a gracious invitation and a direct command.
a. If you
cannot trust God in the darkness, you do not trust him at all.
Illus: A Husband.
A Father.
b. If you
trust God only in the light, your trust is not in God but in your experience.
c. God’s
promises were made for dark times!
3. We all must learn to trust God in the darkness.
II. Verse 11
shows us Children of Darkness Walking In Light.
A. They
Kindle a Fire of Self-Righteousness.
B. God Leaves
them to Walk in the Light of Their Own Fire; and they do so with great
confidence and Peace.
C. In the End
God will Give Them Sorrow.
Application: