In the Thick Darkness

INTRODUCTION: Dedication of Solomon’s Temple

1. THE DIFFICULTY
1. The Typology of Darkness
2. The Nature of God
1. No darkness in Him (1 John 1:5)
2. No fellowship with darkness (1 John 1:6)
3. Christ delivers us from the darkness (John 12:46)
2. THE HISTORY
1. The Psalms of David (Psalm 18:11-13; Psalm 97:1-2)
2. The Lord on Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:10-12)
3. The Covenant with Abram (Genesis 15:12-13)
4. The Spirit in Creation (Genesis 1:1-3)
3. THE MYSTERY
1. The Hiddenness of His Nature
1. The presence of God in the darkness (Exodus 20:21)
2. The limited revelation of the Lord (Deuteronomy 29:29)
2. The Brightness of His Glory
1. The brightness of His glory (Ezekiel 10:4)
2. The lethal nature of His brightness (Exodus 33:20)
3. The Fearfulness of His Presence
1. An horror of great darkness (Genesis 15:12)
2. The horror of Mount Sinai (Hebrews 12:18-21)
3. The darkness of the day of the Lord (Amos 5:18-20)
4. THE GLORY
1. Our Presumption
1. Darkness is evil
2. There is not darkness in God (1 John 1:5)
3. Therefore our days of darkness (Ecclesiastes 11:8) are days when God is not present.
2. His Promise
1. We will have days of darkness (Ecclesiastes 11:8)
2. But God is in the thick darkness (2 Chronicles 6:1)
3. Therefore God is with us when we are in darkness
3. Our Light in the Darkness
1. As the Israelites had light during the plague of darkness (Exodus 10:21-23)
2. As Job walked by Gods light through the darkness (Job 29:1-3)
3. So God will make the darkness light before us (Isaiah 42:16)
4. He will also give us treasures in the darkness (Isaiah 45:3)

CONCLUSION: Different kinds of darkness:

• Darkness of a lost condition
• Darkness of understanding and direction
• Darkness of multiplied trials and disappointments
• Darkness of a lost way into sin and disobedience

Into the Hand of God – King George VI of England (reigned 1936-1952) never expected to be king of England but had the job and its duties thrust on him when his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry an American divorcee, Mrs. Ernest Simpson. George VI did not have the commanding presence of his brother and struggled with stuttering. However, he faithfully led his country through the time of the Second World War and reached out to his people through regular radio broadcasts. “His most famous broadcast came at Christmas in 1939, when he made a great effect quoting a little-known poet who had written:

May the Almighty Hand guide and uphold us all.’ ” –from The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England by Antonia Fraser (page 354).