Good morning, dear church family. Please stand for the reading of God's Word.
Our sermon text today is John chapter 1, verses 1 through 14.
We'll be preaching through the gospel of John, verse by verse.
John 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through Him.
He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him.
Yet the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.
But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name,
He gave the right to become children of God,
who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.
And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
This is the Word of God.
Thanks be to God.
Let's pray.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
We confess that You are eternal, infinite, and unchangeable
in Your power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth.
Nothing happens except through You and by Your will.
And You have willed to reveal Yourself to us, Your creation,
that we could worship You and enjoy You forever.
We thank You, Lord, that You continue to speak even today through Your Word,
by the power of Your Holy Spirit,
the same power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead
and inaugurated the new creation.
Lord, we long for Your return.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Please speak to us, call us to You, draw us, prepare us to heaven.
We ask, Lord, that with every breath of this sermon
and with every meditation of each heart,
that You will be pleased,
that You will be glorified, Father,
in the name of Jesus and by the help of the Holy Spirit we ask.
Amen.
The title for today's sermon is,
After Darkness, Light.
And that was the battle cry, the motto of the Reformation.
After Darkness, Light.
Darkness means death.
In 2012, 57 cult members believed a lie.
In a Russian bunker, they were taken underground where they lived,
and children were born in that bunker,
who as they grew year after year, never were exposed to sunlight.
And the scientists who helped care for them,
they made several observations.
And we can learn from this how darkness means death.
Sunlight deprivation leads to chronic diabetes,
tuberculosis, no vitamin D,
which can create undeveloped bones, teeth, nails,
and it can ultimately lead to throat spasms and suffocation.
Darkness means death.
We read in verses 4 and 5 that life is light.
Look with me at verses 4 and 5.
In Him, Jesus Christ was life.
And the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
That's what I want to talk with you about today.
If you reject Christ, you are dead in darkness.
Believe in Him and live.
Look at verse 14.
This Word, this God, the Son,
who created the world,
this Word became flesh
and dwelt among us,
and we have seen His glory.
Glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
How can this be?
The Dutch theologian Herman Boving said,
it is entirely incomprehensible to us,
how God can reveal Himself.
But mystery does not mean contradiction.
In His kindness,
our Creator makes Himself known to you,
the created being.
See, in Christ,
we have eternity brought into time,
immensity into space,
infinity in the finite,
immutability in change,
being in becoming,
the all, as it were,
in that which is nothing.
This mystery, says Boving,
cannot be comprehended.
It can only be gratefully acknowledged.
If that's true,
that life is light,
and darkness is death,
and if it's true,
that if you reject Christ,
you are dead in darkness,
but if you believe in Him,
you live,
where are you today?
And this is how I've been praying
for each one of you
in preparation for this sermon.
Some of you,
you decide if this is you.
You are still in darkness,
and you battle against the light of God.
My prayer for you is that the Word of Jesus
will convict you of sin
in your life and in your heart
before the Holy God.
There are others of you
you are in darkness,
but you,
for a reason you can't explain,
you don't find yourself battling
the light of the gospel any longer.
My prayer for you has been
that the great love of Christ
for sinners such as you and me
will be made real in your life
once and for all,
that you'll no longer remain in darkness,
that you'll believe and have life in Christ.
There's a third category.
It's those of you who are
in the light of Christ.
But you are not battling
the darkness of sin in your own heart.
You've become worldly.
My prayer for you is that
the darkness of sin in your heart,
yes, it's still there,
will be overcome
by the love and the light of Christ
so that you will battle
darkness and sin in your life.
And my final group,
it's those of you
who are in the light
and by God's grace,
every day you do battle
the darkness of your own thoughts
in your heart.
My prayer is simply
that with this sermon,
your faith will be strengthened
and you will be convinced
once again
that the light of Christ
overcomes
all the darkness,
the hard things
and trials
that you endure
in this life
as you continue
to battle sin
and walk
in the light of Christ.
Well, before we have
the sermon,
I want to introduce
the book.
Who wrote it?
What else did he write?
What is his writing style?
And what is the purpose
of the Gospel of John?
So first,
who wrote it?
Well, five times
in the Gospel
we're given this phrase,
the disciple whom Jesus loved.
We can narrow it down
to being one of the three disciples
among the twelve
who were at the Lord's Supper
and the three then
who accompanied Jesus
to the garden,
which were Peter
and the two brothers,
the sons of Zebedee,
James and John.
Could it be James?
We can rule out James
because of what we read
in Acts 12,
verses 1, 2, and 3,
which is this.
King Herod,
this is early on,
still King Herod,
as the Christian movement grows,
he laid violent hands
on some who belonged
to the church.
He killed James,
brother of John,
with the sword.
When he saw
that it pleased the Jews,
he proceeded to arrest
Peter also.
So having eliminated Peter
as being a separate man
from these two sons of Zebedee
and knowing that James
was killed early on,
we deduce that the disciple
whom Jesus loved
was the younger son
of Zebedee, John.
What else did John write?
He wrote,
in addition to this gospel,
three epistles,
1, 2, and 3 John
in the magnificent
apocalyptic book
of Revelation.
This gospel of John
was most likely written
toward the very end
of his life,
just like the book
of Revelation,
perhaps also
from the island
of Patmos.
So many of the doctrines
that the church
had been wrestling with,
he is speaking to
and clarifying
as the final
living apostle.
His style is bold
and poetic.
Take, for instance,
what he writes
in Revelation 22,
verses 1 and 2.
Listen for the theme
of death,
life,
and new creation.
Remember,
this is the same author.
John wrote,
See that bold,
poetic style?
He was also direct
and simple,
but not simplistic.
In fact,
he's very deep,
but he throws down
sharp contrasts
in what he teaches.
Take, for instance,
1 John 5, 16,
the same author
John wrote,
We know that we have
passed out of death
into life.
There's our theme again.
How?
Because we love
the brothers.
Whoever does not love
abides in death.
And John is also
perhaps the most
Trinitarian
of all
New Testament authors.
He gives us
jaw-dropping insights
into the Godhead,
Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit,
our triune God.
His gospel
has been called
like an eagle
because it takes us
to the soaring heights
of heaven itself,
the fellowship
among Father,
Son,
and Spirit.
Steve Lawson said
that the gospel of John
is the theological
Mount Everest,
the highest,
most soaring peak.
In the Old Testament,
you're approaching
on the foothills
and then you get
into the pinery
and the snowy tops
before you know
you're in the highest
realms of heaven itself
in John's book.
Why did he write this book?
The purpose
of the gospel of John,
we get this very clearly
in John chapter 20.
Please turn there.
I want to point out
a phrase to you
which is,
you believe.
That phrase,
you believe,
or to believe,
or that you may believe,
it's used 96 times
in the whole New Testament.
In the other gospels,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
it's used only between
three and six times.
The next runner-up
in the whole New Testament
is the book of Acts
which uses that phrase
that you may believe
nine times.
But here in John,
it is used 46 times.
And what is his purpose?
We read in John chapter 20,
verse 31,
These are written
that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that by believing
you may have life
in his name.
We're reinforced
this purpose
with John chapter 5,
verse 24.
Jesus himself says,
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
whoever hears my word
and believes him
who sent me
has eternal life.
He does not come
into judgment,
but has passed
from death to life.
And in John 6,
verse 47,
Jesus says again,
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
whoever believes in me
has eternal life.
In John 8, 24,
Jesus says,
I told you
that you would die
in your sins,
for unless you believe
that I am he,
you will die
in your sins.
Well, what can we conclude
from this introduction
to the Gospel of John?
It's the same message
that we read
in the prologue,
that if you don't believe
in Jesus Christ,
you remain a slave
to sin.
Satan,
death,
and darkness.
But like we read
in verse 14,
Jesus Christ,
who is full of grace
and truth,
came to save you
by his glorious light
to give you life
in him.
So my proposition
for you this morning
is from verses 4 and 5.
Look there again.
John chapter 1,
verses 4 and 5.
We read,
So what does John mean
by the darkness?
Well,
Andreas Kostenberger,
New Testament scholar,
says,
Darkness,
in John's Gospel,
is the world
alienated from God,
spiritually ignorant
and blind,
fallen,
sinful,
dominated by Satan.
Now look at verse 1,
John 1,
1.
In the beginning,
now if you grew up
in a Judeo-Christian
upbringing,
a family,
you would have been
very familiar
with those first three words,
in the beginning.
And the next word
that would automatically
pop in your mind,
everybody say it,
in the beginning,
God.
But here the author
wants you to think
in the same way
and instead of
saying the very
familiar term,
Yahweh,
he says instead,
In the beginning
was the Word,
and the Word
was with God,
and the Word
was God.
So what that means
is that the Son
is God,
and the Son
was with God,
and the Son
is God's Word.
So the author
of John,
he wants you to know
that Jesus,
the Son of God,
who took on flesh,
he was with God
in the beginning,
and through him
everything was created.
And I want you
to see the darkness,
the reference
to the beginning
and the thought
of darkness,
I want you to see
that in Genesis
chapter 1,
verse 2.
Please turn there
in your Bible.
Genesis chapter 1,
verse 2.
In the beginning,
God created
the heavens and the earth.
Now look at verse 2.
The earth
was without form
and void,
and darkness
was over
the face of the deep.
Well, let's take
each phrase.
The earth
was without form,
you can picture chaos,
and void,
you can picture
emptiness.
Somehow,
this chaotic
emptiness
was also
like a black hole.
Darkness
was over
the face of it.
It's like a black hole
that's going to suck you in
and consume you
in the midst of chaos
and death
and destruction.
And even though
nothing existed,
it was like
the face of the deep.
For an Israelite
who had been a slave
in Egypt their whole life,
entering now
the wilderness
promised land,
when they hear
the deep,
they would be picturing
the Mediterranean Sea,
perhaps.
They'd be picturing
this scary ocean
that they would never
sail on,
that at nighttime,
it's chaotic,
and it's like
a darkness
that could consume you
and destroy you.
And that's how
God describes
the world
before
the Word of God
speaks it all
into being.
See,
the darkness of the world
is so black,
that's the best comparison
for what Christ
came to do
in this earth.
God's revelation
needed to bring
order,
a new creation
into the darkness
of man's sin
in this world.
Now look at
verses 6, 7, and 8.
See,
the world was so dark
that God had to,
he had to shine
the light on the sun.
And that's what
John the Baptist
came to do,
and we're going to
talk more about him
next week.
But look at verse 6.
There was a man
sent from God
whose name was John,
John the Baptizer.
He came as a witness
to bear witness
to the light
that all might believe
through him.
He was not the light
but came to bear witness
about the light.
the true light
which gives light
to everyone
was coming
into the world.
We read in verse 10,
although God
was revealing himself
ultimately through Jesus,
fulfilling all
that the prophets
had prepared,
in verse 10
we read that
the world
did not know him.
And now look at verse 11.
Jesus came to his own
and his own people
did not receive him.
the light
of God
who gives life
rejected
by the very ones
God sent him
to preach to.
Jesus says
in John chapter 3
verse 19
that the people
loved the darkness
rather than the light
because their works
were evil.
See how it was
their love
for darkness
and evil
that kept them blind
to the light
of Jesus.
John 12
35
Jesus said
if you don't
walk in Christ
then the darkness
will overtake you.
The one who walks
in darkness
does not know
where he is going
because the darkness
is the opposite
of the light of God.
First John 1
5 through 6
we're told that
God is light
and in him
is no darkness
at all.
So why
did the people
reject him?
Again,
John 3
19
the people
loved
the darkness
rather than
the light.
So darkness
is not only
the absence
of God's light
as D.A. Carson
says
the darkness
in this prologue
of John
it is an
aggressive
intentional
unrepented
and enslaving
lust
for evil.
That's what
darkness is.
See because of sin
all people
became
like J.R. Tolkien
and the Lord
of the Rings
like his
orcs
and trolls.
These are ugly
creatures that
fear the sunlight
they shun it
they can't be near it
and under
Morgoth's
power of darkness
for them
the night time
became a time
of peril
unseen
of fear
without form
an uneasy
vigil
or a haunted
dream
leading through
despair
to the shadow
of death.
that's what
it's like
to be in
the darkness
of sin
it's to be
an orc
or a troll
if you reject
Jesus
as your king
you remain
infected
by sin
you remain
a slave
to Satan
you are trapped
in dreadful
darkness
a spiritually
dead soul
with eternity
only one
faint
heartbeat away
a shallow
breath
away
or a tragic
car accident
away from
everlasting
judgment
of your soul
before
the holy
God
do you realize
that this is
the state
of your soul
if you are not
walking in the
light of Christ
if you don't
see your own
sin before God
you are blind
you cannot
see
the glory
of Christ
you need
surgery
how
Psalm 90
verse 8
we're told
God's word
sets your sin
before him
your secret sins
in the light
of his presence
that's how God
cuts you
to the heart
that's how he
performs his
surgery
to heal you
from blindness
to see his
glory
ask God
to show you
your sin
ask him
to allow
you to see
the glory
of God
and you
will feel
like Charles
Wesley wrote
long my
imprisoned
spirit
lay
fast bound
in sin
and nature's
night
but thine
eye diffused
a quickening
ray
I woke
the dungeon
flamed
with light
my chains
fell off
my heart
was free
I rose
went forth
and followed
thee
when God
performs a
heart surgery
on you
he changes
you
you become
like that
young man
in the
colonial period
who had
some smooth
heavy stones
in his pocket
walked out
to the field
he was mocking
George
Whitfield
an evangelist
preaching the gospel
and he was ready
to throw these
stones and see
if he could
smash
break the head
of that preacher
he let him
get through his
prayer
and took the
first stone
out
Whitfield
read from
God's word
and the Holy
Spirit cut
this young
man to the
heart
he confessed
later
I came to
crush his
head
but instead
the word
of God
broke my
heart
pray that
God will
do that
to you
what is
the light
that overcomes
such
darkness
that's our
promise
in verse
five
do you
see that
the light
of Christ
shines in
the darkness
and the
darkness
has not
overcome
it
what we
read in
John
we read
verse one
how does
the light
of God
do this
work
look at
verse two
he was
in the
beginning
with God
and all
things
were made
through him
this is
referring to
the word
of God
without him
was not
anything
made
that was
made
you need
to be
thinking
now
of
creation
that
darkness
of
chaos
and
emptiness
and
death
the word
of God
speaks
six times
God said
when God
spoke
when God's
word went
forth
it was
effective
to create
to bring
physical
new life
just as
God's
word
going
forth
today
is
effective
to bring
spiritual
new
creation
in
Psalm
33
verse six
we're
told
by the
word
of the
Lord
the
heavens
were
made
and by
the
breath
of his
mouth
all
their
host
God
breathed
through
Jesus
Christ
and the
stars
took
their
places
in the
sky
God's
word
is also
personal
it's
personal
near
associated
with
God's
essence
Isaiah
55
10
and 11
say
my
word
that
goes
out
from
my
mouth
it
shall
not
return
to
me
empty
it
shall
accomplish
that
which
I
purpose
and
shall
succeed
in
the
thing
for
which
I
sent
it
says
the
father
the
son
goes
forth
as
the
word
of
God
and
the
son
does
not
fail
in
his
mission
he
accomplishes
what
the
father
gave
him
to
do
you
hear
the
word
of
God
and
John
connects
the
word
of
God
to
the
actual
person
of
Jesus
Christ
the
word
was
God
look at
verse 14
the
word
became
flesh
and
dwelt
among us
and we
have seen
his glory
thanks be
to God
the
word
was
with
God
and
the
word
was
God
two
distinct
persons
one
God
Jesus
is
God
Jesus
was
with
God
the
Nicene
Creed
says
that
the
son
is
of
the
same
substance
of
the
father
God
of
God
light
of
light
true
God
of
true
God
begotten
not
made
of
one
substance
with
the
father
God
in
man
God
take
on
flesh
the
same
person
should
have
both
the
glory
and
a
grief
Stephen
Charnock
said
what a
wonder
that
two
natures
divine
and
human
infinitely
distant
should
be more
intimately
united
than
anything
in the
world
in the
person
of
Jesus
an
infinite
joy
in the
deity
and
an
inexpressible
sorrow
in the
humanity
that
in
God
upon
a
throne
should
be
an
infant
in
a
cradle
the
thundering
creator
be a
weeping
baby
and a
suffering
man
the
incarnation
astonishes
men
upon
earth
and
angels
in
heaven
look at
verse
9
this
is the
true
light
Jesus
who
gives
light
to
everyone
coming
into
the
world
he
was
in
the
world
and
the
world
was
made
through
him
he
came
to
his
own
and
his
own
did
not
receive
him
the
life
giving
word
of
God
must
break
into
darkness
and
who
is it
that
God
saves
look at
verse
12
to
all
who
did
receive
him
who
believed
in
his
name
he
gave
the
right
to
become
children
of
God
well
then
who
is it
that
can
believe
in
him
who
isn't
still
dead
in
sin
look
at
verse
13
we're
told
it's
those
who
were
born
not
of
blood
nor
of
the
will
of
the
flesh
nor
of
the
will
of
man
you
cannot
will
your
way
into
the
kingdom
of
God
you
must
be
look
at
verse
13
the
last
words
you
must
be
born
of
God
you
cannot
make
yourself
born
again
because
your
flesh
cannot
believe
in
God
on
its
own
so
you
see
how
God
must
get
all
the
glory
when
a
sinner
is
saved
look
at
verse
14
one
more
time
the
word
became
flesh
and
dwelt
that
word
is
tabernacled
set
up
a
tent
so
the
purpose
of
the
tabernacle
the
tent
was
to
shield
sinners
from
the
glory
of
God
so
they
don't
get
consumed
and
killed
by
it
and
now
look
what
John
says
God
dwelt
among
us
and
we
have
seen
his
glory
because
he
was
tabernacled
in
the
flesh
of
a
man
Jesus
it's
the
glory
as
of
the
only
son
from
the
father
full
of
grace
and
truth
so
when
Jesus
became
flesh
and
brought
the
glory
and
truth
of
heaven
to
earth
and
his
fleshly
body
he
made
it
possible
for
a
sinner
on
earth
to
be
united
to
God
himself
so
what
does
this
mean
for
you
today
do
you
see
the
glory
of
Jesus
as
of
the
only
son
from
the
father
do
you
see
Jesus
full
of
grace
and
truth
there's
no
life
apart
from
his
light
Andreas
Kastenberger
again
said
that
life
and
light
attest
to
the
blessing
resulting
from
Jesus
coming
into
the
dark
world
to
bring
new
eternal
life
through
his
death
for
who
for
you
who
believe
in
him
he
saves
you
from
death
to
life
from
darkness
to
light
from
this
present
evil
age
into
his
new
creation
he
saves
you
from
Satan's
dungeon
into
the
kingdom
of
God
Jesus
satisfies
all
the
psalmist
longings
everything
the
psalms
long
for
is
fulfilled
in
Christ
and
he
makes
possible
all
highest
aspirations
every
expectation
that was
placed
on the
shoulders
of
the
coming
son
of
David
Jesus
accomplishes
and he
paves the
way for
the
fulfillment
of
that
abundant
eternal
life
in
the
presence
of
the
holy
creator
himself
for
all
eternity
that
we
read
in
all
of
the
apocalyptic
literature
and
why
does
it
matter
for
you
that
God
took
on
flesh
because
the
eternal
son
in
his
resurrection
body
is
your
only
hope
for
eternity
in
1st
John
chapter
3
verse
2
we're
told
we
shall
be
like
him
body
and
soul
mark
jones
explains
it
this
way
we
yearn
for
the
day
when
our
bodies
and
souls
both
will
be
transformed
into
the
likeness
of
christ
glorious
body
the
incarnation
of
the
son
explains
why
heaven
will
be
forever
why
is
that
because
we
are
united
to
christ
for
heaven
to
end
one
of
two
things
would
have
to
happen
right
this is
what
mark
jones
writes
number
one
jesus
would
have
to
pass
out
of
existence
or
god
would
have
to
sin
see
you're
united
to
christ
like
a
marriage
and
god
would
never
dissolve
your
marriage
to
his
son
it
pleases
the
father
that
you
the
church
belong
to
christ
and
jesus
because
he
is
god
will
never
pass
out
of
existence
both
of
those
possibilities
are
non-existent
the
union
between
christ
and
his
bride
the
true
church
would
have
to
be
dissolved
but
neither
god
nor
our
loving
savior
will
ever
allow
this
to
happen
christ
holds
his
church
forever
that's
our
hope
of
heaven
so
does
isaiah
9
to
describe
you
are
you
one
who
once
walked
in
darkness
but
now
have
seen
this
great
light
are
you
one
of
those
who
has
dwelt
in
a
land
of
deep
darkness
but
on
you
this
light
has
shone
like
verse
13
says
have
you
been
born
of
god
maybe
you're
wondering
and how
do
you
know
how
does
god
regenerate
and give
new
life
one
puritan
pastor
explained
effectual
calling
this
way
he
had
taught
the
catechism
what
is
effectual
calling
then
he
asked
now
you
know
this
memorized
can
anyone
say
the
catechism
as
your
own
words
and
upon
his
proposal
solemn
silence
followed
many
felt
its
vast
importance
but
none
had
courage
to
answer
one
young
man
who
had
other
times
not
taken
the
Bible
study
seriously
finally
stood up
and with
every mark
on his face
of a broken
and contrite
heart
he said
with a
trembling
voice
the
catechism
in his
own words
effectual
calling
is the
work of
God's
spirit
to convince
me
of my
sin
and misery
enlightening
my mind
in the
knowledge of
Christ
in renewing
my
will
it's
when
God
persuades
me
to
embrace
Jesus
Christ
freely
offered
to
me
in
the
gospel
the
spirit
convinced
him
through
being
catechized
in the
church
to
God's
glory
and to
the
comfort
of the
other
believers
when he
was done
the
congregation
was
bathed
in tears
that's
new
creation
power
creation
through
the
word
in
the
beginning
the
new
birth
what
was
dead
is
now
alive
in
Christ
the
light
shines
in
that
darkness
and
the
darkness
has
not
overcome
it
because
in the
words
of
Augustine
about
1500
years
ago
man's
maker
was
made
man
the
bread
of
life
was
made
to
hunger
the
fountain
was
made
to
thirst
the
light
to
sleep
the
way
to
be
tired
on
the
journey
the
truth
to
be
accused
of
false
witness
the
teacher
to
be
beaten
with
whips
the
foundation
to
be
suspended
on
wood
the
strength
made
to
grow
weak
the
healer
was
wounded
the
life
laid
down
his
life
for
a
sinner
such
as
you
and
me
Jesus
who
was
full
of
grace
and
truth
came
to
save
you
by
his
glorious
light
to
give
you
life
in
him
don't
reject
him
as
king
of
your
life
any
longer
believe
in
him
bow
to
God's
prince
as
your
savior
your
only
hope
in
life
and
in
death
and
enjoy
life
in
him
forever
where
do
you
fit
into
this
story
painted
in
this
time
shattering
world
rocking
prologue
to the
gospel
of
John
if
you
are
in
darkness
and
you
are
battling
the
light
that
means
you
are
still
blind
and
I
exhort
you
today
may
God
turn
your
life
upside
down
if
you
are
in
darkness
and
you
are
not
battling
the
light
anymore
this
is
the
Holy
Spirit
working
in
your
life
and
may
God's
Spirit
reveal
the
glory
and
the
grace
of
Jesus
to
you
that
you
have
life
in
him
if
you
are
in
the
light
but
you
are
not
battling
the
darkness
of
your
own
sin
this
means
you
are
unhappy
may
the
Lord
who
began
a
good
you
finish
it
like
he
promises
in
John
8
verse
12
I
am
the
light
of
the
world
whoever
follows
me
will
not
walk
in
darkness
but
will
have
the
light
of
life
if
you
are
in
the
light
and
you
are
battling
the
darkness
of
sin
in
the
world
in
your
own
life
then
you
are
a
stranger
and
a
pilgrim
in
this
dark
world
this
present
evil
age
my
exhortation
to you
is that
may the
Lord
strengthen
and encourage
you
proverbs
4 18
says
for you
keep
me
make this
your
prayer
keep me
on the
path
of
righteousness
which
like the
light
of dawn
shines
brighter
and brighter
until the
full
day
if you
live to
please
God
then you
listen to
his
words
and keep
his
commands
they
show
you
the
way
to
go
for
to
follow
his
directions
and
you
will
get
if
you
don't
follow
it
you
will
get
lost
in
the
dark
but
if
you
remember
his
teaching
you
will
grow
wiser
and
stronger
until
you
see
God
let's
pray
Lord
you
promise
that
your
people
in
Psalm
36
will
feast
on
the
abundance
of
your
house
and
that
you
will
give
them
drink
from
the
river
of
your
delights
and
we
trust
that
with
you
is
the
fountain
of
life
and
that
in
you
do
we
see
light
Amen