Quote from Forum Archives on December 17, 2000, 10:33 pm

Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>

Standing Shoulder To Shoulder With You As You
Fight the Good Fight of Faith

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #154 ---- 12/18/00

TITLE: "Destroying The Deadly Darkness" (Two of Three)

My Dear Pilgrim Journey Partner:

Today I greet you from the lush, green, balmy country of Costa Rica in
Central America while our region of the world is blanketed with some 16" of
snow and ice. We are concluding a highly enjoyable week with our oldest
daughter and her family touring much of the region of central Costa Rica.

We've seen some of the most incredible waterfalls (including the one used
"Cherokee Jeep" commercial), stood on the brink of one of Costa Rica's
active volcanoes (which we couldn't see because of cloud cover), taken a
nearly three mile trip though a remote region of the canopy of the rain
forest by cable tram, hiked along miles of forest trails, spent the night in
a remote mountain cabin in the bottom of a gorge nearly 1,000 feet deep
(where we had our Christmas celebration together), watched thousands of
butterflies and birds of varied species in their natural settings, eaten
more food than we usually eat in three weeks, and ---- shopped.

And, most importantly, we spent time with our "kids", celebrating Christmas
with them.

Several of you wrote earlier encouraging us to rest and relax. We
appreciate that; it's been a long time since we've done either.

Did we relax? Absolutely.

Did we rest? You've got to be kidding! We'll do that in February.

Jo Ann and I have been blessed to spend various holiday and family
celebrations in numerous parts of the world, not so much by design as by
circumstance, but this will be our first year to celebrate Christmas three
times in three locations ---- Costa Rica this week amidst the fireworks,
Latin American style celebrations, and bright lights of her largest City,
San Jose ---- at home on December 25th with Dad and two of our daughters
with their families ---- then in Kiev, Ukraine on January 7th with believers
there and a team of university students who go with us to minister through
St. James Bible College.

Last Friday we visited a Catholic church in the city of Cartago on the way
to our mountain retreat. Hundreds of thousands of people from around the
world come to this site to view a black version of the virgin Mary which
reportedly rose mysteriously following a fire that destroyed the building.

As we stood inside the building viewing its extravagant beauty, I watched
people crawl on their knees down the center aisle nearly as long as a
football field, desperately trying to gain God's favor by their acts of
suffering and humility.

It drove home the need for "Bright Light For Dark Paths" of which I wrote in
my last letter.

It raises the question ---- how do you destroy such deadly darkness?

DESTROYING THE DEADLY DARKNESS:

For this little mini-series, I'm focusing on passages found in Isaiah. Last
letter I shared some thoughts on
Isaiah 9:2-7. Today we look at Isaiah 42:6-7. To do those verses justice,
I'd urge you to read the entire chapter. The first nine verses describe the
Person and work of the coming Redeemer. Verses ten through thirteen call
out to us to rejoice in the coming Promise, and reassure us of His utter
victory.

Then the Lord's harsh exposure of spiritual blindness and deafness is the
focus in verses fourteen through twenty five, with the challenge for us to
heed what God is saying.

In the first section noted, two things are covered. First, God announces to
us His compassionate provision of One who will put the pieces of life back
together in verses one through four. Then, in verses six through nine, He
announces to the One Who is to come the purpose for which He is being sent
---- to be "a light to the nations".

"I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by
the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the
people, as a Light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out
prisoners from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the
prison." (Isa 42:6-7)

LEVELS OF DARKNESS:

It would not have been necessary for Jesus to come had it not been for the
darkness. As I considered last week what I wanted to write, an unexpected
thought came to mind ---- “darkness was and still is a part of the eternal
struggle for man’s soul.”

When you examine the Biblical record of creation, you’ll notice in Genesis
chapter one that the word for darkness appears for the first time in verse
two ---- almost at the very beginning of inspired scripture. It’s not
accidental that it appears there, and that it appears in the setting in
which it is found.

Verse one tells us God created the heavens and earth. The Hebrew word for
“created” means to make something out of nothing.

Then verse two reveals something you would not expect from a perfect God
---- an apparently imperfect creation, described as “formless and void”. No
shape, no real definable substance. A French translation calls it, “tohu
bohu” ---- topsy turvy

The most interesting word, however, is the word “was”, literally meaning,
“became”. It wasn’t originally that way.

The implication to me is that God made the heavens and earth from nothing.
It was perfect. Then, somehow, it became topsy turvy, evidenced by the
presence for the first time of darkness.

By the word of His mouth, “God separated the light from the darkness” ----
not the other way around. Is that significant? I believe it is. I believe
it was God’s way of declaring to the Prince of Darkness that he would not be
allowed to conquer divine Light with demonic Darkness. I believe this is
verified in John 1:5. Darkness could neither comprehend nor conquer light.

That darkness, however, does exist in a very real way. This season of the
year is a perfect opportunity to be reminded, because that is indeed “the
reason for the season”.

Darkness exists in various forms and on various levels. I’ll name some, and
leave the study to you.

There is, for example, societal darkness existing and trying to dominate in
a personal level as the god of this age blinds the eyes of lost mankind lest
he sees the “light of the glorious gospel” and embraces Him. Societal
darkness also comes against the Church, trying to “keep it in the dark” as
to the real plight of man, the real need of the world, and the real
commission and provisional resources which has been mandated to it.

There is also intellectual darkness that substitutes knowledge and
rationalization for divine revelation, leaving lost man always searching but
never coming to the knowledge of the truth, and leaving the Church impotent
and powerless.

Spiritual blindness is another form of darkness to which I alluded earlier
in referring to II Cor 4:4.

Most of these are forms of darkness with which you and I are familiar. Our
ministry focuses on eradicating these types.

However, that’s not all there is.

There is the darkness of despair, not relegated only to the unbeliever, but
to the follower of Jesus Christ as well. Jeremiah, David, and Elijah give
us glimpses into such darkness from the challenges of their own lives.
Maybe you have your own story about the darkness of despair.

A final form of darkness is what I call “frozenness”. This is an emotional
darkness (perhaps I should say an emotionless one) that is so deep and black
that it takes away the capacity to emotionally respond to circumstances,
conditions, or others. As my friend Jeff Floyd would say, that person is
emotionally “flat lined”.

THE END RESULT OF DARKNESS:

No scripture more clearly illustrates the total depravity of spiritual
darkness as does Romans 1:18-32. It is a depravity that ends in
intellectual, emotional, and physical perversion, twisting, smashing, and
trying to destroy anything and everything that speaks of God and His
marvelous purpose for man.

Look at some of the phrases there:

“That which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it
evident to them.” (1:19).

But ---- “even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give
thanks” (1:21a)

Instead, they “became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart
was Darkened.” (1:21b)

And, “professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of
the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of
birds and crawling creatures.” (1:22-23)

When that happened, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to
impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.” (1:24)

Consequently, “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and
served the creature rather than the Creator.” (1:25)

In response, God “gave them over to degrading passions; for their women
exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same
way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in
their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and
receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” (1:26-27)

As uncontrolled license gained either further dominance, “they did not see
fit to acknowledge God any longer.” (1:28a)

So, . . . . “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which
are not proper, being filled with all (that’s All!) unrighteousness,
wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips,
slanders, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil,
disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving,
unmerciful.” (1:29-31)

. . . . in spite of the fact that they knew “the ordinance of God, that
those who practice such things are worthy of death.” (1:32)

To make it even more hideous, they also give “hearty approval to those who
practice” such things (1:32)

That, my friend, is the ultimate result of walking in spiritual darkness.

So, when we get the hint we do in Isaiah 42:6-7 that God is going to
something about it, it is reason to anticipate something extraordinary.

The Light is coming! And it’s going to do something!

FUNCTIONS OF LIGHT:

Use your common sense a bit and consider just what light does. For example,
. . .

Light illuminates (Isa 9:2). It chases off darkness. It exposes things not
seen in darkness.

Light also warms. Nothing is more soothing than the warmth of a campfire on
a dark night. It not only provides light, but also reprieve from the cold
of the darkness.

Depending on your situation, light also can either comfort or it can
irritate. In fact, if you’ve been in darkness long enough and then come
into the light, it irritates your eyes. On the other hand, it brings
comfort because it shows you the facts. It can assure you that you’re on
the right track; it can show you not only where to step, but also where not
to step.

Light also generates hope. Now that you can see, you know you can go from
where you are to where you need to be. It also lets you look back to see
that you have indeed left the darkness, and you took the right course.

Light produces deliverance and delivers retribution (Isaiah 9:4-5; 58:6;
10:17-19). It offers redemption.

Then light also creates life (Jn 1:4). It’s true that the Light was indeed
the life of men. It also energizes.

Finally, light reveals. Particularly it reveals glory (Isaiah 60:1-2).
“Arise, shine, for your Light has come! And the glory of the Lord has shown
upon you.”

FINALLY:

People react variously to light. Even though they may not know it, all do
seek it, though some will so much as deny it, or even reject it. Others
will receive it. All, however, are forever changed by it, for the good or
the bad. You’ll never be the same once you’ve come in contact with the
light.

More light existed that Christmas night than that produced by the shepherds’
campfire, or even the star in the sky. The true Light first appeared In the
manger, not above it.

Up to now, my friend, all I have said is certainly familiar to you. And, it
may be only theology, theory, or intellectual information. In those
conditions, it will do nothing to change a life. It is only when it is
personalized by divine revelation from God and response by my own heart that
it makes any significant difference.

It’s the same with Christmas ---- because that’s what Christmas is about.
Christmas was the revelation of light. Light was the expression of
Christmas. Darkness is the enemy of Christmas because it is the enemy of
light.

So, don’t be surprised (as if you would) if people will love the darkness
camouflaged by tinsel and sparkle more than they love the Light.

If Jesus as a baby in a manger could have spoken, I think He would have said
earlier what He declared some thirty plus years later . . . .

“I have come as Light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may
not walk in darkness.” (John 12:46)

“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the
darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.” (John 8:12)

It stands to reason, then, that we return to the prophet Isaiah for a final
admonition for us all ---- “Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the
Light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2:5)

Have a great day, and a wonderful Christmas celebration with those you love.
Next week I’ll have the privilege of writing to you from my home filled with
family members.

Take time to pray for us today that God will give us success and safety as
we travel back to Kansas City. Pray that our van will start quickly and run
smoothly. Pray that we won’t have to dig it out of excessive snow. Pray
that the roads will be clear.

Even though my little man clinging to the fence isn’t here today, I can
still admonish you to “Hang In There! I’m With You!”

In His Bond,

Bob Tolliver ---- Romans 1:12
Copyright December, 2000

Life Unlimited Ministries
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