1 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,999 I'm sure there are some of you here who, like me, were afraid of 2 00:00:15,999 --> 00:00:16,560 the dark. 3 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,440 As a child, everything went black. 4 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:21,040 No light. 5 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:25,280 As soon as the lights would go out at night, you'd hold on to your 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,560 duvet or you'd cuddle your teddy bear as tightly as you could 7 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:28,960 to. 8 00:00:29,030 --> 00:00:30,030 To help you fall asleep. 9 00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:32,310 And of course, it always felt like it was hours and hours and hours, 10 00:00:32,310 --> 00:00:34,790 when realistically was probably only a minute or two. 11 00:00:35,670 --> 00:00:40,390 To be afraid of the dark is to be afraid of what might happen in 12 00:00:40,390 --> 00:00:41,430 the absence of light. 13 00:00:42,070 --> 00:00:47,350 And even though the room is so familiar to you during the hours 14 00:00:47,350 --> 00:00:50,310 of light, that room doesn't change. 15 00:00:50,310 --> 00:00:56,200 It's our perception that changes because our minds run away 16 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,800 from us about what might happen. 17 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:06,600 The boogeyman under the bed or in the wardrobe, the creak of the 18 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:07,360 hallway outside. 19 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,360 All of a sudden, these noises that are normal during the day are 20 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:19,000 escalated because we cannot see the truth around us because there 21 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:19,760 is no light. 22 00:01:20,950 --> 00:01:24,710 And to combat the fear of the dark, my parents put a small light 23 00:01:25,350 --> 00:01:33,110 into my room so that any fear would be driven out in the presence 24 00:01:33,750 --> 00:01:35,910 of this lamp until I fell asleep. 25 00:01:36,790 --> 00:01:39,590 Because light really did change things. 26 00:01:40,710 --> 00:01:44,550 And even last year, some of us experienced not a fear of the dark, 27 00:01:44,710 --> 00:01:46,310 but the inconvenience of it. 28 00:01:46,310 --> 00:01:50,570 Because in the late winter of last year, there was at least two 29 00:01:50,570 --> 00:01:54,330 occasions when this area lost power due to the storms. 30 00:01:55,130 --> 00:01:58,370 But we possibly only had to wait a couple of seconds until we 31 00:01:58,370 --> 00:02:00,970 had light again, because we either grabbed for our mobile phones 32 00:02:00,970 --> 00:02:04,090 and put on the torch that's there, or we went and found a torch 33 00:02:04,090 --> 00:02:08,010 from a cupboard or a drawer, another source of light that would 34 00:02:08,330 --> 00:02:12,010 pierce that darkness that suddenly became such an inconvenience 35 00:02:12,010 --> 00:02:12,330 to. 36 00:02:14,500 --> 00:02:19,300 And it is still amazing that in the darkness, the smallest source 37 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:21,940 of light can bring such relief. 38 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:23,620 It can bring such comfort. 39 00:02:24,340 --> 00:02:28,260 But it can also bring an ability even to see what is the next 40 00:02:28,500 --> 00:02:29,380 step ahead. 41 00:02:31,620 --> 00:02:35,300 Well, we know that there's 10 plagues to fall in Egypt. 42 00:02:35,860 --> 00:02:37,540 Egypt doesn't know that. 43 00:02:38,180 --> 00:02:41,340 However, the way this account of the ninth plague is shaping up, 44 00:02:41,340 --> 00:02:45,100 we're beginning to see a greater understanding of who God 45 00:02:45,100 --> 00:02:45,380 is. 46 00:02:46,020 --> 00:02:50,220 But from our perspective, we see a greater sense of his work at 47 00:02:50,220 --> 00:02:50,580 play. 48 00:02:50,580 --> 00:02:53,380 Just how Pharaoh finishes this passage. 49 00:02:54,260 --> 00:02:58,500 So the ninth plague comes as another plague of punishment on Egypt. 50 00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:03,500 And we see the Egyptians losing their light because the plague 51 00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:07,940 of darkness falls in the land so that they cannot see, meaning 52 00:03:07,940 --> 00:03:10,340 that life comes to a complete stop. 53 00:03:12,190 --> 00:03:17,230 They simply cannot go about freely as they would ordinarily do. 54 00:03:18,830 --> 00:03:22,470 And with the ninth plague comes the end of the third set of 55 00:03:22,470 --> 00:03:26,910 these plagues, we've already seen that plagues three and six come 56 00:03:26,910 --> 00:03:28,510 without any warning to Pharaoh. 57 00:03:28,510 --> 00:03:30,390 God simply tells Moses what to do. 58 00:03:30,390 --> 00:03:32,270 He doesn't tell him to go to Pharaoh and warn him. 59 00:03:32,990 --> 00:03:34,910 He tells him this is what's going to happen. 60 00:03:35,630 --> 00:03:38,790 Because in his goodness, God has warned the king of Egypt about 61 00:03:38,790 --> 00:03:40,590 what is to happen in the other plagues. 62 00:03:40,670 --> 00:03:40,960 And. 63 00:03:41,030 --> 00:03:43,670 And he's given him an opportunity to stop these plagues 64 00:03:43,670 --> 00:03:47,030 falling on the land if he will only but let the children of God 65 00:03:47,030 --> 00:03:50,390 go into the desert or the wilderness to worship God. 66 00:03:50,950 --> 00:03:52,310 And what has Pharaoh done? 67 00:03:52,310 --> 00:03:55,110 Time and time again, he has refused. 68 00:03:56,470 --> 00:04:00,390 And so with the plagues of gnats and the plagues of boils, no 69 00:04:00,390 --> 00:04:01,310 warning is given. 70 00:04:01,310 --> 00:04:05,150 And so no opportunity is presented to Pharaoh to obey the 71 00:04:05,150 --> 00:04:06,150 command of the Lord. 72 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,840 Now this ninth plague comes, and we see the exact same thing, 73 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,120 because this is what God tells Moses to do in verse 21. 74 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,280 Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand towards the 75 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:22,800 sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt. 76 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:26,880 And this last little phrase is important for us. 77 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,480 Darkness that can be felt. 78 00:04:32,250 --> 00:04:35,330 Now, you might think that the last five words here are a bit odd. 79 00:04:35,330 --> 00:04:37,290 How can you feel darkness? 80 00:04:37,290 --> 00:04:42,570 Surely darkness is something to observe with our eyes rather than 81 00:04:42,730 --> 00:04:44,250 something that is felt. 82 00:04:45,770 --> 00:04:51,410 I quoted the song Simon and Garfunkel penned in the 1970s, hello, 83 00:04:51,410 --> 00:04:54,530 darkness, my old friend, a number of weeks ago whenever we were 84 00:04:54,530 --> 00:04:57,550 looking in Revelation. 85 00:04:57,700 --> 00:05:01,220 And in that song, you have a sense of that feeling of darkness. 86 00:05:02,340 --> 00:05:06,500 Even the opening line, hello, darkness, my old friend, I've come 87 00:05:06,500 --> 00:05:07,620 to talk with you again. 88 00:05:08,820 --> 00:05:09,660 And it's a song. 89 00:05:09,660 --> 00:05:11,380 It's a very sad song. 90 00:05:12,020 --> 00:05:15,100 It wouldn't even go as far as saying it was melancholic. 91 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:21,860 But it is a sadness of humanity that actually, more times, 92 00:05:21,860 --> 00:05:27,730 often than not, we do feel good darkness in a way that we simply 93 00:05:27,730 --> 00:05:28,970 cannot express. 94 00:05:29,050 --> 00:05:33,250 Even scripture will tell us of the dark night of the soul, where 95 00:05:33,250 --> 00:05:39,610 the darkness is an expression of isolation, of distance, and much 96 00:05:39,610 --> 00:05:42,090 like a child feeling fear in the absence of light. 97 00:05:42,090 --> 00:05:45,090 So there was a fear to this darkness that was coming on Egypt, 98 00:05:45,090 --> 00:05:49,210 as we know, perhaps that fear still today as adults, because this 99 00:05:49,210 --> 00:05:50,890 darkness was to represent something. 100 00:05:52,010 --> 00:05:54,570 It was to represent the judgment of God. 101 00:05:55,450 --> 00:05:58,970 Throughout the Bible, darkness is often associated with his judgment. 102 00:05:59,370 --> 00:06:02,730 And in this case, it is a judgment particularly pointed because 103 00:06:02,730 --> 00:06:06,970 the Egyptian sun was worshipped as a manifestation of 104 00:06:06,970 --> 00:06:09,210 various deities or false gods. 105 00:06:10,010 --> 00:06:14,890 They worship the sun by calling the sun Atum or Re or Amun 106 00:06:14,890 --> 00:06:15,930 or Amun, Re. 107 00:06:16,980 --> 00:06:20,300 And quite literally, in God obliterating the sun's. 108 00:06:20,300 --> 00:06:24,100 Light, this judgment obliterates any deities that it represents. 109 00:06:24,740 --> 00:06:28,300 And once again, God is here challenging the worship of false 110 00:06:28,300 --> 00:06:33,700 gods that the Egyptians chose to worship, whereas Pharaoh demonstrates 111 00:06:33,700 --> 00:06:36,900 ignoring the one true God. 112 00:06:38,260 --> 00:06:41,540 And so, as we read on, we see in verse 22 that the description 113 00:06:41,540 --> 00:06:43,260 of the darkness is total. 114 00:06:43,740 --> 00:06:46,780 It was so thick that the Egyptians couldn't see one another, 115 00:06:47,260 --> 00:06:49,820 as we might say, they couldn't see their hand in front of their 116 00:06:49,820 --> 00:06:50,140 face. 117 00:06:51,100 --> 00:06:52,900 And look at what verse 23 says. 118 00:06:52,900 --> 00:06:54,860 No one could see anyone else. 119 00:06:55,420 --> 00:06:59,260 But it wasn't just that, nor could they leave his place for three 120 00:06:59,660 --> 00:07:00,060 days. 121 00:07:01,260 --> 00:07:04,780 Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. 122 00:07:05,500 --> 00:07:09,590 Once again, we're seeing this contrast between the people who reject 123 00:07:09,670 --> 00:07:12,950 God and the people who worship him. 124 00:07:14,230 --> 00:07:17,550 So verse 23 tells us that for the Egyptians, it's hardship, it's 125 00:07:17,550 --> 00:07:20,390 physical, it's making it virtually impossible to move around, 126 00:07:20,390 --> 00:07:24,709 but undoubtedly emotionally terrifying as well, because the darkness 127 00:07:24,710 --> 00:07:28,550 continues unabated for three whole days, leaving people unsure 128 00:07:28,710 --> 00:07:33,030 whether it was day or night, and in little doubt that divine judgment 129 00:07:33,030 --> 00:07:33,750 was at work. 130 00:07:34,890 --> 00:07:37,650 There's still people today living in the Arctic Circle who know 131 00:07:37,650 --> 00:07:41,210 what this feeling is like, because they can go with 20 hours 132 00:07:41,210 --> 00:07:43,050 of darkness during the winter months. 133 00:07:43,610 --> 00:07:47,210 Complete darkness, with only respite coming at midday. 134 00:07:48,010 --> 00:07:50,650 For the Egyptians, there was no respite. 135 00:07:51,530 --> 00:07:54,970 There's only difficulty, and there was only hardship. 136 00:07:56,010 --> 00:07:59,810 But as we've seen God work before in these plagues, the Israelites 137 00:07:59,810 --> 00:08:01,050 experienced none of this. 138 00:08:02,630 --> 00:08:06,390 Their God, to whom they worship, continues to shine his light 139 00:08:06,710 --> 00:08:08,550 on their place of dwelling. 140 00:08:09,430 --> 00:08:14,030 They can go about freely, they can do whatever they want in this 141 00:08:14,030 --> 00:08:14,390 light. 142 00:08:14,790 --> 00:08:17,270 They can work, they can get on with their daily routines. 143 00:08:17,270 --> 00:08:20,150 They can live as normal, but the Egyptians cannot. 144 00:08:22,870 --> 00:08:26,190 And it isn't long before Pharaoh notices this, as you would 145 00:08:26,190 --> 00:08:29,350 expect, maybe an hour or two, thinking it'll pass. 146 00:08:29,350 --> 00:08:33,590 But he calls Moses now to the palace, and we once again see Pharaoh 147 00:08:33,590 --> 00:08:34,990 relent in verse 24. 148 00:08:35,710 --> 00:08:38,430 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, go worship the Lord. 149 00:08:38,750 --> 00:08:42,270 Even your women and children may go with you, only leave your 150 00:08:42,270 --> 00:08:43,550 flocks and herds behind. 151 00:08:43,790 --> 00:08:48,550 And now, finally, it looks to us, with the ninth plague, that Pharaoh 152 00:08:48,550 --> 00:08:49,510 has learned his lesson. 153 00:08:49,510 --> 00:08:54,060 He's letting everyone go, just as Moses has asked where previously 154 00:08:54,060 --> 00:08:57,540 it was only the men that Pharaoh was willing to let go, now 155 00:08:57,540 --> 00:08:59,380 he was letting the women and children go too. 156 00:09:00,180 --> 00:09:02,820 So this looks like game done. 157 00:09:03,540 --> 00:09:06,260 Pharaoh's finally submitting to God. 158 00:09:07,620 --> 00:09:10,540 But this is not the victory that it appears to be, because notice 159 00:09:10,540 --> 00:09:14,980 that Pharaoh is still putting restrictions on what can happen. 160 00:09:16,180 --> 00:09:20,580 And so, having been struck by the Lord nine different times. 161 00:09:21,870 --> 00:09:25,390 Pharaoh is in no position to haggle or to barter. 162 00:09:26,270 --> 00:09:27,190 So what's his problem? 163 00:09:27,190 --> 00:09:32,110 His problem is that his pride blinds him to his true situation. 164 00:09:32,590 --> 00:09:36,870 And he tells Moses that he and the people can go and worship the 165 00:09:36,870 --> 00:09:39,030 Lord, but they must leave their animals behind. 166 00:09:39,030 --> 00:09:41,390 And so here we have a hostage taking maneuver. 167 00:09:41,950 --> 00:09:45,270 Pharaoh knows the people will not ultimately leave without their 168 00:09:45,270 --> 00:09:49,480 animals, which are so central to their economic well being. 169 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:54,240 Now of course, Moses, as you would expect, stands up to this and 170 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:59,000 he retorts to Pharaoh that the people and the animals must go because 171 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,960 the animals will be used in the sacrifices to God. 172 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:05,720 Now the purpose of the request is to worship God. 173 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,120 And for the people of Israel, that's not just about singing, as 174 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,480 we might consider it today as part of our worship. 175 00:10:12,610 --> 00:10:15,690 The whole point of worshipping God was to bring their sacrifices 176 00:10:15,690 --> 00:10:16,290 to him. 177 00:10:16,770 --> 00:10:21,170 An aroma that was pleasing, a physical sign of the attitude of 178 00:10:21,170 --> 00:10:21,490 heart. 179 00:10:22,530 --> 00:10:25,770 So Moses challenges Pharaoh that he himself must provide the 180 00:10:25,770 --> 00:10:26,810 people with sacrifices. 181 00:10:26,810 --> 00:10:29,890 Then if they're not allowed to bring their animals so that they 182 00:10:29,890 --> 00:10:33,570 can worship God, because he insists that all their animals must 183 00:10:33,570 --> 00:10:37,090 go with them so that they can make proper sacrifices when they 184 00:10:37,090 --> 00:10:37,970 worship the Lord. 185 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,800 And look at what he goes on to say in verse 26. 186 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,840 Not only does it say our livestock must go with us as well, 187 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:47,960 but not a hoof is to be left behind. 188 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,280 We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God. 189 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,520 And until we get there, we will not know what we are to use 190 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:55,960 to worship the Lord. 191 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:59,280 Now this is a very strong retort from Moses. 192 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:00,080 He's not making it up. 193 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:04,280 He's not trying to get his way by maybe banding the truth. 194 00:11:05,540 --> 00:11:08,980 It was God who was going to direct them by how they should worship 195 00:11:08,980 --> 00:11:09,300 him. 196 00:11:09,780 --> 00:11:10,900 They did not know. 197 00:11:11,460 --> 00:11:14,820 And so they would have to bring with them for every eventuality 198 00:11:14,820 --> 00:11:15,940 of what God would ask. 199 00:11:17,540 --> 00:11:20,859 Now Moses knows that they won't be asked to kill every last 200 00:11:20,859 --> 00:11:21,940 animal of Israel. 201 00:11:22,260 --> 00:11:25,380 But it makes good sense to understand that Moses is again following 202 00:11:25,460 --> 00:11:29,900 an approach to negotiation in which the full goal is not stated 203 00:11:29,900 --> 00:11:33,430 explicitly, but it's implied that namely the nation and all their 204 00:11:33,430 --> 00:11:35,550 belongings are leaving the land for good. 205 00:11:36,030 --> 00:11:38,430 And we've known this from Exodus 5. 206 00:11:38,830 --> 00:11:45,710 As the Lord heard the cries of his people, so the negotiations have 207 00:11:45,710 --> 00:11:46,190 begun. 208 00:11:47,550 --> 00:11:52,430 But Pharaoh is the problem, because he responds in a way of anger. 209 00:11:52,430 --> 00:11:55,710 His angry response makes clear that he gets the message. 210 00:11:56,030 --> 00:11:58,990 And while the earlier plagues revealed to us that Pharaoh hardened 211 00:11:58,990 --> 00:12:02,080 his heart and that his heart continued in a hardened state, he 212 00:12:02,790 --> 00:12:06,390 the later plagues now have emphasized the Lord's involvement 213 00:12:06,390 --> 00:12:08,150 in hardening Pharaoh's heart. 214 00:12:08,790 --> 00:12:13,390 And so this is a function, force or reminder force of a sobering 215 00:12:13,390 --> 00:12:15,990 punishment corresponding to the crime. 216 00:12:16,710 --> 00:12:20,030 Because if one hardens his heart against the Lord, he may bring 217 00:12:20,030 --> 00:12:24,270 his justice to bear by making that heart even harder still and 218 00:12:24,270 --> 00:12:26,550 then judging the person for his hardness. 219 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:31,800 So you might be sitting comfortably here this morning, knowing 220 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,600 that it's a nice sunny day, enjoying the heat and warmth of the 221 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:40,320 building, but your heart may be just as hard as it's ever been. 222 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,680 And this is the warning of hardness of hearts. 223 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:48,360 They will only get harder if we continue in the ways in which 224 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:48,880 we live. 225 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:51,440 And how will we be punished? 226 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,200 Well, we will be punished based on the hardness of our hearts 227 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:57,760 and the desires that it led to. 228 00:12:59,050 --> 00:13:02,570 So if you think that this is an unfair or not a logical approach, 229 00:13:02,890 --> 00:13:04,730 it's very logical and it's very fair. 230 00:13:05,450 --> 00:13:09,410 If we continue to resent God for who he is, if we continue to 231 00:13:09,410 --> 00:13:14,810 ignore his call of salvation on our lives, then indeed our hardened 232 00:13:14,810 --> 00:13:19,130 hearts will be harder and harder and we will be judged because 233 00:13:19,130 --> 00:13:20,170 of their actions. 234 00:13:22,010 --> 00:13:24,850 So for a third time, that's what God does here, and it's right 235 00:13:24,850 --> 00:13:25,250 before us. 236 00:13:25,250 --> 00:13:30,220 In scripture, Pharaoh again refuses to let the people go. 237 00:13:31,900 --> 00:13:33,900 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. 238 00:13:34,860 --> 00:13:38,060 That's why he was not willing to let them go. 239 00:13:39,740 --> 00:13:41,380 There's now a sense of finality. 240 00:13:41,380 --> 00:13:45,660 That's why the ninth plague, although unbeknownst to the Egyptians 241 00:13:45,660 --> 00:13:48,860 that there is a sense of finality for us here, because Pharaoh 242 00:13:48,860 --> 00:13:52,380 warns Moses never to return to see his face again on pain of death. 243 00:13:53,300 --> 00:13:56,460 And Moses responds that Pharaoh will never see his face again 244 00:13:56,460 --> 00:13:59,500 in verse 29, leaving us to conclude that things are about to 245 00:13:59,500 --> 00:13:59,980 come to a head. 246 00:13:59,980 --> 00:14:00,820 And we know that. 247 00:14:01,220 --> 00:14:04,180 And Moses will indeed be leading the people out of Egypt forever, 248 00:14:04,660 --> 00:14:06,260 never to see Pharaoh again. 249 00:14:06,820 --> 00:14:11,660 And in these final remarks to Moses, Pharaoh has become an unwitting 250 00:14:11,660 --> 00:14:13,700 prophet of his own defeat. 251 00:14:14,100 --> 00:14:16,180 He's actually foretold what's about to happen. 252 00:14:18,270 --> 00:14:22,470 Pharaoh and the Egyptian lived in their darkness for three days 253 00:14:22,470 --> 00:14:25,590 as a punishment for their rejection of God and their worship 254 00:14:25,590 --> 00:14:27,550 of things that they made as gods. 255 00:14:28,430 --> 00:14:33,070 They did not repent, and they were unwilling, in fact, to do so. 256 00:14:33,949 --> 00:14:37,710 Even in the physical darkness, they refused to acknowledge the light 257 00:14:37,710 --> 00:14:39,870 that only the God of Israel could bring. 258 00:14:40,030 --> 00:14:44,430 They could see it, but they rejected it. 259 00:14:46,350 --> 00:14:47,070 How did that work? 260 00:14:47,070 --> 00:14:48,430 We simply do not know. 261 00:14:49,230 --> 00:14:51,950 Why was it dark on the Egyptians and not on the children 262 00:14:51,950 --> 00:14:52,430 of Israel? 263 00:14:52,430 --> 00:14:53,190 We do not know. 264 00:14:53,190 --> 00:14:57,230 But it will have been noticed and seen and The Egyptians continue 265 00:14:57,390 --> 00:15:00,750 to reject the light and its source. 266 00:15:02,830 --> 00:15:06,670 But there would be another dark day for the land as the tenth 267 00:15:06,670 --> 00:15:08,430 and final plague falls on them. 268 00:15:09,230 --> 00:15:12,310 The darkness of that day would be the death of all the firstborn 269 00:15:12,310 --> 00:15:16,300 in Egypt whose houses did not have the blood of the lamb sprinkled 270 00:15:16,300 --> 00:15:18,900 on their doorposts as inconvenient. 271 00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:23,540 And life stopping, the plague of darkness was, it would be nothing 272 00:15:23,620 --> 00:15:29,620 compared to the felt darkness, the pain of the darkness of death. 273 00:15:31,060 --> 00:15:36,220 And ultimately, that's what they're being taught, to remain in 274 00:15:36,220 --> 00:15:40,780 the darkness of sin and to remain in the darkness of false worship 275 00:15:40,780 --> 00:15:46,710 of the gods we make will ultimately lead to eternal death. 276 00:15:48,470 --> 00:15:52,870 So the Egyptians will face two dark days, but there was still another 277 00:15:52,950 --> 00:15:54,150 dark day to come. 278 00:15:55,670 --> 00:16:01,310 That dark day would be 1500 years later from when Moses was in 279 00:16:01,310 --> 00:16:01,910 Egypt. 280 00:16:02,550 --> 00:16:06,390 The darkness of this day would strike when the sun should have been 281 00:16:06,390 --> 00:16:07,270 at its height. 282 00:16:07,430 --> 00:16:11,230 And rather than the darkness escaping Israel, it would fall on 283 00:16:11,230 --> 00:16:12,785 her capital, Jerusalem. 284 00:16:12,785 --> 00:16:18,370 And as the Son of God was hoisted up on the middle cross, Mark 285 00:16:18,370 --> 00:16:23,450 tells us in chapter 15 and verses 33 and 34, at the sixth hour, 286 00:16:23,450 --> 00:16:26,730 darkness came over the world or the whole land until the ninth 287 00:16:26,730 --> 00:16:27,010 hour. 288 00:16:27,570 --> 00:16:31,250 And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, eloi, 289 00:16:31,250 --> 00:16:37,490 eloi lama sabachthani, which means, my God, my God, why have you 290 00:16:37,490 --> 00:16:38,370 forsaken me? 291 00:16:40,300 --> 00:16:42,140 The darkest of days. 292 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:48,780 The darkness on Good Friday was telling us that God could not 293 00:16:48,780 --> 00:16:53,380 look on his Son because the punishment for the sin of humanity 294 00:16:53,380 --> 00:16:55,020 was placed on him. 295 00:16:55,260 --> 00:16:59,980 A punishment that each human being, then and now, deserves. 296 00:17:02,300 --> 00:17:06,960 And all because of the sin we sort easily allow ourselves to fall 297 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:07,280 into. 298 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:13,160 But yet Christ took the punishment upon himself so that we 299 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,400 can be free from the punishment we so rightly deserve. 300 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:23,600 That Friday looked like it was a dark day as the Savior hung on 301 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:24,160 the cross. 302 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:32,890 It was a dark day for three hours as the Son of God died and 303 00:17:32,890 --> 00:17:34,490 gave up his spirit. 304 00:17:35,690 --> 00:17:38,370 But in reality, it was a glorious day. 305 00:17:38,370 --> 00:17:41,450 And that's why it's called Good Friday. 306 00:17:41,930 --> 00:17:48,090 It is the day when we can know freedom from the dark hold of sin. 307 00:17:49,450 --> 00:17:53,690 Because our sin is like the darkness that came on Egypt. 308 00:17:54,730 --> 00:17:57,180 Our sin is felt. 309 00:17:57,660 --> 00:17:58,380 Darkness. 310 00:17:59,740 --> 00:18:03,580 You, like me, know the weight of that sin. 311 00:18:04,460 --> 00:18:12,620 That weight takes its form in regret, in sorrow, in anger, in the 312 00:18:12,620 --> 00:18:15,900 unforgiveness of others, in hatred. 313 00:18:17,020 --> 00:18:19,500 This weight is more than we can bear. 314 00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:23,100 And if we continue to think that we can bear it, then we will 315 00:18:23,100 --> 00:18:26,050 be lost in darkness forever. 316 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:32,680 The only way to escape the coming darkness that our sin deserves 317 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:37,600 is to trust in the Savior, to trust in Jesus, who is described 318 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:38,840 as the light of the world. 319 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:43,360 Because when Jesus was born, it was true that the people dwelling 320 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:45,800 in darkness have seen a great light. 321 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:51,040 And for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death on them, 322 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:52,280 a light has dawned. 323 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:57,280 As Matthew 4:16 tells us, quoting Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 324 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:57,640 2. 325 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,680 You see, there still remains a light. 326 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,520 It is not a light that goes on for a few hours at night to keep 327 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:07,680 us comfortable. 328 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:12,040 It is the light that eternally shines so that we can know there 329 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:13,760 is a way out of the darkness. 330 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,000 It is a light that both calls us and keeps us. 331 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:24,320 It calls us to leave the shadowlands, to turn our back on 332 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:30,700 the sin, whoever you are, whether it be the sins of a lifetime 333 00:19:31,340 --> 00:19:34,860 or whether it be the sins that we've committed in these days, even 334 00:19:34,860 --> 00:19:41,100 though we know fully the love of Christ, it means we turn our backs 335 00:19:41,420 --> 00:19:44,700 on the things that this world wants to tell us to do. 336 00:19:46,140 --> 00:19:50,540 It means we undertake correct ways of dealing with people and speaking 337 00:19:50,540 --> 00:19:52,140 to them and speaking about them. 338 00:19:53,140 --> 00:19:57,700 It means we organize our businesses in such a way as God honoring 339 00:19:57,700 --> 00:20:03,380 businesses where there's no sense of an easy buck or an easy 340 00:20:03,380 --> 00:20:06,900 way of doing it that would infringe the laws of the land. 341 00:20:08,820 --> 00:20:15,060 We do and live in the light as people of the light, because that 342 00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:19,700 light calls us to salvation and it calls us to live by that standard 343 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:24,160 that only Scripture tells us by how we are to live. 344 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,200 You see, in order to bring us into that light that calls, that 345 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,760 light that saves and keeps, Jesus had to enter our darkness. 346 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:38,120 As Mark has told us already. 347 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,280 When Jesus was crucified, there was darkness over the whole 348 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:41,760 land. 349 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,320 And that darkness was spiritually significant because it 350 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,200 showed that Jesus had taken upon himself the guilt of all of 351 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:52,400 our sin, and therefore that it was he that was under the dark curse 352 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,950 of God that actually was reserved for us, his enemies. 353 00:20:57,470 --> 00:21:02,950 But then Jesus went into the grave, and he remained there in the 354 00:21:02,950 --> 00:21:06,990 deepest darkness for three days. 355 00:21:08,510 --> 00:21:12,510 But on the third day, he was raised again in a body dazzling with 356 00:21:12,510 --> 00:21:14,430 the light of God's glory. 357 00:21:14,590 --> 00:21:18,630 And now everyone who comes to Christ comes into the light of his 358 00:21:18,630 --> 00:21:19,230 salvation. 359 00:21:19,390 --> 00:21:24,660 As Second Corinthians 4, 6 tells us, Let light shine out of 360 00:21:24,660 --> 00:21:25,260 darkness. 361 00:21:26,060 --> 00:21:29,300 For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, made his light 362 00:21:29,300 --> 00:21:32,580 shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the 363 00:21:32,580 --> 00:21:36,140 glory of God in the face of Jesus. 364 00:21:37,180 --> 00:21:39,100 This is who our Savior is. 365 00:21:39,340 --> 00:21:44,700 He is the light that each of us needs so that we can live fully 366 00:21:44,700 --> 00:21:45,260 for Him. 367 00:21:47,660 --> 00:21:52,390 But we must also know that, that if there is a rejection of this 368 00:21:52,390 --> 00:21:52,710 light. 369 00:21:53,510 --> 00:21:57,030 If there is a rejection of God's way of salvation for us, then 370 00:21:57,030 --> 00:22:01,910 there will eventually be a rejection by God of us. 371 00:22:02,950 --> 00:22:07,750 You see, as beautiful and as dazzling as that light is, to not 372 00:22:07,750 --> 00:22:11,630 enter into it out of the shadowlands means that there is a 373 00:22:11,630 --> 00:22:12,310 consequence. 374 00:22:13,910 --> 00:22:17,430 And the rejection of God will ultimately lead to his rejection 375 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:18,840 us. 376 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:25,080 Charles Spurgeon tells the story of a minister who gently but 377 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,440 firmly challenges a young woman who kept postponing her coming 378 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,240 to Christ for salvation. 379 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:35,080 You know the type of person, I'll do it when I'm older, I'll do 380 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:35,800 it next year. 381 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:39,240 I'll do it when the time is right or when the season is right. 382 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:45,000 And each time, the minister suggests a future date for her commitment 383 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:45,520 to Christ. 384 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:53,560 And each time she recoils because she suddenly realizes how 385 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:59,520 uncertain and how dangerous it is to delay, since life is not guaranteed. 386 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,280 As the proposed times are brought closer and closer, 10 years, 387 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,840 then nine years, and then one year, she finally understands the 388 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:12,480 urgency of the moment and decides that she must come to Christ 389 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:17,040 immediately, that very night, rather than risk remaining without 390 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:22,040 a savior any longer and entering into eternal darkness. 391 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,320 It's a striking story that goes across three or four pages, 392 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,440 so I couldn't read it for you, but she comes up with all of the 393 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:32,120 excuses. 394 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,560 But then she realizes, well, if I say 10 years, I may not be alive 395 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:38,120 in 10 years, so I'll go for nine. 396 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,480 Then she realizes, well, I may not be alive in nine years. 397 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,040 And then Spurgeon, or the minister that Spurgeon's talking 398 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:45,080 about suggests a year. 399 00:23:46,770 --> 00:23:50,610 She suddenly realizes, I may not be alive in a year, which means 400 00:23:50,610 --> 00:23:51,650 eternal darkness. 401 00:23:53,490 --> 00:23:57,970 You see, we have a light, and that light shines bright. 402 00:23:58,930 --> 00:24:02,690 It has shone for me that I can know the forgiveness of my sins. 403 00:24:02,930 --> 00:24:06,810 And it shines for you so that you too will be called into that 404 00:24:06,810 --> 00:24:09,850 glorious, dazzling light and know forgiveness of your sins, of 405 00:24:09,850 --> 00:24:12,750 sins past and sins present, present, all of which need to be 406 00:24:12,750 --> 00:24:15,270 dealt with and can only be dealt with by Jesus Christ. 407 00:24:16,710 --> 00:24:20,630 You see, trusting in Christ means we live in the light. 408 00:24:20,790 --> 00:24:23,670 So do not delay. 409 00:24:24,790 --> 00:24:25,910 Do not delay. 410 00:24:27,109 --> 00:24:32,790 God is calling each of us to leave the heart of darkness and give 411 00:24:32,790 --> 00:24:37,110 our hearts to him so that we will walk in the light of Christ. 412 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,760 And that's a call for each and every one of us, not only to come 413 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:47,440 to Christ for the first time, but believer, you already know Christ 414 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:48,840 will live for him. 415 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:55,200 You'll know that I often try to make jokes, and nine times out 416 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:56,120 of ten, they don't work. 417 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:57,880 Well. 418 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,000 Whenever I was speaking on Thursday evening, As I was preparing, 419 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,730 it struck me that you do like to make jokes about ministers. 420 00:25:06,370 --> 00:25:08,770 I was meeting with a group of elders yesterday, and I heard a joke 421 00:25:08,770 --> 00:25:10,290 about a minister yesterday as well. 422 00:25:10,370 --> 00:25:13,210 So as ministers, we just smile and laugh and you know the old one, 423 00:25:13,210 --> 00:25:15,010 you only work one day a week. 424 00:25:15,730 --> 00:25:17,090 Yeah, I know that one. 425 00:25:19,250 --> 00:25:21,810 Well, it suddenly struck me in my preparation, it turns out that 426 00:25:21,810 --> 00:25:24,930 actually we may only be one day a week. 427 00:25:25,090 --> 00:25:30,740 People believer, are you actually living for Christ in His 428 00:25:30,740 --> 00:25:34,660 light, day and daily, or are you only reserving it for one day 429 00:25:34,660 --> 00:25:40,300 a week, for a Sunday, when you can be seen, when there's witnesses, 430 00:25:41,660 --> 00:25:45,740 but actually out of these doors, down the streets and into 431 00:25:45,740 --> 00:25:50,780 your homes, you forget about him or you think little of him because 432 00:25:50,780 --> 00:25:53,900 you get so consumed and so busy with everything else. 433 00:25:55,110 --> 00:25:59,270 And in that busyness, you reject him and you enter into those 434 00:25:59,430 --> 00:26:04,950 shadows only to feel that one day a week you can come back into 435 00:26:04,950 --> 00:26:05,430 the light. 436 00:26:06,950 --> 00:26:10,749 We are called to come to Christ because this is what Jesus 437 00:26:10,749 --> 00:26:11,590 himself says. 438 00:26:11,750 --> 00:26:14,310 He spoke to the people and said, I am the light of the world. 439 00:26:14,390 --> 00:26:18,750 Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the 440 00:26:18,750 --> 00:26:21,040 light of life. 441 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:26,720 This is who we're to be, people of the light, who don't live 442 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:32,760 in it one day a week, but who live in a day and daily so that we 443 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:38,160 will be who God intends us to be, desires us to be, and whom we 444 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,920 claim our Savior to be as we live in his ways. 445 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,120 Perhaps before this morning, we didn't think much about the plague 446 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:50,270 of darkness that fell on the land of Egypt. 447 00:26:50,990 --> 00:26:53,870 We maybe thought it was a little bit of a wee inconvenience 448 00:26:53,870 --> 00:26:58,750 for them, but actually it was so much more significant for them 449 00:26:59,630 --> 00:27:02,670 and significant for us. 450 00:27:03,950 --> 00:27:07,270 Walking in the light of Christ means that we are truly saved for 451 00:27:07,270 --> 00:27:10,510 the glory of God, just like he would see of his people. 452 00:27:11,470 --> 00:27:16,400 It is for his glory and it is for our eternal good that each and 453 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:21,560 every one of us turn to the light and live by it, so that we 454 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,440 will know the comfort, the goodness, and the confidence that 455 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:32,280 we began this service with no condemnation, Now I dread Jesus, 456 00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:40,120 and all in him is mine, and it can only be ours by coming out of 457 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:44,670 the darkness and the shadowlands, coming into his glorious 458 00:27:44,670 --> 00:27:45,030 light. 459 00:27:46,150 --> 00:27:46,950 Let's pray. 460 00:27:48,150 --> 00:27:52,110 Our Father God, we thank you that you are the God who has given 461 00:27:52,110 --> 00:27:56,830 us a way, a way for each of us to live in the light, not simply 462 00:27:56,830 --> 00:28:01,510 one day a week, but Father, to live every day that you give us. 463 00:28:02,470 --> 00:28:07,550 So may we be faithful, may we be true to the calling that you give 464 00:28:07,550 --> 00:28:07,830 us. 465 00:28:08,950 --> 00:28:11,990 That Lord indeed we will live in the glory of all that you have. 466 00:28:13,030 --> 00:28:16,390 And for those whose hearts are heavy and burdened with sin, show 467 00:28:16,390 --> 00:28:20,790 them there is a way of taking that step into the light, be it releasing 468 00:28:20,790 --> 00:28:24,870 that burden for the first time or that constant burden that we may 469 00:28:24,870 --> 00:28:26,150 feel of sin. 470 00:28:27,190 --> 00:28:31,190 Lord, help us to live in your ways, that we indeed will know your 471 00:28:31,190 --> 00:28:32,710 faithfulness and your good. 472 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:38,800 To hear our prayers and help us to respond, we ask in Jesus name, 473 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:40,320 amen.