Sermon – “Don’t Allow the Darkness to Distort the Truth”

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

OK this morning my message out title don’t allow the darkness. To distort the truth. Don’t allow the darkness. The evil one. The darkness is out there to distort the truth the truth that you know is true in God’s word Amen. John three verses eighteen through twenty one. As Gary’s had us reading through John. Wow this is really speaking to me so course he’s going to be preaching from John too. But hear the word of the Lord. Begins verse eighteen. He who believes in him. He who believes in him. Is not condemned. Can it by same into that if you believe in Jesus Christ you believe in Him You are not condemned There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. But he who does not believe is condemned already. Why are they condemned already. Because they don’t believe OK. Because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation. That the light has come into the world and mantle of darkness rather than light. Because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light. And does not come to the light less his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light. That is deeds may be clearly seen that they had been done and God Amen they got out as blessings to the here and in the reading of His Holy Word. If you enter into a room and it’s nighttime and it’s dark you enter into a room and it’s dark. You can’t see what’s in that room Kenya. You don’t know what is in that you don’t know if there’s tables in that room or chairs or what may be lurking in the dark you have no idea what is in that room. But what happens if you do every turn the light switch on. You see the light reveals what’s inside that room right. The darkness is gone the light is just the darkness is dispelled by the light in the same way we allow the light of Christ and or in to dispel the darkness within us. And the light will dispel that darkness it’s in there were veil the darkness that we need to. Get rid of in our lives. There was a castle like prison in Paris. There was called the best alley. And it was destroyed about seventeen eighty nine. Well in that castle before the right before they was ready to destroy it there was a convict who was brought out. Who had been confined in this gloomy. Dungeon like thing for many many many years. But instead of joyfully welcoming. His liberty. He begged to be taken back. That have been such a long time since he had seen the sunshine that is eyes could not endure the brightness. Is only desire was to die in the murky dungeon where he’d been captive for so many years. But in the same way some men continue to reject the Saviour until they eventually become so hardened that they prefer the sin in the darkness that they become accustomed to. We’ve got allow the light. To enter in to cleanse us to purifies. Why is it that many seem to love the darkness. In the world today. I believe the answer could be fine and Revelations Chapter twelve verse nine. It says so the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan who just see the whole world. He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. Now the writer of revelations the Apostle John made it very clear that we would know exactly who he was talking about didn’t see that great dragon. That serpent of all the Devil and Satan. Now if you haven’t figured it out. He’s talking about the devil or. He made it very clear didn’t that serpent of all the one who deceives a whole world. The Greek meaning of the word to see that it’s used here. Means to cause to Rome or to stray from piety. Which piety means to have reverence towards God. So the lack of reverence towards God my friends is the root of all the moral decay that we are witnessing today. Because the great deceiver has caused so many to run to stray from piety. Leading them away from God. Trying to convince them. You need not have no fear of God. God loves you. Exactly as you are you can be. Do what you want to do the feels good do it. But God will punish you. Because he loves all man. But God hates in there should be no doubt in anybody’s mind when you read that passage. As to what the main agenda of Satan is. And that is to cause as many people as he possibly can to stray from the Lord. He will blur your vision. He will bore your understanding as to what God really says he will blur the Word of God. He will use that he’s been using that tactic from the very beginning hasn’t. What did he say to me has God indeed said. He took God’s word and twisted it around. And he’s still doing that today. Dress for a net deception to that he’s still using today. Many will say today does God’s word really say that if the enemy can plant just a small this. Seed of doubt in someone’s mind in their heart. He is succeeding in causing confusion. Confusion. Confusion as to whether one truly knows and believes that their savior confusion about Will God really judge if I continue to sin. Confusion. He is the master of confusion. There is a professor of psychology and director for the Center study. Name Christian Smith. At the. Notre Dame he’s written three books since two thousand and five. And in that in those books he report on a variety of religious attitudes that young people have today. In his book Lost in transition Smith identifies the struggles of many young people today. Such as their confused moral reasoning. Routine intoxication materialistic life goals regrettable regrettable. Sexual experiences and indifference to civic life. In that book. They would they went out in a task many young people. And we’re talking twenty somethings. Have you experienced they are the experience or done a moral. Morally wrong thing in the past year and many did not even know how to answer that question. Exactly what do you mean. I don’t know what you mean what do you mean by morally wrong thing. And here’s why and that research. Of hundreds and hundreds of young people. They said they were. They didn’t know how to determine right from wrong. The not the dominant message for today is tolerance. So they haven’t been taught in the homes. Nor have they been taught in or schools or hospitals or campuses. Why because they feel it’s too controversial. To talk about moral things in our schools in our hospitals or in our college campuses. So that’s why we are live in a very poorest excess Sidey that everything is relative and all morals are individual lives. If you feel it’s OK It’s OK. And you know the same could be said about many adults today not just the twenty somethings. I know they are dolls but even older adults. But the confusion that we are seeing today keeps getting greater and greater. Many people today are really been confused about who they are as a person. And what they are in a recent national survey. And a suggest that there are more than eight million adults in the U.S. today that are lesbian gay or bisexual. Comprising three point five percent of the adult population in total the study suggests that approximately nine million Americans. Roughly the population in New Jersey identify as L G B T. But there’s another group that. I think we’re seeing more about today. Are learning more about today that there are nearly seven hundred transgender individuals in the U.S. So many people are confused about who they are non not saying this to condemn them. I’m just saying this because we need to understand that they are confused. And I guess. Qana. What led me to this. Is there is a. We have representatives a shop that come from like we have G.E. locomotives and we have E.M.T. locomotives. So we have representatives from each company that will be there to help. Troubleshoot problems it may be having with particular locomotive. So we have an E.M.T. rep that this person is transgender and. I’m not saying that condemn I didn’t even realize until a couple weeks ago somebody said something I’m like oh OK. They are confused group of people. Very confused. In August or August eighteenth twenty fifteen. Live site News. That people who suffer from gender confusion. Confusion or encouraged by the current cultural climate. To be themselves. Mainly rejecting the gender they were born with transgender teens are taught that what they feel is who they are. And that to be happy and to be fulfilled. They must become the opposite sex. When Bruce Jenner decided to publicly globe like a woman. He was supported by the mass media. Even the president of the United States. When Jenner decided to have a surgery. I won’t go into it. Applauded him for being a courageous hero. But studies repeatedly show that transgender people who seek to become the opposite sex or in fact not happy. They’re not happy nor are they fulfilled in fact a life or death in internal war is continually going on within that person to the degree that many if not the most seek to end their lives in a you know. I guess there’s no topic off bounds. So that’s why we’re talking about this. That’s what the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Williams Institute found when a foundation. When the foundation analyzed results from a national transgressor discrimination. Survey. The number suicide attempts are heartbreaking. Over forty one percent of active transgender people tried to kill themselves. Think about that almost half. Try to kill themselves. That’s ten times the average. Which is four per four point six percent for the regular people of this. Sorry regular people. And this study isn’t the only one proving that those who seek. Who seek to live as if they were the opposite sex are in fact. Killing themselves over a dozen other surveys worldwide have found the same alarming. High rates of national survey of more than six thousand five hundred transgender people asked the question Have you ever tried to commit suicide. And again the number is exactly the same forty one percent said yes. Chronically high stress levels anxiety and depression or the most common. Commonly reported. Among active transgender people. Self harm by cutting themselves as often reported to suicide hotline for them for transgender lifeline. Handle more than twenty thousand calls in the first nine months that they exist in the mainstream media tributes exploding transgender suicide rate. To outside influence of such as peer pressure. Parental rejection. But they do not consider the transgenders person. The transgenders persons. Internal battle that they are dealing with. But the facts speak otherwise. The university to Birmingham’s aggressive research intelligence. Conducted a metal Reeve. Medical Review that found that there was no conclusive evidence that sex changes a sex change operations. Improve the lives of transsexuals in fact many transsexuals remain severely internally distress and suicidal after the operation in Sabbath school. We got to talking about abortion. And yes we all realize that there are murder and a little innocent life. But we don’t always stop and think of the war that that woman is feeling inside. But there’s actually two lives. One is murdered the other one is. Many times destroyed. Because of that internal The emotional stress in the things that that woman has to deal with the rest of her life. Well you know the doctors may be able to externally change a person to make them a different sex. There’s one thing they can change. They can’t change the inside. They can’t change the heart it can change the mind can they they can’t change that. So that’s why I swan not talking about this not that we need to condemn them. But we need to understand that they are confused. Emotionally confused people. And they need Jesus. They are not allowing themselves to be. Who God created them to be. God created them to be male and female in Genesis one twenty seven says God created man in his own image in the image of God He created them male and female he created them. They are unique. They are special we are all unique and special. But we need to be what God has created us to be not somebody else. We need they need someone that will love them. Tell them about Jesus they need someone to put their arms around them and I understand you. Not bully them on know that many times. For the man they might be. Let’s just say they’re not a macho man. It’s good way to put it right. So they might get picked on. Shame on those a pickle now that I’m know that they are created an image of God. They need to be proud of the man they are the boy they are. The girl needs be proud of the girl this is of the woman that she is and not try to be something else. If we’re looking for hope we’re looking for hope to be something different think we’re going to find hope. We’re not going to find it. Because the only one who can change the inside is Jesus Christ amen. So we as believers. We need to be careful not to condemn them not to judge them harshly. But we need to convert them we need to. If they’ve already had it done through motion Lee drain we need to try to encourage him. There’s still hope for them because Christ can still change the inside a man. That’s where we need to be as believers we need to tell them look you’re confused. Don’t let the devil confuse you any longer. But we need to let the light. We need is Share The Light we need to flip that switch on that switch is Jesus. We need to flip the switch on and reveal the truth. Because Jesus said I am the Way the Truth. And the life. John one five says. In the light shines in the darkness. And the darkness did not comprehend it first dawn one five and six says. This is the message which we have heard from him. And that we declare to you that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all if we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness we lie and do not practice to truth. That is the word for the day. God is the like. When we allow his light. To command the war lives. Yet we might not be seeking or doing something to this that extreme. But even the little things. His Light will reveal the darkness it might be in our lives his light will reveal the sin it’s in our lives. And we’re not like comes in it will dispel the darkness Amen. That we can walk in the light then we can be that light to others. That’s the message today. Share The Light that we can stand against the enemy we can dispel the darkness that we can clear the word up. When you look at God’s word. When you open up this word. Does that look great to you. It’s not gray. But who makes it look or a right. He tries to take God’s word and distort and twisted around. But it’s truth it is black and white is God’s word says it’s wrong it’s wrong. And if God’s word says it’s right. Then it’s right amen. So I pray that we would be faithful that we would be compassionate. Compassionate towards others. But yet not straying from the truth. Be willing to stand for the truth and stand for this truth right here. God’s word. So Bebo. But yet don’t be hurtful. Be compassionate. But yet. Don’t say it’s OK to do anything but it is OK to do what God’s word tells us to do and then. And then.