It's Dark Out There! - Pastor Kipp Penrod

Thank you for listening to this message from

Lifehouse Church. Thank you for being here. Thank

you for coming to worship the Lord alongside

of one another. The word of God tells us not

to forsake the gathering together, right? We

come together. We come to lift up the name of

the Lord. And if you're in a house today, thank

you for being here. If you're listening online,

thank you for joining us online. Some can't get

here. I know a lot of people join us online on

Sundays and many, many more join us through podcasts

and electronically throughout the week. So it's

amazing where all the gospel goes just out of

this place right here. But I want to throw a

quick plug in before I start into the message

this morning. Next week is Membership Sunday.

And a lot of times people are like, well, what's

membership all about? You know, how can I get

involved in that? We want to let you know what

membership's all about here at LHC. And the opportunity

is next week. You can still sign up. You can

still register for that. And the only requirement

to come to the membership is we want you to go

to Welcome to Church or actually the Connection

Lunch. First, if you're new with us, we have

a connection lunch. Talk to me about that. We'd

love to take that time. That helps get you introduced

to who LifeHouse is, what we're all about, the

mission, the vision. And then if you've been

at LifeHouse a little while and you know a little

bit about LifeHouse and you want to find out

about membership, next week's the week. We get

together. We involve food in everything we do,

by the way, so just saying. But we'll get a little

something there to eat, and we'll spend a little

bit of time, and we'll talk about what membership's

all about here at Lifehouse and what that actually

means and why you might want to get involved

in that way. Well, thank you. Thanks for letting

me give that little commercial break. We do those

from time to time here at LifeHouse, and I want

to give you opportunity. I believe it's important,

and I'll explain that all next week if you come

and join in. Well, let's just go ahead. Can I

get you to do something? Can I get you to stand?

We're going to pray over the gathering. I want

you to pray over your ears, over your heart to

receive. But I also want you to stretch your

hands this way. We pray over these invitations.

We take this seriously. These balls all represent

invitations that have gone out for somebody that

might not be near Jesus to come near Jesus. And

that might be an invitation to come to Christ.

It might be an invitation to come to church.

We're the ones. We got to go out and give those

invitations out. We want to pray over those because

we're hoping whoever this is, praying, believing,

whoever these people represent. that one day

they'll know Christ as Lord and Savior. So if

you would, just extend your hand this way. Father,

we come to you. We thank you, God. We're grateful

for the opportunity to come and break bread.

God, to open the word of God. Lord, we thank

you. The bread of life. Lord Jesus, you are the

word. So Lord, we just pray, God, that you move

in our hearts and our ears as we prepare ourselves,

Lord, to hear the word. And Lord God, let a process,

Holy Spirit, move in us and speak to us. But

as we pray for that, we pray for these invitations.

We pray, Lord, that the people that these invitations

represent, God, that you'll move on their hearts

and lives, that they'll draw close to you. And

God, if they don't know you as Lord and Savior,

that will take place. They'll come into the kingdom

and know you as Lord and Savior because that'll

change everything in their lives. We give you

praise and glory and honor today. In Jesus' name,

everybody said together. Amen, amen. You may

be seated this morning. Again, it is good to

have you here at LifeHouse. Well, late in the

day. Last Monday, just a week, not this past

week, a Monday, Dixie and I were working upstairs.

We have an office upstairs. It's our home office.

And all of a sudden, while we were in the office,

we heard click. Not boom or bang, but click.

And the lights went out. The lights went out,

the computer monitors all went out, you know,

and we were looking around at each other and

we knew what happened. The power went out. Now,

I don't know where you live and what it's like

in your neighborhood, but that's a pretty regular

occurrence where we live. I'm not sure exactly

the reasons for that, but it's pretty common

in our neighborhood for the power to go out.

And honestly, we kind of even didn't even break

stride. We looked over at each other like, ah,

power's out. And we just lit our computers over

and went on battery power for a little bit. But

it didn't take long for me to figure out. Like

this isn't kicking back on, right? This isn't

one of those 10 second power outages. This is

probably gonna be hours and hours. And if you're

in our neighborhood, when that takes place, it's

such a common occurrence. If you go outside,

it's like you hear all the generators in our

neighborhood start up at one time. It's like

a chorus of generators just begin. People have

automatic generators and it starts. And once

I realized this, I realized I just need to go

downstairs and I don't have one that kicks on

automatically. I got a portable generator. So

I got to go down and do a whole series of flipping

breakers on and off and a procedure that I got

to go through. And I ran down the steps and it

was just about evening time. Sun was just starting

to go down and I headed downstairs. And while

there was enough light in the house upstairs,

when I got to the bottom of the basement steps,

I realized, hey, it's dark down here. And what

do you do first, right? You grab a light switch

and flip it on. The power's out, right? You flip

the light switch on like nothing. So, you know,

this is 2026, right? The 21st century. What do

you do when the lights go out in the 21st century?

What do you grab for? Cell phone, right? Go and

grab your cell phone. Get it out right now. Just

some of you are like, I'm already on social media,

man. But like, pull it out. Go ahead and flip

your light on, right? What do we do? We swipe.

There we go. Thank you. Come on, we're going

to do a concert. You don't want me to sing. You

don't want me to sing. We swipe, and we find

the little flashlight icon, and we click it on.

It's the first thing we grab for so we can light

up the dark. It is our response in the 21st century

to the darkness surrounding us. We grab our phones,

we swipe, we look for that little icon, and we

click. That's how we respond to the darkness.

In 2026. And as I thought about getting this

out, you know, I thought, I was waiting for a

different answer. Actually, from the 21st century,

I'm like, if you're 50 and older, you're like,

the first thought is not your cell phone. You're

like, where's the flashlight, right? Where's

the lantern? I got to get the lantern out. But

I didn't hear any of that. Even some of us that

have a little more age to us, right? Get the

cell phone out. It's our response. And it's intuitive.

It kind of happens automatically. We just grab

for our pocket. It's our response. It's an intuitive

thing. But it is not near as easy and it's not

near as intuitive spiritually to understand how

I'm going to respond to the darkness that I experience

around me. It's not as simple as a swipe and

a click, right? When the darkness, spiritual

darkness begins to surround me and when I start

to look around and I watch the news and I see

the moral depravity that's taking place, it's

not as simple as a swipe and a click. It's not

near as intuitive. As a matter of fact, a lot

of times we just freeze up as we see the diabolical

plans of the enemy and the viciousness of the

schemes of the enemy. You know, I don't know

if you saw this in the news, but yesterday, I

saw for the first time that in Erie, Pennsylvania,

right, eight people died, actually nine total,

in one household. One household. You know, and

there's darkness. How do I respond to the darkness

while I'm living on the rock? Christ Jesus. What

do I do with the evil? What do I do in the middle

of the depravity? What do I do to handle the

world who is in a hot pursuit after sin, honestly?

How do I respond to the wicked plans and the

schemes and the attacks of the enemy? Well, if

you got your Bibles this morning, I want you

to turn to Matthew 5, verse 1. We're gonna begin

Matthew 5:1

with verse one. And as you go and turn to that

spot, I'm gonna give you a little explanation

because what we're gonna do is we're gonna read,

we're gonna dig into these first set of scriptures.

And the first set of scriptures I'm gonna read

down through are really just gonna set the stage

for the last three scriptures that we're really

gonna dig into today. Matthew 5 .1 says this.

Jesus says this. for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the

merciful, for they shall receive mercy. And blessed

are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be

called the sons of God. Blessed are those who

are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs

is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when

others revile you and persecute you and utter

all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

These scriptures are set in a stage for I want

to go. Now, I don't know about you, but sometimes

when we sing, we actually sang about this morning,

you know, when we're blessed. How many are thinking

of these things, by the way? Right? How many

of us are like, oh, yeah, I'm blessed if I'm

poor in spirit, right? If I'm mourning, if I'm

hunger, if I'm hungering and thirsting for righteousness,

when I'm getting persecuted. How many are going

like, I'm blessed? Nobody, right? But this is

what Jesus said. You're blessed. When you're

suffering for Christ, when you're walking through

the difficulty, when it's hard, right, you're

blessed. It doesn't fit our definition sometimes.

Everybody do this, just go, hmm. Yeah, that's

a hmm moment right there, right? Verse 13 says

this. You are salt of the earth, but if the salt

has lost its taste, how shall saltiness be restored?

It is no longer good for anything except to be

thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Here's where we're really going this morning.

Matthew 5, 14 through 16. You are the light of

the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden,

nor do people light a lamp and put it under a

basket. but on a lampstand. And it gives light

to all in the house. In the same way, let your

light shine before others so that they may see

your good works and give glory to your Father

who is in heaven. How do I respond to the darkness

all around me? I become light. I become light.

What do I do about the evil that I see unfolding

in the news that's reported on the daily? I become

light. What do I do about a society that insists

on labeling evil as good and good as evil? Calling

righteousness sin and sin righteousness. What

do I do about all that? I become light. What

do I do about the moral slide and those that

are in hot pursuit of the diabolical schemes

of the enemy and of sin? What do I do in response

to the darkness that's all around me? Jesus said...

Simple. You become light. Let me reread it. You

are the light of the world. A city set on a hill

cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp

and put it under a basket, but on a stand. And

it gives light to all who are in the house. In

the same way, let your light, say light, shine

before others so that they may see your good

works and give glory to your Father who is in

heaven. We respond to the very... very dark world

that is around us on the daily by lighting it

up. Every morning you get up to pray, Lord, make

me light in a dark world that surrounds me every

day. Every morning, Lord, somehow, some way,

can you shine the light of God through me and

out of me and in me? and behind me and beside

me and above me. Every morning, right, your kingdom

come, your will be done on earth as it is in

heaven. God, help me to be light. Help me to

be light. Help me to light it up wherever I'm

gonna go, wherever my feet are gonna go today,

whatever environment I'm gonna walk in, whatever

space that I step in, wherever that is, help

me to be light. Jesus said, don't just look.

For heavenly light, right? Don't wait for some

apparition to magically appear in the sky and

wait for the dawn to break through the darkness.

You are the light of the world. If you're following

Jesus Christ, you're it. You're the one. Don't

wait on anything else. Just shine. Turn to your

neighbor right now. Tell them you're it. You're

it. Just like tag, man. You can hit them. Tell

them you're it. You're supposed to be light.

You are the response. This is the response to

the darkness that surrounds us. And listen, if

we're going to dig a little bit deeper into this,

if we're really going to understand what Jesus

is saying, and it's what seems like very short

passage, we got to lose a concept or two. Because

you live in 2026, because I live in 2026, because

of all the modern conveniences that we get to

be a part of, we got to lose the idea of a swipe

and click. right? When we think about light,

we think about swipe and click. When we think

about light, we think about let's go in the living

room, right? Flip on the switch. Some of you

are like, I got smart bulbs, man. I just get

on my phone again, right? Swipe and click. In

our modern concept of plugging it in, sliding

it in, sticking a battery in it, and flipping

a switch, we're going to miss a lot of depth

of what Jesus was speaking in here. Our modern

concept will cause us to miss what Christ is

saying in depth in this spot about you and I

as followers of Jesus, as rock life people. being

light. You know, most of us, we do know the switch.

We do know the battery. Most of us don't know

anything about electricity. Amen. Raise your

hand if you don't know anything about electricity,

right? That's why most of us don't work on wiring.

A lot of you don't work on wiring because you

should be scared, right? What you don't know

can't hurt you. But in Jesus' day and the crowd

that he was speaking to that day, the Jewish

crowd that came out on the hillside to listen,

they would have had a very different take on

what Jesus was saying. When Jesus was speaking

to this Jewish crowd, they wouldn't have been

thinking cell phone. They wouldn't have been

thinking about the lamp in their living room.

They wouldn't have been thinking about coming

in and flipping the lights on here. They would

have been thinking about holy light in a completely

different way. That crowd was not thinking about

cell phones because cell phones weren't a thing

yet, right? They wouldn't have been waving them

in the air to Jesus, right? Having a Jesus concert.

They wouldn't have had that. They would have

had a very different mental picture of God's

light. holy light, righteous light, and not a

flashlight icon, right? Their mental picture

would have had deep Jewish roots. It would have

had deep Jewish history. And to help us get a

handle on the depths of this, Jesus was saying,

you need to respond, right? I respond to the

dark world like a lampstand and not a cell phone,

all right? We respond to the darkness like a

lampstand and not a cell phone. The mental image

of light that they would have had would have

been a menorah. Say a menorah, not a cell phone.

They're going to put a picture up of a menorah.

And the menorah back then had seven branches

on it. It was a candelabra used in Jewish worship.

And we got to go old school this morning. We

got to go back to the Old Testament if we're

really going to truly understand what's happening

in the New Testament. The Old Testament, in the

word of God, the Old Testament is a shadow. The

Old Testament is an imagery. The Old Testament,

what took place in the Old Testament in Jewish

culture and in Jewish worship is a picture and

reflection of Jesus Christ. really is. And we

can read about that in Hebrews and in Colossians

states that very thing, that it's going to be

an image. It's going to be a foreshadowing. It's

going to be a reflection. It's going to be a

shadow of Jesus. And the menorah was a physical

article of furniture in the Old Testament. It

was in the temple. And that image is what they

would have seen in their eyes. Just leave that

menorah up there for a little bit. That temple

menorah was forged out of one piece of solid

gold. It was crafted out of a piece of solid

gold. Exodus 25, 31 tells us that. And it featured

a central shaft. You see that heavy central shaft?

And it extended outward with six branches and

one in the center, totaling seven lamps. And

the branches were completely dependent on that

main station, right? That main piece in the middle

was the structural integrity. And it was also

hollow. And what they would do is they would

put olive oil. It was pure pressed olive oil

in that lamp. would feed up through those branches.

It was pure olive oil. Leviticus chapter 24 lets

Leviticus 24 · chapter mention

us know this if you want to go back and read

it. And in scripture, the oil constantly and

consistently symbolizes Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit.

You starting to get a little different look at

the light now? This is what Jesus was talking

about. This is what the Jewish people would have

understand. This is what the illustration was.

This was the shadow and the imagery that Jesus

was giving them, right? You can go to John 15

and the word of God, Jesus said, I am the vine

and you are the branches. That's what John 15

is all about. Jesus is the vine. He is the stem

and we are the branches. I want you to get a

picture of this, right? The oil of the Spirit

working through us and in us and empowering us

to flame up. It's the pure oil of the Holy Spirit

pressed through our lives that pushes up through

those branches. We're the branch. He's the vine,

right? Acts 1a says you'll receive power when

the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall

be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and

Samaria and to the ends of the earth. This Jewish

crowd that Jesus was speaking to that day instantly

understood. They instantly had a right mental

picture. The only mental blip that would have

been different for the listeners that day as

they stood on the hillside, the only shift in

what was taking place, they would have had a

picture. Well, I had to give you the picture

this morning. But for them, there would have

been a shift because what they knew about the

menorah was is that the menorah only was in one

location. It was in the temple. It was in the

holy place. And the temple that was in the middle

of the community back then was really, there

was an outer court. It was shaped like a rectangle.

And outside there was a brazen altar. Outside

there, there was a laver where the priests used

to wash before they would go in. And it was kind

of laid out like a rectangle in the outer court

that was outside where the sacrifice was done.

And then if you went inside to that court, there

was a smaller area. There was actually kind of

a tent area that was two compartments in there,

or maybe two rooms might be a better, or a room

within a room would be a better way to say it.

And one was the holy place, and that's where

this menorah would have been. It would have been

in there with a table of shoe bread. It would

have been there with the altar of incense. And

when the priests would come in, they would do

the sacrifice, and they would go into the holy

place. That was called, say, the holy place.

That's where the menorah was. And inside of that

was another area that was called the Holy of

Holies, and that's where the Ark of the Covenant

was. That's where the Ark of God was. That's

where the presence of God rested and stayed.

And the priests would come in morning and evening

and fill that lamp up with fresh oil, fresh pressed

olive oil every single day, and that thing would

burn 24 -7. But here's the thing. Only the priests

saw the menorah. inside of that place. And Jesus

now standing on a hillside, he flips the script

while he's talking to these Jewish believers.

And he says, you are the light of the world.

No longer is it just in the temple, right? Because

of me and because of my sacrifice, and I don't

think they fully even understood it yet, what

he was saying, but they would later. Because

of the sacrifice, because of the righteousness

that I'm going to extend to you, because of my

sacrifice, because of the Holy Spirit that is

going to fall one day at Pentecost, because I

am the way, the truth, and the life, you will

be the light in a dark world. He flipped the

script on these Jewish believers, these Jewish

followers. And he said, you're it. You're the

light. You're the light in the world. Can I read

it to you again? You are the light of the world.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do

people light a lamp and put it under a basket,

but on a stand. And it gives light to all around

the house. And in the same way, let your light

shine before others so that you may see, so they

may see your good works and give glory to your

Father in heaven. Are you seeing something different?

My response to the dark around me, to the darkness,

is to interrupt with light. Light interrupts

the darkness. It does. Light dispels darkness.

Light pierces. Through the darkness. If you get

in a dark enough place, just the smallest of

light pierces through the darkness and it begins

to change the whole atmosphere. Jesus was telling

this Jewish crowd, you are the interruption to

the darkness in the world around you. You are.

The one thing they see should be your light,

right? My light shining through you. And it should

interrupt darkness that is in you in the world

around where you're at. Up until this time, right?

I said it once, up until this time, the Jewish

people, they only saw light in the temple, right?

They just saw God's light, the menorah lighting

up in the temple, the representation of God in

the temple. And they've observed it at different

times. They saw it at different times. They saw

it when they were out in the wilderness and got

a pillar of fire, led them by night. They saw

and observed it, right? And they saw it in the

temple articles. They saw, they observed the

light. But now Jesus is saying, you are the light.

It's a little bit like going to the fireworks.

How many of you went to the fireworks in the

last five years? Raise your hand. Saw fireworks

somewhere along the way, right? It's a little

bit like going to the fireworks. You go to the

fireworks and what do you do? You go, ooh, ah,

right? Wow. That was a good one, right? You know,

and you talk about the colors. It wasn't that

amazing. And you talk about the shape, and you're

observing the light. And then you go home, turn

on your TV, and eat a snack when it's all over,

right? That's kind of what happened pre -Jesus.

They saw God's light. They saw their ooh and

an ah, and they're like, that's amazing. And

Jesus says, you don't understand. Now you're

the firework. You're the firework. No more ooh

and an ah. You're the power of God in a dark

world. You are the light. You are the one who's

supposed to go out there and pierce the darkness.

You're the one that's going to interrupt darkness

and be the light. You're the one that needs to

fill up daily with oil in the morning and in

the evening. Come on, there's some example to

follow here, right? You're the one that's gotta

keep it burning all the time. You're the one

that's gonna be my power on display in the middle

of the darkness. You're the one that has to be

the holy vessel that carries my righteousness.

He blows the minds of these Jewish followers

standing on a hillside. No longer is it just

watch and see and ooh and ah. You're the interruption

to the darkness. All darkness needs to prevail.

It's for the holy light of God to only shine

in the temple. Amen? That's all it needs. All

darkness needs to prevail is the holy light of

God to only shine inside of the temple. Nothing

outside the temple. Nothing out in the darkness.

You are the light of the world. Say it. I am

the light. I am the light. I want you to get

it in your spirit. You are the light in a dark

house. You're the light on a dark hill. and you're

a light in a dark world. That's what the word

of God says here in Matthew 5, 14. I'm gonna

read it again. I'm gonna keep reading this scripture

to you. It's just in your spirit. You're the

light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot

be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put

it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives

light to all around the house. In the same way,

let your light shine before others so that they

may see your good works and give glory to your

Father who is in heaven. Jesus told this mind

-blown Jewish crowd, You're going to be the light

in a dark house, right? You're going to be on

a lampstand. You're going to be the city on a

hill. You're going to be lit up on the hillside,

right? You're going to light up that dark hill,

and you're going to be the light in a dark world.

He started off with that. In another portion

of Scripture, Jesus begins to unfold. Scripture

always backs up Scripture. We just talked about

this the other night in one of the life groups.

Scripture always backs up Scripture. Scripture

always gives you a fuller understanding of the

Scripture that you may be ready to get the fullness

or the understanding in. And Jesus speaks in

Luke 10, 25, and he begins to tell us exactly

what that light in the darkness looks like. How

does this play out? If I'm to pierce the darkness,

if my life is supposed to be a reflection of

Jesus Christ and the power of God working in

me, how does this flesh out? What's it look like

in a practical way in the world around me? What's

it look like? Luke 10, 25 says this, and behold,

a certain lawyer stood up and tested him saying,

teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

And he said to him, what is written in the law?

What is your reading of it? So he answered and

said, you shall love the Lord your God with all

your heart, with all your soul, with all your

strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor

as yourself. And Jesus said to him, right, you

have answered rightly, do this and you will live.

But he wanting to justify himself said to Jesus,

well, who's my neighbor, right? Who then is my

neighbor? Then Jesus answered and said, he tells

a story. Jesus tells a story. He said, a certain

man went down to Jerusalem to Jericho, and he

fell among thieves who stripped him of his clothing,

wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

Now, by chance, a certain priest came down that

road, and when he saw him, he passed on the other

side. Likewise, a Levite, when he arrived at

the place, came and looked and passed by the

other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed,

came to where he was, and when he saw him, he

had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged

his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set

him on his own animal, brought him to an inn

to take care of him. And on the next day when

he departed, he took out two denarii, which is

about two days wages, gave them to the innkeeper

and said to him, take care of him and whatever

more you spend, when I come again, I will repay

you. So which one of these do you think was neighbor

to him who fell among the thieves? Jesus is questioning

the lawyer. And he said, he who showed mercy

on him. And Jesus said to him, go and do likewise.

What is dark? What does light look like in the

darkness? Well, I can tell you where it starts

out. It starts out with compassion for those

who are in the darkness. It starts off with a

heart that is... You can have plenty of passion

in what you do in life. You can have lots of

zeal. You can have lots of knowledge. You can

have accomplishment. You can have personal success.

You can even have condemnation for the darkness.

But the Word of God says that Jesus said you

need to have compassion for those who are suffering

in the darkness. You want to bring light into

the darkness? You want to pierce the darkness?

You want to be the one who dispels darkness?

He says, gonna start off with compassion for

those who are in the dark. And he goes on, right?

Light in a dark world will also be us willing

to go and bandage up a wound. It's us going and

ministering to someone. It's ministering to their

wound. You wanna light up a dark place? Start

with ministering to someone who is wounded from

the darkness. Light in a dark world means I will

pour oil on their wound. That's what it says.

Jesus said the good Samaritan poured oil and

wine on the wound and bandaged him. Got to understand

something about back then. Oil was considered

a healing agent to a physical wound. Who was

the oil? Yeah, Holy Spirit, right? Pour it on.

This is where they see God in the darkness. If

you want to know how to approach the darkness,

they don't need to see me, right? Me coming and

helping somebody, that's a great thing. That's

an honorable thing to go do. The Word of God

tells them to do that. But if I don't ever bring

the Holy Spirit with me, if I don't ever bring

God with me, if I don't ever say, hey, can I

pray for you? Because the only reason I'm doing

this is because God's awesome. He's been awesome

to me, and I want to help you. If I forget that,

I'm not bringing light. I'm just bringing me.

Right? And that's going to last about 10 seconds

after I leave. They're going to say, ooh, nice

guy. Right? That's it. We bring the oil. We pour

the oil on when we come to minister. We pour

the oil on when we come into the darkness to

minister to those who have been wounded by the

darkness. They'll miss God. They'll miss God

if we just walk in and just try to help out.

Right? We got to take Jesus with us. Light in

the darkness. Light in the dark world means I

pour wine on the wound. Wine was a representation

of increase. It was provision. It was blessing.

A little more like we like to think of it, right?

And here's the reason they poured wine on a wound.

It cleaned the wound. It made an environment

for healing. One of the ways we go and pierce

the darkness is we go make an environment for

somebody to heal. One of the reasons we go to

Guatemala to put a roof on, we're trying to make

an environment for these children who have been

abused and injured and harmed. We're going to

create an environment where they can heal, where

they can come into a place of healing. This is

how you pierce the darkness. This is how you

go in. And Jesus rescues, right? We pour the

wine on. We bandage them. That's what it said.

So he went to them, and he bandaged his wounds.

pouring on oil and wine. You with me? Amen? Light

is going to them. It's going to them. It's hard

when you're wounded to come to somebody else,

isn't it? It's us going to them. Light in the

dark world is setting someone on my own animal.

It says he set him on his own animal, brought

him to an inn to take care of him. I cannot interrupt

the darkness and not get personally involved.

God did not call us to be the light of the world

from a thousand feet in the air and, right, sending

just down a cosmic ray of Jesus out of us to

somebody a thousand feet away. He put them on

his own animal. Light in the darkened world is

me taking care of someone. He brought him. He

took him to the inn, providing shelter and healing

for the long haul. He was in for the long haul

with someone. He was there. He didn't do a pass

by. He didn't do a little first aid. Sign RSC.

I hope it all works out. God bless. Let me say

a quick prayer. Amen. I'm on my way. I got to

get to Walmart. Right? Target's going to close

soon. Got to get there. He's in for the long

haul. It's light. Worship team, if you'd come.

Number seven, light in a dark world means that

I financially invest in their healing. It said

on the next day when he departed, he took out

two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper and said

to him, take care of him. And whatever more you

spend, when I come again, I will repay you. Being

light, being light in the darkness will cost

you. Let me say it again. I don't want any delusion

in this. It will cost you. To carry the cross

of Christ in this life, You will die to yourself

and it will cost you. There is a burden to bear.

There is a cost to taking light into the darkness.

It will cost you personally. You will get involved

personally. It will take your time. It will be

inconvenient. How many would raise their hand

and say it costs money to put the lights on in

your house? How many teenagers this is a revelation

all of a sudden? What? You pay for lights? Yeah.

Right? It costs. It costs. I don't know if you

caught it in this portion of scripture. Seven

ways Jesus said you would light up the darkness.

The menorah had seven lights. He said, you're

the light of the world. You're the light of the

world. You're the light of the world. My heart

this morning is for you to walk out of this place

with one declaration on your lips. One declaration,

maybe two. the darkness. We will interrupt the

darkness. We will be light. Rock life, you cannot

just observe the light. Jesus said you will be

the light if you'd stand this morning. The only

way we do this, the only way we do this, it starts

off with compassion for those who are wounded

in the dark. It takes a heart that, go ahead

and just begin to play softly. It takes a heart

that's willing to bandage up somebody that's

wounded. You gotta be willing to pour on the

oil. You gotta tell them about Jesus and what

Jesus has done for you because we were the ones

in the dark. We were the ones who were wounded

in the darkness. We gotta pour on the oil. We

gotta set an environment. We gotta make environments

where people can heal. We gotta shelter them.

We gotta get in for the long haul. We gotta pay

the price. This is why Jesus left us. This is

why Jesus saved us and left us here. He said,

just stay and be light. I need you to be light.

Till I return, till I come again, till you draw

your last breath, be light. Be light. Amen? But

you got to declare it. You got to believe it.

And don't get this false humility thing. Well,

I'm not really light. Nah, it's not you. It's

him in you. It's the Holy Spirit working through

you. Seven different ways. Be lights. I want

you to bow your heads. Lord, I pray every person

in this house, every person listening within

the sound of my voice, online, in the house,

out of the house. God, they're going to be listening

later this week. Some of them, I pray, Lord,

that they'll be followers of Jesus who interrupt

the darkness. Followers of Jesus who will be.

God, I pray you'd open our hearts up of compassion.

God, I pray you'd guide us in our local community

that we'd not try to be that light from a thousand

feet in the air. We're not gonna just observe

light. We're not just gonna ooh and ah at what

you do in somebody else's life or what you've

done down the street or across the country, but

we're gonna be light right where we're at. I

pray your power and your presence. I pray, God,

for a deep reliance on the Holy Spirit. I pray,

Lord, that in the morning and the evening, God,

that we fill up with the oil of the Holy Spirit,

that we seek you, that we listen for you. God,

that we search you out and know. And God, that

I not walk through out of this place and then

just walk like I've always walked, but that I

light it up. It is dark out there. It is dark.

Lord, I pray, use me. Let the declaration be

spoke. in hearts and lives. And amen and amen.

If you're here this morning and you're in the

dark, I want eyes wide open. A lot of times we

do this with head bows, but I don't know, feeling

different this morning. If you're here, if you're

listening online and you're in the dark, you

know you're in the dark. You're without Jesus.

You're far from God. He came. He died on a cross.

He paid every bit of the penalty of sin for you.

So that you could have life and that you not

only could have life, but you would be light

as well. The light that he is. The word of God

says that all you have to do is believe in your

heart and confess with your mouth. And the word

of God says you should be saved. What do I believe?

I believe that Jesus is the son of God. I believe

that he is Lord of all things. And I confess

that out loud to him. And then I confess it to

other people. I tell other people about the light.

And the Word of God says you'll be saved. And

why is it that simple? Why is that easy? Because

He paid everything to do that. You got nothing

to bring to the table. I got nothing to bring

to the table. He just paid it all. You just got

to receive the gift. That's it. You just got

to take it and commit to follow Him. So if that's

you in the house, if you're listening online,

it's a belief thing. Pray. Absolutely pray a

prayer of faith to Him. Do that. You can do it

in your own words, but it is a belief thing.

It is something that we live out. We live, breathe,

and walk. It's our identity. It is our priority.

It is our understanding of all things Jesus.

Amen? How many are ready to be the light? All

right. I want you to say it. I will be light.

Ready? I will be light. Say it again. I will

be light. Raise your hand. I will be light. That's

a declaration. Get up tomorrow morning and say,

I will be light. I will be light. I will be light.

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