David's Song of Deliverance, Part 3

2 Samuel chapter 22, 2 Samuel chapter 22, David's Song of Deliverance, that somehow we might understand the delivering power of God and how it manifested itself in David's life. And how David would be able to give praise and glory and honor to God. I'm going to take you through the 51 verses as rapidly as I can, and I'm going to cover the four major points you have in your outline, and I'm going to go back and camp out on one verse and spend the rest of our time on that one verse, because it opens up to us a little bit of perspective that David himself had that allowed him to see God for who he was and praise him for his delivering power.

The text begins in verse number one, and David spoke the words of this song to the Lord in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

And he said, the Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I make refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, and my refuge, my Savior that has saved me from violence. I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. That was David's confidence in the Lord. And he gives us an understanding of the nature of God by describing him as rock, refuge, fortress, horn of salvation. That's how David understood God in his life. His confidence was wrapped up in who God was, because who God is helps us understand what God does.

And David's confidence was in the Lord. And then we move to look at the conditions of David's life, and the reason he needed that confidence.

Verse five, for the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me, the cords of Sheol surrounded me, the snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord, yes, I cried to my God. And from his temple, he heard my voice, and my cry for help came into his ears. He was confident, not only in the Lord, but he was confident that the Lord would hear him when he cried out to him. He speaks of Sheol and destruction and uses the illustration of the waves and how the torrent was coming against him and how it was relentless, the pursuit against his life.

That's how he lived his life. He lived his life under this pursuit of the enemy that wanted to rid him of his kingship. And so as he went through each day, he thought for certain, if you go back to 1 Samuel, he thought for certain Saul would kill him. He thought for certain his days were numbered. So he called upon the Lord. He cried to his God, and God heard him. Remember what it says back in Psalm 145, Psalm 145, verse number 17, the Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.

He will fulfill the desires of those who fear him. He will also hear their cry and save them. That was David. He called upon God in truth. He called upon God out of a pure heart. God heard him. God saved him. God delivered him. And he knew that when he cried to God, he'd listen, he'd hear, and he'd respond. So you move from the confidence that David had in his Lord to the condition of his life to point number three, the consequences of God's power.

Then the earth shook and quaked, the foundations of heaven were trembling and were shaken because he was angry. Oh, by the way, Psalm 7 says that God is angry with the wicked every day. God is angry with the wicked every day, all day. And as the earth began to shake, he understood that God was angry. Smoke went up out of his nostrils and fire from his mouth devoured, coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down with thick darkness under his feet and he rode on a cherub and flew.

He appeared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness canopies around him, a mass of water, thick clouds of the sky. From the brightness before him, coals of fire were kindled. The Lord thundered from heaven and the most high uttered his voice and he sent out arrows and scattered them, lightning and routed them. Then the channels of the sea appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of the Lord at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. He sent from on high. He took me.

He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me forth into a broad place. He rescued me because he delighted in me. Last week we emphasized the fact that God, when he heard him, he drew him, he took him, he delivered him because he delighted in him. Wow. That God delights in us, that God wants to do for us is amazing, but that's the way God is.

David understood that. He got that part of God. I wish we could wrap our hands around that, our arms around that and say, man, God delights in me. He is my victorious warrior. He fights for me. And that's what David describes as God fights for him. Look at what he says.

Verse 21, the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands. He has recompensed me for I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not acted wickedly against my God for all his ordinances were before me. And as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless toward him and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has recompensed to me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness before his eyes. With the kind, thou dost show thyself kind.

With the blameless, thou dost show thyself blameless. With the pure, thou dost show thyself pure. And with the perverted or the twisted, thou dost show thyself astute. And thou dost save an afflicted people. But thine eyes are on the haughty whom thou dost abase. He understood that God was for him. And remember, we told you last week, he's not describing his entire ministry, his entire life. He's not talking about his sin with Bathsheba. He's not talking about his sin against Uriah, the murder of Uriah.

He's not talking about his deceit. He's not talking about any of those things. He's talking about the delivering power of God only. And when he went to battle, what God did for him as he went before God with a clean heart, with pure hands, that's what he's talking about. It's not a synopsis of his entire life. It's a synopsis of his warriorship when he goes to battle for God. And then it says this, verse 29, for thou art my lamp, O Lord, and the Lord illumines my darkness. The Lord illumined him.

The Lord enlightened him. For by thee, I can run upon a troop, but by my God, I can leap over a wall. As for God, his way is blameless. The word of the Lord is tested. Isn't that good? Here is David, whose life was dark, whose life was dangerous, whose life was difficult to say the least, okay? These enemies would pursue him. He was anointed king of Israel. It would be a long time before he ever became king over part of Israel, and then even a longer time before he became king over all of Israel.

And look what he says. He says, as for God, his way is blameless. As for God, his way is perfect. God doesn't do anything imperfect. He does everything perfect. God didn't do anything bad to me. We would be sitting back thinking, why am I under such distress? Why are things so bad? Why is my world crumbling around me? Why do my enemies pursue me? Why am I on the brink of death? But David says, you know what? God's way is blameless. It's perfect. He understood God from a different perspective. He understood that God was doing a work in him and through him and around him.

God was molding him, shaping him, making him into the king he needed to be for the glory of God. He didn't say, as for God, his way is questionable. As for God, his way is imperfect. As for God, his way sure is tough and hard and difficult. I wish it'd be smoother for me. No, he says, as for God, his way is perfect. It's blameless. It is the most incredible way there is. I wonder if we had that kind of perspective when we face our enemies, when we face our difficulties. That was David's perspective.

But he says this, he is a shield to all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord and who is a rock besides our God? God is my strong fortress and he sets the blameless in his way. He makes my feet like Heinz feet. He sets me on my high place. He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation and my help makes me great. Thou dost enlarge my steps under my feet and my feet have not slipped. You see how he gives glory to God for everything?

He strengthens my arms that I might shoot the bow. He directs my steps that I might walk the right way. He understood that his body was the Lord's. And not only that, he understood that God was doing to him, his ability to conquer was all attributed to God. Yes, he shot the arrows. Yes, he threw the stones. Yes, he led his army into battle. But it was God who went before him and equipped him to do all that stuff. He didn't take credit himself. It was credit due solely to God and all that God did to make him the kind of warrior he needed to be for the glory of God.

And then he says these words, verse 40, I'm sorry, verse 38, I pursued my enemies and destroyed them. And I did not turn back until they were consumed. I have devoured them and shattered them. So they did not rise and they fell under my feet for thou has girded me with strength for battle. Thou has subdued under me those who rose up against me. Thou has also made my enemies turn their backs to me. And I destroyed those who hated me. They looked, but there was none to save, even to the Lord. But he did not answer them.

Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth. I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets. I love that. He just destroyed them. I pulverized them. Now, remember, he's saying it as from his perspective. But in the meantime, he gives God all the strength and all the glory for the strength and power that he gave him. He was the vessel. As the vessel, this is what took place. They were destroyed. They were devoured. They were shattered. They were pulverized. They were crushed. He destroyed the enemy because of the power of God.

If that didn't happen, if his enemies won, what would have happened to Israel? What would have happened to the promised seed? What would have happened to the plan of salvation? You see, God was with him because God was going to use him in a mighty way. And then it says, verse 44, Thou hast also delivered me from the contentions of my people. Thou hast kept me as a head of the nations, that people whom I have not known serve me. Foreigners pretend obedience to me. As soon as they hear, they obey me.

Foreigners lose heart and come trembling out of their fortresses. The Lord lives and blessed be my rock and exalted be God, the rock of my salvation. Then God who executes vengeance for me and brings down peoples under me, who also brings me out from my enemies, thou dost even lift me above those who rise up against me. Thou dost rescue me from the violent man. He says, God, God enlightened me. God empowered me. God enabled me. God enlarged my boundaries and God exalted me. Why? Because he exalted God.

God honored him because he honored God. It's the same principle we were talking about all through Samuel. All the way back to 1 Samuel 2.30, he honors me, I will honor. And God exalted David above all of his enemies. Why? Because David was fixed on exalting God. And then the last point, David's commitment to praise. Verse 50, therefore, I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the nations, and I will sing praise to thy name. He is a tower of deliverance to his king and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

David had a commitment to praise his God. 19 times in this chapter, he references God. 19 times he speaks the name of God. Because he knows it's all about what God does. He understands that. He gets that. And that's why he erupts in praise. That's why he has this strong commitment to praise. Listen, my friends, that should be our commitment as well, to praise God, to lift his name up. You know, there are a little over 1,100 chapters in the Bible. In fact, there is exactly, to my last count, recollection, there is 1,189 chapters in the Bible.

And there's one chapter right in the middle, meaning that there's 549 chapters before it and 549 chapters after it. And that chapter is Psalm 117. It is the middle of your Bible and it's the shortest chapter in the Bible. But it is a central chapter of the Bible because it should be the central aspect of our lives. It says this, praise the Lord all nations, laud him all peoples, for his loving kindness is great toward us and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord. That is the central chapter in the Bible.

It is right smack dab in the middle of your Bible and it is a central aspect of our lives. We should be committed to praise, praise the Lord all nations, laud him. It's a word that speaks of loudness, laud him. It should be loud upon our lips. Remember the book of Revelation, what's the key word? Loud, right? Loud. It's all about how loud things will be during the tribulation because God will be sending forth his judgment. It's about how loud things will be in heaven because everybody will be praising God with a loud voice.

Nobody praises God with a whisper in heaven. It's all with a loud voice. And he wants us to praise him for his loving kindness and his trustworthiness. And that's what David does in 2 Samuel 22. The mercy of God, the faithfulness of God is extolled all throughout 2 Samuel 22. And that's David's song of deliverance in a nutshell. It's a song of praise. We spent, this is our third week on this song.

We could spend many more weeks on it because there's so much here. But let me take you back to one more verse in 2 Samuel 22 and that's verse number 29.

This is, I was reading this this past week and I just could not, I could not let it go. For thou art my lamp, O Lord, and the Lord illumines my darkness. I was reading that and I thought to myself, amidst all of David's darkness, amidst all of David's dangers, amidst all of his distress, he needed the Lord to show him the way. He needed that. And he refers to God as his lamp, as his light. Remember, he was in the cave of Adullam. He was in the stronghold of En-Gedi. He was in the hold of Rafaim. He was in the vastness of Mahani.

He was in a lot of places where there was no light and God had to show him the way. God had to be his light for him, had to be his lamp. And he makes emphasis on the fact that it was God who enlightened his path. It was God who illumined him. This is his praise to God. Now let's just think about that for a moment. We know that God is light because the Bible says God is light.

We also know that the first thing God created was light. That was not the moon, the stars, and the sun. That was created on day number four. On day number one, light was created.

In Genesis chapter one, God sets the tone for his character. He is light. And because he is light, it consumes him. He dwells in unapproachable light. It is all about who he is. And therefore, he wants you to understand the beauty of his appearance. The brightness of his appearance. The glory of his appearance. And so he begins in Genesis one by saying that on day one, God created light. Because he is light. David, in his reference to God as lamp, as the one who lights his path, accentuates the fact that in a world of darkness, you need to know the light.

And Christ is that light. And so we also know that all throughout the Old Testament, it's the Messiah who's pictured as light. He's called the star that will rise out of Jacob, signifying his light. When he finally comes in Bethlehem, there's a light that shines all around those shepherds.

The glory of the Lord would shine all around them. We know that Malachi 4 calls him the sun, the S-U-N of righteousness, who will rise with healing in his wings. He's called the day star in Zacharias' song because of the light that he brings to the world. And so you need to understand that what David is referring to is the Messiah himself, who is God in the flesh, who illumines his life, who lightens the way. But it gets even deeper than that. The Bible says that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.

And the Word was with God. So we know that God is light. We also know that his Word is light. So the Bible says this, Psalm 119 verse number 30, The unfolding of thy Word gives light.

How was David illumined? How was David able to see God? Through his Word. Through his Word. The unfolding of thy Word gives light. Do you know that when you gather together, either on a Wednesday night with us or on Sunday morning with us, and we open God's Word, God's Word is light. It shines on your darkness. It shines. And therefore, we need to understand what David understood. We need to get what David got. We need to understand this light and what it does. So I'm going to tell you. Ten things it does.

One, light reveals dirt. Doesn't it? I wake up in the morning, I go to the same spot for my devotions every morning. Same spot for my prayer time every morning. There's a window that's right behind my seat in the living room. When I get up at 5 o'clock in the morning, the sun really is not as bright as it could be at that time. But slowly but surely, as the sun rises, it begins to shine through that window. And you know what I see? I see dirt. I don't like a dirty house. I like a clean house. But I see dirt.

Aaron's piano is right in front of the light. I see dust. It's a reminder, Aaron, to dust the piano when you get home. I see dust. The black chairs that sit around my kitchen table. I see all the dust on them, the dirt. It's there. When the light shines on those black chairs, you can see the dirt. I can see the dirt on my carpet. I want to shut the sun off, but I can't. Because light reveals dirt. It just does. We understand that. Because light reveals the dirtiness in our lives. Does it not? Sure it does.

For instance, in Mark 7, it says this. From within, out of the heart, proceed evil thoughts, fornication, thefts, murders, adultery, covetousness, wickedness, sensuality, pride, envy, slander, deceit, all of those things. When God's word is opened, it sheds light on all that dirt in our lives. And sometimes we don't like what we see. We want to shut the light off. Because sometimes the brightness of the light exposes us to the dirtiness of our lives. Christ is the light. He enlightens every man because he has come into the world.

But the unfolding of God's word, as the text says, gives light. So when you open the word of God and then you begin to study the word of God and read the word of God, it sheds light on all the dirt in your lives. That's what light does. God designed it that way. Not only does it reveal dirt, it reveals all kinds of disorder in your life. All kinds of disorder. All the chaos that's there. It reveals. The Bible says in John 3, verse number 19, men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

Our attitudes, our actions, our relationships, they can't be hid when the light exposes them. And so not only is all my dirt revealed, but so is all the disorder and chaos of my life. God's word does that. The unfolding of thy word gives light. And then you need to understand that number three, it reveals your desires.

It reveals your desires. The Bible says over in Luke 2, verse number 35, remember when Jesus was coming to the temple and he was going to be dedicated by Mary and Joseph and Simeon took him into his arms.

And what did he say? He said that the hearts of many will be revealed because of this Messiah, the Messiah's light. The words that the Messiah speaks are light. So not only does it reveal the dirt in your life, all the disorder that surrounds your life, it reveals the desires behind all the dirt and disorder in your life. It does that. Let me show you.

If you've got your Bible, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse number 23. If therefore the whole church should assemble together and all speaking tongues and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy or speak forth the truth and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all. Verse 45. The secrets of his heart are disclosed. Wow. They're disclosed. Why? Because God's word is spoken.

God's word is opened. The unfolding of thy word gives light. And what happens is when an unbeliever walks into your assembly and if you speak forth the truth, he's brought under conviction. Why? Because the secret desires of his heart are exposed. They're revealed, it says. And so he will fall on his face and worship God declaring that God is certainly among you. How does an unbeliever know that God is among you? Because everything that he is trying to hide is exposed because of the unfolding of God's word.

Now this is important. Why? Because you see, if you don't go to a church that opens the word of God, your dirt is never revealed, it's concealed. If you go to a church that doesn't open the word of God, all this order of your life is hidden, concealed. All those desires are kept secret. If you go to a church that makes you feel comfortable, it's because God's word was not exposing your life. Folks, this is crucial. I've been pastoring this church for 18 years. I've been involved in pastoral ministry for 30 years.

I know why people go to church. I know why people leave the church. Do you think I don't know why people leave this church? I know why they leave. They can tell you anything they want. I can tell you right now why they leave. It's because their dirt is revealed. It's because their disorder is revealed. It's because their evil desires are revealed and they don't want that anymore. They don't like that. They'll give you an excuse as to why they're leaving. It's never the right reason because you want to, as a believer, go to a place where God's word is open and God's word is taught so you can grow deep when you walk with the Lord.

And yet, if your sin's being exposed and you don't deal with it, guess what? You don't want your sin exposed any longer. You're tired of that. You want it concealed. You want it hidden. You want it to be squelched down. You don't want it to be exposed because if it's exposed, you've got to deal with it. And so we know that the unfolding of thy word gives light. That's what the psalmist said. And that light reveals the dirt in your life. It reveals all disorder in your life. It reveals all the desires of your heart.

The secrets of your heart are now exposed. What do you do? You're a husband. You come to church with your wife and the pastor speaks about the responsibility of the husband. And you're not doing that. What happens? I feel I don't want to go there anymore because I'm held accountable to the standard of the word of God. Why is it that this building on Wednesday nights isn't packed with the people of our church? When you're talking about one individual that exemplifies their life more so than any other individual in scripture, why do they not want to be here?

Why don't they just flood this place and say, I need to know how to be a leader. I need to know how to be a man of God. I need to know how to be a husband. I need to know how to live right for God. They don't do that because they know if they come, their evil desires will be exposed. They know that the dirt in their lives will be exposed and they don't want to sit next to their wives and have her hold them accountable. Do you think I know why people don't come on Wednesday nights? I know exactly why they don't come.

They can say, well, it gets dark too early. No, in the summertime it doesn't. Don't have to drive at night. Well, you'll be out of here, sun's still going to be up. Why don't they want to come? Why don't they want to know about how to lead and how to be a man of God, how to serve God, how to honor God, how to deal with sin when I'm confronted on my sin, how to repent of my sin? Why don't they want to do that? Because they don't want to be held accountable for how they have failed to lead in their families.

That's why they are not here. They can give you any reason they want to give you. Work is long. Work's long for everybody. Work's long for you. It's too far to drive. Talk to Jack about that. He drives an hour and a half, hour and 45 minutes to get here on Wednesday nights. It's not too long if you long to change, if you long to be like Christ, serve him and honor him. You see, the unfolding of thy word gives light. And light always reveals dirt. It just does. It just does. Turn the lights off, can't see anything in here.

Turn the lights on, guess what? Spots on the pews are revealed. Right? Peggy, you need to get on that. Another thing is it reveals all disorder, chaos. You know, I walk into my house, you know, when my kids were younger, we had Legos all over the place. We made them pick up their Legos. They miss one every once in a while. Well, in the middle of the night when you're walking on the carpet and you step on Legos, it hurts. It really hurts. So dad is screaming and crying out. In the middle of the night, my kids are sound asleep because there was no light on to see where I was going.

Flip the light on, see the Legos on the floor. And you can walk around them. But the light exposes all that's there. The fourth point, it reveals danger. It reveals danger. If the unfolding of thy word gives light, guess what it reveals? It reveals every dangerous thing that comes down the pike. Listen to what the Bible says.

Proverbs chapter 6, verse number 23. It says, for the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light, and reproofs for discipline are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. The commandment of the Lord is a lamp. It's light. It helps reveal danger right around the corner. You need to know danger that's coming. You might not be able to see it coming, but you need to know where it is. And so because God's word lights the way, and if you are in the word of God and you are reading the word of God, you want God's word to shed light on your path, guess what?

It's going to shed the kind of light that will enable you to avoid the danger in front of you. That's why when you walk around in the dark, you don't know what's before you. You don't know where you're going to trip over, onto, because of, you had no idea. Turn the light on so you don't trip up. Turn the light on so you don't fall down the stairs. Turn the light on so you don't step on the Legos. Turn the light on. And you can avoid impending danger. That enough in and of itself should say, I need to go to church to hear the word of God so I don't fall into traps and fall into danger.

Right? I mean, I need to know what danger lies before me so that I can avoid it. And God's word does that. Because it does. It reveals. It reveals direction. That's number five. Reveals dirt, disorder. It reveals your desires. It reveals the danger that lies before you. But it also reveals direction. It gives you the way to go. It's not that God just wants to expose your sin and leave you there on the operating table with all of your organs exposed with no remedy. No, it gives direction. It shows you which way to go.

Listen to this. Proverbs 6, verse number 22. States it this way. Proverbs 6, verse number 22. Verse 20. My son, observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. Bind them continually on your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you. When you sleep, they will watch over you. In other words, when you walk about, if you hold on to the teaching of your father, the instruction of your mother, they're going to guide you down the path that leads to righteousness.

Because God's word always reveals the direction you need to go. Remember the children of Israel. They were led by a cloud during the day, and they were led by fire at night. Why? Because if you've ever been to the Judean wilderness, if you've ever been to Moab, if you've ever been to Jordan, in the middle of the night, it's dark. It's dark. How are you going to see where you're going? How are you going to see? You need to know where to go. You need to know where to go. And God was going to reveal that to them.

That's why in Psalm 119, 105, it says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. It is a light unto my path. It reveals the direction I should go. Psalm 25, verse number 4, says this. Psalm 25, verse number 4. Make me know thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation. For thee I wait all the day. Here was the psalmist. Lord, I want to know your ways. Lord, you need to teach me your truth. I need to know where to go because I can't go anywhere without you.

Therefore, I will wait all day long for you to teach me. I'll wait. He wasn't moving until God gave him clear direction. So many of us, we move without clear direction. We just make up our minds, say, this is what we're going to do. But the psalmist said, I'll wait all day until God gives me direction. Until he gives me direction, I'm staying put. I'm not moving. I'm not moving my family. I'm not buying a new car. I'm not buying a new house. I'm not going to do anything erratic. I'm going to wait until God gives me clear direction so then I know exactly that this is what God wants from me.

I'm just not going to step out and do whatever I want to do. That was the psalmist. And God's word gives that direction. God's word reveals, because it's light, the dirt in my life. It reveals the desires in my life, the disorder in my life, the danger in my life. I was going out to the garage the other day and it was still early in the morning. It was still dark. And I opened the garage door. And when I opened the garage door, the light comes on. And I'm walking around in my car. And I walked around and there was a snake right there.

Just what came up like this. And I thought to myself, you're not coming to my garage. And you're not hissing at me in my garage. That's not going to work. So I very methodically went over and picked up my son's baseball bat. And I beat the living daylights out of that thing. See, how big was that snake? I don't know, but it wrapped itself three times around my house. So, no. I just smashed that. I just smashed that thing. Now, didn't open the garage door. I just walked out. There that snake would be.

But when the light came on, danger was exposed. I knew I couldn't go any further. I knew it had to die. Why? Because it's in my garage. And you don't walk in my garage without an invitation and live. And so I smashed it. Then I slowly picked it up and threw it over the fence. The victor. As David says, I pulverized. I crushed that enemy. But it was the light that revealed the danger. And because it reveals danger, it then reveals the direction I need to go. I need to know where to go. God does that.

You know what God's word does? It reveals, unfortunately and fortunately for all of us, all the damage, all the wreckage of our lives. It does do that. You can see the toll sin has taken on one's life. When you unfold the word of God, which is light, and it shines down on an individual, you're able to see. You know, when the lights are off, everybody's beautiful. Because they can't see the wrinkles in your face. They can't see the ugliness of your life, right, on the outside. Turn the lights on. Whew.

I'm not so sure I like what I see. Right? That's why I never had a blind date. Too dangerous. Okay? You never know who's going to show up around the corner. But when you see the light, it reveals all the damage of a wrecked life. Does it not? Sure does. Listen to this. Proverbs 4, verse number 19. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know over what they stumble. They don't. So Proverbs 4, 18 says this. The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn. The light, it shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

In the darkness, you stumble. In the darkness, you fall. In the darkness, you get cuts and scrapes and broken bones. And when the light comes on, the wreckage is seen. The wreckage is seen. You see the effects of the darkness. But with the light shining on all that damage, the light then very simple reveals everything that will help you. The light also reveals deity. The light reveals deity. Psalm 36, verse number 9. In your light, we see light. In your light, if God's word is light, in your light, we see light.

We see you, who is the God of light. It reveals deity. That's why 2 Corinthians 4, 4, what is Satan's main objective? To blind the mind so it doesn't see the glorious light of the gospel revealing the deity of Christ. Satan's whole method is to get people not to see that Jesus actually is God. So he seeks to blind the mind. But when you open the word of God, which is the light of God, in his light, we see light. And so it reveals to us the deity of Christ. Light also reveals your destiny. The Bible says very clearly in Ephesians chapter 5, verse number 7, these words.

Therefore do not be partakers of them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. You're no longer in darkness. Walk as children of the light. 1 John chapter 1, verse number 5 says this. And this is the message we have heard from the beginning and announced to you that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin.

Do you know that the light reveals my destiny? I know I'm going to heaven because I walk in the light. I know I'm going to heaven because I don't practice the darkness. I've been saved out of darkness and transferred into his marvelous light. And therefore my destiny is revealed because my habit pattern of life is always toward the light and walking in the light, not after darkness and walking in the darkness. Light's important. And the unfolding of thy word gives light. And also number 9 reveals my duty.

Light reveals my duty. Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. The Bible says over in Philippians chapter 2, these words, verse 14, do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world.

You are the light in the world. Don't grumble. Don't be a disputer. Don't be a complainer. Don't be a murmurer. Why? Because that's what the world does. You're different. You appear as lights in the world. And therefore, you show the way, holding fast the word of truth, holding it forth so people see the light. Folks, this is crucial. It reveals for us our duty. We have a huge duty. It reveals this duty, Ephesians chapter 5, these words. Verse 9. For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, and do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them, for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

As children of the light, because we know the light, because we've embraced the light, because we hold the light of his word in our hands, what do we do? We expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness. We're like a flashlight when we walk into a room. We're like a spotlight when we walk into a classroom. We shed light on all sin because the light of Christ shines in us. And lastly, light reveals my devotion. It reveals my devotion. We read to you earlier, Psalm 119, 105, thy word is the lamp to my feet and light to my path.

Psalm 116, I have sworn and I will confirm it that I will keep thy statutes or thy righteous ordinances. This is my devotion. Because God's word is the lamp, because God's word is the light, I confirm. I establish in my heart that I will keep your righteous ordinances forever. That's my devotion. That's what the light does. It reveals my devotion. It reveals the fact that I am devoted to doing what God says no matter what because that's what means the most.

And David says, the Lord God is a lamp and he illumined my path. He lit the way for me. And did God reveal the dirt in David's life? You bet. You bet he did. Did he reveal all the disorder in David's life? Yep, he sure did because he knew the law of God. He knew the Pentateuch. He had prophets that would come to him and speak to him the truth. Did it reveal the damage that all his sinful actions caused? It did. It did because he measured his life against the light. Did it reveal the danger that was before him?

Yes, it did. Yes, it did. But there are times when it revealed the danger before him and he just wanted to shut off the light. It revealed the danger. Do not take for yourselves many wives. Shut the light off on that one. Took for himself many wives. Why? Because it would turn his heart away. It would be a millstone around his neck. It was. He would turn the light off when the danger was exposed at times. At times. We saw Bathsheba bathing. I'm sure his heart was pricked. The light came on. He turned it off.

It exposed the dirt. It exposed the danger. It exposed the damage. But he didn't want to think about that stuff. It exposed the desire of his heart. Lustful passions. It did. But it also exposed to him which way to go. It gave him direction. When Nathan confronted him, he repented. He came to his senses and realized the error of his way. From 2 Samuel 12 to 2 Samuel chapter 24, it records the damage and the dirt and the disorder and the danger in David's life. So God gives it to us in printed form that we can read it and have all that revealed to us so we don't repeat it.

So we don't repeat it. He wants us to know which way to go. He wants us to know who he is. He wants us to be devoted to keeping his word no matter what. So the unfolding of his word gives light. In thy light we see light. Folks, this is crucial. This is crucial. I was talking to my dad today. Right before at 6.30 I called him. Got him out of bed. Didn't mean to get him out of bed, but he was in bed. And I said, you know, let me call you tomorrow.

No, no, no. I'm going to talk to you tonight. I might not be here tomorrow. I'll talk to you tonight. And so we talked. And we talked about 15 minutes. I said, I got to go preach. He said, listen to me, son. Cut it straight. Cut the word straight. Don't give it to him crooked. Don't give it to him bent. Cut it straight. 55 years old. My dad's still telling me what to do. But that's okay. That's okay. Because I purpose to cut it straight. I want you to know it right from the get-go. I want you to know exactly what God's word says.

I look into your children's eyes every morning this week when I'm teaching them the word of the Lord. You know, I'm burdened for the families of our church. I'm burdened for the fathers, for the wives. That they would provide for their children the truth of God. And live that truth before them. So children can see it manifest. I'm burdened for the young people, the children of our church who are there looking for models, looking for examples, looking for someone to hold them accountable, looking for someone to say, no, you can't.

Yes, you can. No, no, no. Yes, yes, yes. Where are the boundaries? Where are the stipulations? Where is the one who's going to say you cannot do this because this is what God's word says. And we as a family are committed to doing what God's word says. That's my burden. That's what I want to see happen in my family. And so I want to cut it straight. And I know that when you come and we open God's word this Sunday, this Sunday, who can be saved? Luke 18. We're going to cut the word straight. It's going to reveal much disorder, much dirt.

Man's destiny as we open it. And some won't like what they hear. But it's the truth. We've got to give it to them straight. Because without that, they have no direction. They don't know where to go. And you know what the great thing is? We hold the light in our hands. I just open it up and turn it on. Just bing. It's like a beam, you know? And it just shines so bright. You know, we open God's word, man, we should have sunglasses on, man, because that thing is just so bright. It just shines on my life.

See, that's how we need to go to the word of the Lord. And say, God, reveal all the dirt. Reveal to me all the damage that my life has caused. Reveal to me every aspect of disorder in my life. Reveal the danger that's going to come down the pike today. Let me know what the danger is going to be.

Reveal to me, Lord, everything I need to see, that I might know where to go and follow you. Teach me your truth. Teach me your path that I might walk it. Lord, I'm waiting on you. I'm waiting on you. I'm waiting on you. Until you show me the way, I'm not going anywhere. I need you to show me. Because you're the light. And I want to see everything you want me to see. That should be our desire, our prayer. When we wake up in the morning, we go through the day. We go to bed at night. Thank you, Lord, for letting me see the things I did not like.

Let me see the things that have brought devastation to my family. Thank you. Now I know what to do. And then go do it. And watch what God does. We pray with you. Father, we thank you for your word. Truly it's great. It's beyond great. It's bright. So bright, Lord. It exposes things we don't even want exposed. But yet, in the long run, we do. Because we want to get right with you. We want to live for you. We want to honor you. We want to praise you. I want to thank you, Lord, that those who are here tonight came because they wanted to be here.

They came. They came from work. They came from play. They came from a long day of doing whatever it is they were doing. But they came to hear the word of God. Because they want to grow. And I pray, Father, you bless them in a special way. Because your word says, he who honors me, I will honor. They honored you tonight. Honor them. That's our prayer. In Jesus' name, amen.