If You Don't Put The Shutters Up
Pastor David T. Elms 8/3/2025
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51:56
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores the profound truth that 'God is light,' contrasting God's gentle, perfect clarity with the dark deceptions and harsh judgments of the world. He calls believers to open the shutters of their hearts, allowing God's life-giving presence to dispel darkness and bring spiritual healing.
Key points
- •Light is more than a metaphor; it is the very essence of God's nature, serving as the source of all life, joy, and beauty.
- •Unlike human judgment which is often flawed, hasty, or based solely on outward appearance, God's judgment is perfect because he sees the heart with absolute clarity.
- •God's power is uniquely expressed through gentleness, illustrated in scripture by the dew, the snowflake, and the shadow of a rock.
- •Spiritual health requires keeping our 'shutters open' to God, resisting the urge to hide in the darkness of depression, hypocrisy, or self-reliance.
Scripture
The Nature of God
Spiritual Openness
Gentleness
Hope in Darkness
Life application
Identify one area of your life where you have 'shut the shutters' due to fear or disappointment. This week, intentionally spend time in prayer exposing that specific situation to God's light, asking for His gentle guidance rather than trying to figure it out on your own.
Reflection questions
- Why is it often easier to trust a person's visible judgment than God's invisible, perfect light?
- In what ways have you experienced God's gentleness making you 'great' or giving you strength?
- How can we practically 'open the shutters' of our hearts when we are going through seasons of darkness or depression?
- What does the story of the five wise and five foolish virgins teach us about the personal responsibility of maintaining our own spiritual light?
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Full transcript
0:00kind of songs are so necessary in this
0:00world we're living in right now.
0:00The Bible says in our text and this is
0:02the message which we have heard of him
0:05and declare unto you that God is light.
0:08Everybody say God is light.
0:10>> God
0:11>> and in him there is no darkness at all.
0:15This was written in the first letter of
0:17the epistles of John. John is enamored
0:21with the light metaphor in describing
0:24the Lord. In fact, when you read John
0:271:1, it says, "In the beginning was the
0:29word, and the word was with God, and the
0:32word was God, and the same was in the
0:34beginning with God. All things were made
0:37by him, and without him was not anything
0:41made that was made. All uh and in him
0:44was life." Now, listen to this. And the
0:48life was the light. Everybody say light.
0:52>> The light of men. And the light shineth
0:55in darkness. I have a feeling some folks
0:58have had some shades put over your heart
1:01in the last little bit. And I want to
1:03preach to you about the light. The light
1:06shineth in darkness and the darkness
1:09comprehended it not. There was a man
1:12sent from God whose name was John.
1:14That's talking about John the Baptist.
1:16Not John the writer of the gospels. It
1:19said the same came for a witness to bear
1:21witness of that light that all men
1:26through him might believe. He was not
1:29that light. We're talking about John.
1:31John was not that light but was sent to
1:34witness or bear witness of that light.
1:37That light, it's talking about Jesus.
1:40Was the true light which lightth every
1:44man. Somebody say every man.
1:46>> That is the true light that lightth
1:50every man that cometh into the world.
1:53God is light. Light is a metaphor that's
1:58so abstract it's hard to comprehend. But
2:01I'm telling you today with just little
2:03Sunday school like stories. I'm going to
2:07help you see the light that is God. In
2:11the beginning, the Bible says the earth
2:14was without form and void and darkness
2:17was upon the face of the deep. And God
2:21said, "Let there be light."
2:24That was the first demand of creation.
2:29It was the first words that were out.
2:33Let there be light. And light came into
2:36the blackness of darkness. And it came
2:39from God himself. With him there is no
2:44spark that has a glow. Without him,
2:47without him there is no flame that has
2:50ever flickered. The Bible opens with
2:53light and the Bible closes with light.
2:56The very last chapter, Revelation 25,
3:00the Bible tells us that in that city
3:03there is no night there. It is an
3:07amazing city. It's a city where the lamb
3:12is the light. Life or light is the
3:16source of all life. Plants can't live
3:20without life. Very plants wilt and die
3:24if they're forced to stay in the dark.
3:27Light is not only the source of life, it
3:30is the source of all joy. The birds
3:33greet the rising of the sun with the
3:36song joyfully presented in the sky.
3:40Light is the source of life. Life is the
3:44source of joy. Light is the source of
3:48all beauty. Beauty is a loveliness that
3:52comes because light is present. And that
3:56beauty can only be imparted when light
4:00comes. light colors every cherry. It
4:04gilds every apple. It tints every rose
4:07and ripens all the wheat. All life, all
4:11gladness, all beauty springs from light.
4:16Therefore, all gladness, all life, and
4:20all beauty comes from the Lord. Since
4:24God is light, God is light, said John.
4:30And in him is no darkness at all. JL
4:35Mley was the ambassador to Britain in
4:38America's past. Right after the Civil
4:41War period, he had been appointed by
4:43President Ulysus Srant to be the
4:47ambassador there. He was a widely known
4:50historian, a diplomat, and at one time
4:53in this season, he had been the
4:55ambassador to Austria. and now he had
4:58been made the ambassador to the United
5:01Kingdom. Politics, as it often does,
5:04caused President Grant to call JL Mley
5:09out and dismiss him suddenly and openly
5:13from his appointment as ambassador. It
5:16was abrupt and it was shameful to JL
5:19Mley. It was done in such a matter
5:22manner that he felt humiliated and he
5:25felt disgraced and that pulling back
5:29impacted the rest of James Lan Lethrop
5:33or Loth Mley's life. But before James
5:38Mley was preparing to die, he called a
5:41friend to him and said, "It looks like
5:44my end is on its way. I want you to know
5:48that when I pass I want this put on my
5:51tombstone
5:53and he placed on his tombstone stone.
5:57God is light and in him there is no
6:02darkness at all. The biographers of JL
6:05Mley Oliver Window Holmes wrote about
6:08him and said that in his years of
6:11service he had had so many things
6:13disappoint him and in his life and
6:16although he had been misestimated
6:19and judged unfairly in his heart. He
6:23knew that God knew all in God is light
6:28and in him there is no darkness at all.
6:33put it on my tombstone.
6:35Let it be sure that everybody knows that
6:39when I'm dead and gone, I know doesn't
6:42matter what happens in this life. God is
6:45light
6:46>> and in him there is no darkness at all.
6:50People can manipulate and people can
6:54disguise and people can hide and people
6:58can dodge and dart and people can
7:01misread you and make a negative report
7:03on you and people can misunderstand you.
7:07But I want to tell you in God is light
7:11>> and in him there is no darkness at all.
7:15One of the most comforting things that
7:17every one of you ought to know today is
7:20that men will judge us on this earth,
7:24but men do not have the final say.
7:27>> God's going to judge us. And in him is
7:30light and there is no darkness at all.
7:33He'll never get it wrong. He'll never
7:36misunderstand. He'll never misread you.
7:39He'll never get it to where it's
7:41mistaken. You won't have to stand up and
7:43say, "But Lord, you missed it." No. In
7:46God is light, and in him there is no
7:50darkness at all. The flawless, perfect
7:53judgment of the omnisient God is going
7:56to be washing over us. Because no matter
8:00what happens to you, you're going to
8:02have valleys. I am not the preacher that
8:05loves to preach about the valley. I
8:07don't want to always talk about valleys
8:09when we come to church because the
8:12church is not just built for valley
8:14living. He's also a God of the
8:16mountaintops, too. He will bring you out
8:19of the valley. He will take you through
8:22the valley. But he's good when it's
8:24good, and he's also good when it's not
8:28going so good. In God is light, and in
8:31him there is no darkness of at all.
8:34Sometimes things are written about you
8:37or told to you that are confusing.
8:39Sometimes someone tells you something
8:41that you cannot figure it out and in all
8:44of your attempt you're trying to say
8:46what were they really trying to say?
8:48They say one thing but it's not what
8:51they were really saying. We've all run
8:54into that. It's something that is uh
8:56confusing to us and it's hard to figure
8:59and you you wonder, am I in the midst of
9:01verbal judo? What kind of gaslighting is
9:04going on right now? What's the endg
9:06game? All these phrases are out there in
9:10this world because this world is filled
9:13with the spirit of the serpent.
9:15Deception and leading people on. This is
9:18the core of hypocrisy. In other words, I
9:22want to present myself as one thing, but
9:24in reality, I know they'll play that
9:27role, but I also know how to play
9:29another role. And whatever place I'm in,
9:32I'm able to juxtapose in between,
9:35seessaw back and forth, get in between
9:37the two spots. That's known as
9:39hypocrisy. But there are many people who
9:42disdain and cannot stand hypocrisy. They
9:46don't want anything to do with it. They
9:47don't want it to be in their life. They
9:49don't want to be around those who are
9:51obvious hypocrites. when they find that
9:53they've got a friend that's walking
9:55hypocritically, they are already in
9:57adjustment period to reconfigure who
10:00their friends are. I'm preaching right
10:02now who the people they hang out are,
10:05what is the endgame and what they've
10:06done. Friends will be good to you, but
10:09you'll find out some friends, they will
10:12absolutely hurt you to the core. Why?
10:15Because of deceptions and of deeds that
10:18they're doing to get to some end. In God
10:21is light. John said as he opened his
10:25first epistle, not his gospel book book,
10:29his letter started by saying God is
10:31light. But when he wrote his first
10:33general epistle to all the churches, he
10:37saw all the things that were going on.
10:39He saw the confusions and the burdens
10:42and the setbacks and the storms in that
10:45time period. The government was
10:47absolutely corrupt and Rome was running
10:50the roads up and down. They were doing
10:53some good things but many things that
10:55were corrupt. And John said before I get
10:58very deep in this letter, I want you to
11:00know God is light
11:03>> and in him there is no darkness at all.
11:07You can be like Hezekiah of old. Assyria
11:10had obliterated Israel to the north. had
11:13absolutely destroyed the two countries.
11:16Israel was to the north and Judah was to
11:19the south. Hezekiah was the king of
11:21Judah. He knew what had happened in
11:24Israel as Sakaribb and his army had come
11:27down from Assyria and had taken all
11:30authority and power away from Israel and
11:33had turned them into exiles. Now
11:36Sakaribb was coming down into Judah. 46
11:40cities had been occupied and taken over
11:44by Sonakaribb and the only city that was
11:47left was Jerusalem. And around Jerusalem
11:50was Sonakar's army. But in t typical uh
11:54style the uh letter came to him from
11:58Sakaribb that was mocking what Hezekiah
12:01was doing. And that letter it said,
12:04"Your God is no greater than any other
12:07god. you might as well fold up the tent
12:10and give up because we have conquered
12:13the gods of these people. We've
12:15conquered the gods of those people.
12:17We've conquered even Israel to the
12:20north. You need to know your days are
12:23number. Open the gate and lets us in
12:25because we have all power. And you know
12:28what Hezekiah did as a king? He went to
12:30the temple and he took that letter and
12:33he laid it down on God's altar. He laid
12:36it down and he said, 'Lord,
12:40you see what's going on here, but I want
12:43you to know they're belittling you. You
12:46see that letter right there? He
12:48literally spread it out on the altar.
12:51There are times you get a letter from a
12:54a a report from a doctor or from your
12:56corporation or maybe from a client or
12:59maybe even a letter from a friend and
13:01they may have some points that you might
13:04think are fair, but then they go a step
13:06too far and they start belittling the
13:09walk with God and the talk with God and
13:11who you are. You know what you ought to
13:13do? I'm telling you, in God is light and
13:16in him there is no darkness at all. You
13:20ought to take that paper and lay it down
13:23on your altar and say, "Lord, there it
13:26is." You see what they're saying? Uh you
13:29don't even have to know what to pray
13:30that day. Just read the report out loud
13:34to the Lord because there is a friend,
13:38no friend like Jesus. He's a friend like
13:40no other. Sometimes you got to just go
13:43to him and know, Lord, you know all
13:47about my trouble. You will guide when
13:50the day is done. There's not a friend
13:53like a lonely Jesus. No, not one. No,
13:59not one.
14:00Joseph Scriven loved the Lord. He grew
14:04up in England and there to some fam a
14:07family that had a lot of money and but
14:09he was sick of just the expression of
14:13money and living like that. So he took
14:15on the vow to be one of the Plymouth
14:18brethren. And in that process of his vow
14:21to the Lord, he fell in love with the
14:24young lady. And the night before their
14:26wedding, his fiance was crossing a
14:28wooden bridge on a rainy night on a
14:30horse. He was already on the other side.
14:33The river was swollen. His fiance fell
14:36off her horse onto into the water. And
14:40his fiance drowned. Nobody could get
14:42there in time to save her from drowning.
14:45And and then after that had happened and
14:48he had recovered a little bit, his
14:50mother, who he loved very much, became
14:53very ill. And while she was ill, it
14:56looked like it was going to take his
14:57mother away. And so he wrote his mother
15:00this this this song. What a friend we
15:04have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs
15:09to bear. What a privilege to carry
15:14everything to God in prayer. In him is
15:18light and there is no darkness at all.
15:22What could be purer than the light of
15:24God. Earthly judgments are clouded and
15:27many times we all see through a glass
15:30darkly. But God is pure and clear. In
15:34him there is light and no darkness at
15:37all. The Bible says in John 7:24, "Judge
15:40not according to appearance, judge
15:43righteous judgment." Why? Because we are
15:46limited to judge by appearances. The
15:49Lord told Samuel, "Man judges on the
15:53outside, but God looks at the heart." In
15:57other words, we're all flawed. Some have
15:59used that as an illustration of why we
16:02shouldn't worry about how people appear.
16:05I want to tell you, you have to be
16:07concerned with how you appear because
16:10men only have one way they can judge.
16:13That's the reason you're not supposed to
16:15let your good be evil spoken of. Uh, and
16:19so, in fact, when I was growing up, I
16:22wasn't even really allowed to drink IBC
16:24root beer.
16:29Somebody says, "Why?" Well, it was in
16:31that chocolate brown bottle.
16:35And my parents were like, "That looks
16:37like you're drinking beer, son. Go get
16:38A&W root beer.
16:41Go get Barks. Don't get IBC. It's that
16:44bottle."
16:46What was that? I I don't think all of
16:48that's bad. You got to be concerned
16:51about what people see because all they
16:55have is their eyes. Don't hold it
16:57against them because they judge by the
16:59outside. That's the only way people can
17:03judge.
17:05>> They're limited. But when it comes to
17:07God, he sees everything in him. There is
17:11light and no darkness at all. God is
17:15light. God created light. God said, "Let
17:19there be light." Light is more than just
17:22the glow of a frivolous heart. No, light
17:26is the opposite of darkness. It is the
17:29opposite of chaos. It is the opposite of
17:32disorder. It's not sent to be a
17:34spectacle. Some think that church is all
17:37spectacle. No, it's not about spectacle.
17:40It's about shining in dark places.
17:44Because God reveals the heart. God
17:48reveals the light. It's the preaching of
17:50the word that's sharper than any
17:52two-edged sword. Even while I preach
17:54right now, the Holy Ghost is working
17:56through your heart and it's letting you
17:58know this was right and that was wrong
18:00and this is something you need to
18:02consider. You're not running the aisles,
18:05but God's working. It's not always
18:08jumping up and down that people need to
18:10make the right holy decisions. They need
18:13to let that word work. I love music. I
18:16love singing. I'm a drummer and I could
18:19prove it to you if I needed to. My point
18:21is this. You'll never build God's church
18:24on music. You'll never build God's
18:26church on modulation. You'll never build
18:28God's church on fancy songs. You'll
18:31never build God's church on talented
18:32singers. The only thing that's going to
18:34build God's church is upon this rock. I
18:37will build my church and the gates of
18:39hell shall not prevail against it. What
18:44is that rock? That rock is Christ.
18:50The Bible likens the goodness of God and
18:54light is gentle. Here's the thing about
18:57light that's stunn stunning how gentle
19:00it is. Human verdicts can be hasty and
19:03harsh, sometimes pitiles. But light is
19:07always gentle. Somebody say, "God is
19:11gentle."
19:13>> Laser is a light that's not so gentle.
19:16But lasers are made by men.
19:19There's no laser in nature. It takes the
19:22amalgamation of technology to turn a
19:26laser into being. A laser can hurt you.
19:30Light won't hurt you. The Bible likens
19:33the gentleness of God to a snowflake. It
19:36says he giveth his snow like wool. He
19:39likens the gentleness of God to the
19:42downy breast feathers of a bird. It
19:45says, "He shall cover thee with his
19:47feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
19:51trust." I'm telling you, God is gentle.
19:54Men are not always gentle. Friends are
19:57not always gentle, but God is gentle.
20:01He's liken his gentleness is likened to
20:03the dew of the morning. God's favor is
20:06as the dew up on the grass. Nobody hears
20:10the dew fall. It just is there when the
20:13sun comes up. It likens the gentleness
20:16of God. Each of these elements is an
20:19illustration of the gentle hand of
20:21Jesus. Snow falls so lightly that not
20:24hardly anybody can hear it through the
20:27night. It's like the gentle hand of
20:29Jesus. And though a million tons fall in
20:32one night, people can wake up in the
20:34morning and not even know that it was
20:37loud. Less than the crackle of a fall
20:39autumn leaf. Yet its weight can crush
20:42buildings and its might can cause
20:45avalanches. It's powerful, but it's
20:48gentle. The tenderness of God was spoken
20:51of in first s or 2 Samuel 22:36.
20:56David sang a song. Thou hast also given
20:59me the shield of thy salvation. Hear it.
21:03And thy gentleness hath made me great.
21:09That's an interesting sentence, isn't
21:10it? Thy gentleness
21:13hath made me great. It was such a
21:17favored song of David that it's repeated
21:19in the scripture. The same verse is
21:21written in Psalm 18:35.
21:24Thou hast also given me the shield of
21:26thy salvation, and thy right hand hath
21:29holdened me up, and thy gentleness hath
21:33made me great. That seems like an
21:35enigma. Greatness comes through
21:38gentleness. But that's the Lord we
21:41serve.
21:42>> The Almighty is willing to condescend to
21:46help us in gentleness. Thy gentleness,
21:50it means he was willing to come down.
21:52Hath made me great. That word in the
21:55Hebrew means to multiply in status. His
21:59gentleness has moved me on up in status.
22:02His gentleness has multiplied my
22:05victories. His gentleness has increased
22:08my influence on the job. His gentleness
22:12has given my voice more authority with
22:14the people I work with. His gentleness,
22:17I know people think, get loud, get
22:19proud, and that's the way you get heard.
22:22But the gentleness of the Lord is what's
22:24going to win in the last days. Thy
22:26gentleness hath made me great. Luke 1:78
22:31says, "Through the tender mercy of our
22:33God, whereby the daypring from on high
22:37hath visited us to give light to them
22:41that sit in darkness, and in the shadow
22:44of death, to guide our feet in the way
22:48of peace, the daypring
22:51as quiet as the morning, as gentle as
22:55the dew, as subtle as the snowflake, His
22:59gentleness wants to make you great.
23:02Isaiah 32:2, "And a man," talking about
23:05Jesus, "shall be as a hiding place from
23:09the wind, and as a covert from the
23:12tempest, as rivers of water in a dry
23:16place, and as the shadow of a great rock
23:20in a weary land." So the Lord says he's
23:23like the daypring as gentle as the dawn.
23:27He says he's like the shadow of a great
23:30rock. The shadow is ever so g gentle.
23:34What violence has the shadow ever
23:37caused? And what wreckage has the dawn
23:40ever created? They are always so gentle.
23:44There is nothing in the universe as
23:47gentle as the Lord. I know if I came
23:50with power today, it might move some
23:54people. But I'm coming with a different
23:56approach right now to tell you it's the
23:58gentleness of God, the goodness of God
24:01that leadth thee to repentance. It's
24:05because he's so good that's the reason I
24:08want to worship. It's because he's so
24:10grand that's the reason I want to pray.
24:13It's because he's so wonderful. That's
24:15the reason I want my children to grow up
24:18in the church.
24:20>> I want my children here. It's a rough,
24:23rough world out there. I want my
24:26children in the place of the gentleness
24:29of the Lord. It's God's gentleness that
24:32makes people great. Psalm 145:8, "The
24:35Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
24:38slow to anger.
24:43And great in mercy."
24:47>> I know when we're mad at people and
24:48they're not moving fast enough, we're
24:50ready to give up.
24:52And I got my share of whoopins.
24:54Absolutely. And I needed them all. I
24:57gave my share of whoopins. My kids brag
25:00between each other which one got the
25:02most.
25:04Oh yeah. Austin thinks he has it nailed
25:08down. I'm not so sure. Scarlet was a
25:10blessing too.
25:14And here Winter's in the house. I
25:16guarantee you she would press, but
25:18they're in the youth class. But I want
25:20to tell you, it's the gentleness of God.
25:23>> My dad would spank me, and I'm telling
25:25you, when he was done, the part that
25:27hurt the most was about five minutes
25:30after he tore me up. Yes, I said it
25:32right. Toe up.
25:37I know everybody's worried about
25:38political correctness right now. I'm
25:40telling you, y'all have fun with that.
25:41You hear? Just go ahead and have fun
25:42with that. I'm living in the real world.
25:46>> How the world really works,
25:48>> which means if you're abusive and if you
25:51beat, you're wrong and heaven is against
25:54you.
25:55>> I'm talking about love.
25:58>> Ah, and so in this process, my dad would
26:00go out and the hardest part was when he
26:03would come back in about five minutes
26:05later and all he wanted to do was hug me
26:08and tell me how much he loved me and
26:11tell me how much it hurt him. I always
26:13thought he was lying right then. I
26:15thought for sure, Dad, you trying to go
26:17to heaven? You're telling me you're
26:19lying right now? It hurts you more than
26:21it hurts me you weren't there.
26:29And all of you that never had a
26:30spanking, I feel sorry for you. That's
26:33the reason you got daddy issues.
26:38Here's the thing.
26:40In all of this process, it's the
26:43gentleness
26:45that makes people great. Thy gentleness
26:48hath made me great. The Lord is gracious
26:50and full of compassion, slow to anger,
26:54and of great mercy. The Lord is good to
26:57all, and his tender mercies are over all
27:02his works.
27:04>> That's the kind of God we serve. And the
27:07fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
27:11longsuffering faithfulness goodness
27:16gentleness,
27:18meekness, and temperance of the nine
27:21harvests that the spirit puts out. One
27:25of the harvests that you're going to
27:27have when you get filled with the Holy
27:30Ghost is you're going to have a baptism
27:32of gentleness come over you. And the
27:35closer you get to the Lord, the closer
27:38you're going to get to gentleness
27:40because it is one of the fruit of the
27:42spirit, you know why it is? Because
27:45that's who God is. For we have not a
27:48high priest who cannot be touched with
27:51the feelings of our infirmities, but is
27:54was in all points tempted like as we
27:56are, yet without sin. Jesus knows all
28:01about our trouble. He will guide till
28:05the day is done. There's not a friend
28:09like the lowly of Jesus. No, not one.
28:13No, not one. We sang a song in Sunday
28:15school growing up and I went and found
28:18the the verses and I did a little
28:20research on this. I found out that it's
28:21on Fred Flintstone. I didn't know that
28:23Fred was so spiritual.
28:25I did not realize that Pebbles and Bam
28:28Bam sang this song.
28:30But I found out that today you can go
28:33home and find out that pebbles and bam
28:35bam are very spiritual. They sing, "So
28:39let the sunshine in. Face it with the
28:44grin." Smilers never lose. And frowners
28:48never win. So let the sun shine in. Face
28:53it with the grin. Open up your heart and
28:57let the sun shine in.
29:00Well, I thought that's a pretty good
29:02secular song. I mean, we're just talking
29:04about smiling and frowning and sunshine,
29:06and that could mean anything. But did
29:09you realize that Bam Bam and Pebbles
29:11sang every verse? Verse number one,
29:15Mommy told me something a little kid
29:17should know. It's all about the devil,
29:20and I've learned to hate him. So she
29:23said he causes trouble and when you let
29:26him in the room, he'll never ever leave
29:29you if your heart is filled with gloom.
29:32So let the sun shine in. Face it with
29:35the grin. Open up your heart and let the
29:39sun shine in. Oh, let the sun shine in.
29:43Face it with the grin. Open up your
29:47heart and let the sun shine in. I
29:50thought that was the end of the song.
29:53But to all my Sunday school people
29:55today,
29:56it doesn't stop there. I'm talking about
29:59the sunlight that is the light who is
30:03God. God is light and in him there is no
30:07darkness
30:09at all.
30:11[Applause]
30:14So, bam, bam, and pebbles sing. When you
30:17are unhappy, the devil wears a grin. But
30:20oh, he starts a running when your light
30:23comes pouring in. I know he'll be
30:26unhappy cuz I'll never wear a frown.
30:29Maybe if we keep on smiling, he'll get
30:32tired of hanging around.
30:37>> And Pebbles wasn't done.
30:40>> Bam. Bam sang. If I forget to say my
30:44prayers, the devil jumps with glee. He
30:47feels so awful awful when he sees me on
30:51my knees. So if you're full of trouble
30:54and you never seem to win, just
30:59open up your heart and let the sun shine
31:04in.
31:11JL Mley had been misunderstood by M.
31:13Ulysus Srant. He had been misread by his
31:17government and he had been openly
31:19rebuked and taken away. But he said,
31:22"Put it on my tombstone.
31:24In God, God is light and in him there is
31:28no darkness at all." Light is a source
31:32that gives. It gives and it gives and it
31:35gives. You can't go anywhere where light
31:38isn't giving. When light is present,
31:42it's a lifegiving force. Clouds give
31:45rain, fire gives heat, flowers give
31:47fragrance, birds give song, wells give
31:50water, fruit, fields give fruit, but
31:54light it gives light. It gives what it
31:58is. It's not trying to give something
32:00it's not. It gives what it is. And God
32:04is light. And in him there is no
32:07darkness at all. It's impossible for
32:11light to give off anything other than
32:13light. We're still trying to understand
32:16black holes. Sister Elms come the Verac
32:19Rubin Observatory went live June the
32:2123rd just about six weeks ago. It's
32:24based down in Chile. It's a a telescope
32:28that's able to map the entire sky in
32:31three days and it does it with such
32:34precision. The the lens alone of that
32:37telescope that's just been put up is the
32:40size of a Volkswagen Beetle. It's a
32:43massive glass lens that it's taken years
32:46and years and years and years to get
32:49ready. They finally opened it up six
32:51weeks ago and they've done it because
32:53they're trying to learn about the
32:56calibration of darkness and they are
32:59tuning it right now. They say around
33:02November they're going to be able to
33:04start uh reading the sky like they've
33:07never read it before. They're focusing
33:09on dark matter because it's the g
33:12biggest mystery of all the universe.
33:15Black holes they cannot understand.
33:18There's been so many theories put out
33:19about black holes. Physics when I was
33:22growing up presumed that black holes
33:25were a pole of gravity that was so great
33:27that light could not escape from the
33:30pole of gravity. But lately there's been
33:33different postulations about the
33:36possibilities of what it is and what
33:39it's going. And so all they're trying to
33:42do is focus on these black holes and
33:45this dark matter to try to find out
33:48what's going on with the blackness. But
33:51all they can witness right now, it's not
33:54certain that light is not escaping. What
33:57they are certain of is that light is
34:00taken somewhere else. Why? Because
34:04light,
34:05it fills the atmosphere. It's going
34:09somewhere. It's always moving. It's
34:12always traveling. You can't walk in a
34:15room and negotiate with the light to
34:17only shine on half of the room. No,
34:20you've got to put some sort of blockage
34:22up to stop the light from flowing. And
34:25God is light and in him there is no
34:28darkness at all. It doesn't
34:30discriminate. It shines on the poor and
34:33upon the rich. Light shines upon the low
34:36and it shines upon the high. It goes up
34:39the hill and then down in the valley. It
34:41travels across the mountains and over
34:43the oceans, over the deserts and to the
34:46fruited plains, from sea to shining sea.
34:49Light travels. I love when I'm traveling
34:52overseas to look at the screen and you
34:55can see approximately where daylight is
34:58hitting. And while you're traveling,
34:59either you're going to travel with it or
35:01you're traveling against it. But you can
35:03see where the darkness is permeated by
35:06the light of the sun. Oh, God is light
35:11and in him there is no darkness at all.
35:16John Ruskin was a professor at Oxford.
35:19He was the professor of fine art. And as
35:23he understood art and studied this study
35:27of the difference between dark and light
35:29in paintings which was started by
35:31Leonardo da Vinci and then it was
35:34mastered later on by several great
35:37painters mastered this understanding of
35:39how to use light and dark in a painting.
35:43He made lectures and he wrote a book
35:45called The Ethics of the Dust. And in
35:48that lecture 10, he talked about an old
35:51lecturer who was talking to a young girl
35:54and they were outside a school building
35:56and they looked at the sunlit wall of a
35:59house and that wall was lit up by the
36:02sunlight. It was beautiful and bright.
36:06And then there was a window. And that
36:09window was very dark. Even though it was
36:12open, it looked very dark. Was such a
36:16beautiful day. And so the old lecturer
36:18asked the little girl, "Do you notice
36:21what a black spot that window makes on
36:25the wall?" And she said, "Oh yes." She
36:28said, "It looks as black as ink."
36:32He said, "If you could look at your
36:33heart from the sun's point of view, it
36:37might look as black as that dark space,
36:41but if you let the sun shine in, it
36:46brings warmth to the space
36:50if you don't put the shutters up."
36:57All my 33 years of pastoring people
37:00[Music]
37:02I ask,
37:05let
37:06the light in.
37:08He's coming to you today and he's
37:10knocking.
37:12He stands at the door and knocks. The
37:14book of Revelation says, "Who will open
37:17and let him in?" Because if you resist
37:20him, he will not force his way. He is
37:24not a laser that will burn his way
37:26through. He's just gentle as the light.
37:30We stand on the threshold of an
37:32overwhelming rapid onset global crisis.
37:37And I'm not a prophet of doom. There's
37:40so much unknown coming. It could perhaps
37:43lead to economic
37:46revival or economic collapse. Jobs and
37:51the way people work is going to be
37:54changed. And you've heard me speak about
37:56it enough to let you know I'm going to
37:58stay on the positive side of this story.
38:01But there is the possibility that there
38:04will be social upheaval and waves of
38:07tumult that come. I want to propose that
38:11you let the light.
38:17[Music]
38:21>> Every time you don't have an answer,
38:23don't go run to the technologist to see
38:25what they have to say. They're in the
38:27dark just as much as you are.
38:29>> Don't run to the doctor to find out what
38:31they have to say. They are good at what
38:33they do, but they're in the dark most of
38:35the time as well.
38:36>> Amen.
38:39I need you to run to the light.
38:44>> You may not be as knowledgeable as the
38:47light. You may not have all the answers.
38:49But if you'll come into his presence
38:53>> and let the light that shineth in
38:55darkness
38:56shine upon your heart,
38:59>> when you stand there and begin to praise
39:02him and worship him, it's got to be
39:04spiritual. Here's the thing. I could be
39:07a pastor of liturgy so easy. Liturgy is
39:11more or less when I read and I go
39:12through this process and there's no back
39:14and forth during the preaching and the
39:16songs are very stayed and and there's no
39:18dancing and shouting. It's very calm and
39:21collected in the house. And listen, I
39:23could appreciate that. I respect th the
39:25those styles of having church for those
39:28people that are very substantial. And
39:30there are some very substantial serious
39:32people that have church that way. But
39:34when you get in the Bible, God is a
39:37spirit.
39:38>> And they that worship him must worship
39:41him in spirit. In other words, all you
39:45tough, hard men, you got to get in the
39:48spirit if you're going to get to God.
39:50That may not look like how a woman gets
39:52in the spirit, but it does look like how
39:54a man gets in the spirit. And I watched
39:56a soccer game last night, and I saw a
39:59bunch of men in the spirit.
40:12So the idea of dead church or dead
40:14prayers, just mental prayers, just
40:17intellectual prayers, that's not what
40:20the Lord requires.
40:22God is a spirit and they that worship
40:25him
40:30must
40:32worship him in spirit. This why when we
40:35come to the altar many we'll tell you
40:38close your eyes. Why? We don't want you
40:40distracted.
40:42I mean there there might be some kids
40:43running around too early.
40:46We don't want you distracted.
40:48Get up close. Let people pray with you
40:51who know how to pray in the spirit.
40:54Don't feel uncomfortable. Oh no,
40:56somebody's around me. No, we're trying
40:57to get when when Listen, if somebody's
40:59having a baby, they bring in midwives.
41:01Why? Because a midwife knows what to do.
41:04And one being born of the spirit is the
41:07same as being born in the flesh. It's
41:09not an easy process, but it's also
41:11natural.
41:13It's not something put on you by you're
41:16going to be filled with the Holy Ghost
41:18when the Lord comes in and ye shall I
41:21didn't say it. I didn't made it. I
41:22didn't write it. Ye shall speak with
41:24tongues.
41:26After that, the Holy Ghost is come upon
41:30you.
41:32When I first came to this church, I
41:33thought about using her name and then I
41:35was going to call you Sister Loretta to
41:37find out, but I'm not going to use her
41:39name because I'm not sure where we are.
41:41But Sister Loretta will remember. Um,
41:44we'll just go with Sister Light. And,
41:46uh, we had a member of the church here.
41:50I think she voted for me. Do you know,
41:52Sister Leonard, did you get count the
41:54ballots or was that you, Greg? Greg, did
41:56you count the ballots? I've never ever
41:58pled you to see who voted against me.
42:00Did you count the ballots of 33 years? I
42:04have not yet found out that one person
42:06who voted against me.
42:09Who did? Brother John's. Did Brother
42:11John's include you, Greg? Full
42:13admission. God is light.
42:18You weren't a part of the countering.
42:21Oh, you're not saying. I see. God is
42:23light. And in him there is no darkness
42:26at all.
42:28My wife and I went to visit her, this
42:30person. And I'm going to tell you
42:32something. Going to church with someone
42:34that's depressed
42:36is a lot different than pastoring
42:38someone that's depressed.
42:43Follow me. When you go to church and
42:46somebody's depressed, you can just pray
42:48for them and go on your way because
42:50you're not going to get in that
42:51depressed world. But when you pastor
42:53somebody's depressed, it's totally
42:56different because there's a whole
42:58another level of care and trying. And
43:01I've pastored people that were normal
43:03and something happened and depression
43:05came. My wife can tell you when we went
43:08to her house,
43:11it was a it was an experience,
43:14which all of y'all's houses are
43:16experiences. Some of them are wonderful.
43:24Very narrow way to get through to
43:26anything.
43:27And it was so dark in that house. And
43:31there was such a depression and also
43:33there was an ailment that she would not
43:36stand up straight. She literally when
43:40she opened the door, she was bent over
43:42all the way to the ground. I I looked
43:45through the door and there she is with
43:47my wife. We're standing there and she's
43:49bent all the way over.
43:52And I thought, "Okay, Lord, I need your
43:54help right now.
43:56We want to see victory in this place.
44:02We prayed and had a good meeting, but
44:04one of the first things my wife did was
44:06she found a way. I don't know how you
44:07got to the curtains.
44:10Didn't you somehow try to get those
44:12curtains open?
44:19You let the light in.
44:22Literal light
44:24is God.
44:29I know you don't believe me. I'm not
44:32saying light is God. I'm saying God is
44:34light. We're not pantheists here. Don't
44:36go start worshiping the sun.
44:41But light
44:43moves you.
44:45They say it's vitamin D. You got to get
44:46out in the sun.
44:48Something about getting in the sun and
44:50just standing and letting it shine on
44:51you. Your body responds to that.
44:56You're fighting oppression. Don't stay
44:58in and close the curtains and pull the
45:00covers over your head
45:02>> immediately. No, I don't know what I've
45:04got to do, but whatever I've got to do,
45:05I am not staying locked up, curled up,
45:09beat up, put down. No, God is light, and
45:15in him there is no darkness at all.
45:19No man, when he hath lighted a candle,
45:21putteth it in a secret place, neither
45:24under a bushel, but on a candlestick,
45:26that they which come may see the light.
45:30Our God heals the sick. He delivers the
45:33captive. He sets at liberty them that
45:36are bruised. He opens the eyes of the
45:39blind. He raises the dead. He does that
45:43physically. But more important than
45:46physically, and I said it because the
45:48Bible says it, more important than
45:50physically is that he does it for you
45:52spiritually.
45:54Some of you have been right on the edge
45:55of victory. But the devil keeps pulling
45:57you back. It's like he's got this big
46:00old rope on you that pulls you back to
46:03saying, "No, you're not that. You can't
46:05be that. You can't be free." Just about
46:08time you think you're free, he shows up
46:10to oppress you again. I want to declare
46:12to you that God is light and in him
46:16there is no darkness at all. As we stand
46:20all over this building, the Lord's been
46:22reaching for somebody here today. He
46:25tells the story of five wise virgins and
46:28five foolish virgins that were waiting
46:30for the bridegroom to come. What an odd
46:33story for the Lord to tell. They're all
46:36waiting for the bridegroom. But he said
46:39they all had oil. They all were
46:42prepared. They all loved the bridegroom.
46:46They were all doing what they should do.
46:48Except the bridegroom terried. In other
46:52words, he waited. He didn't come when
46:53they thought. He didn't come on their
46:55schedule. He terried. And while they
46:58were waiting, they all slumbered and
47:01slept. And when they woke up and it
47:03said, "The bridegroom is coming," only
47:06five of them had oil in their vessels.
47:09The other five did not. They originally
47:12did, but they didn't have any extra. And
47:14so they said, "Will you give up us what
47:17you had?" Jesus is telling the story.
47:20"Will you give of us what you have?" And
47:22they said, "No, we need it for the light
47:25in our vessel." And the Bible declares
47:27that while they went to get more oil, is
47:31it bad to try to get oil?
47:34Was that a bad journey?
47:36Was that an evil journey?
47:39They weren't trying to go get drunk.
47:42They weren't trying to go get high. They
47:44were trying to go get oil.
47:47But because they were not ready and
47:50their light had gone out, the bridegroom
47:53came and the five foolish virgins came.
47:57And finally, after they found oil, they
47:59ran back to the spot where they thought
48:01certainly this is the time he'll let us
48:04in. We did everything we could, as fast
48:07as we could, as good as we could. We
48:09went and found the oil. We filled it up.
48:11We paid the price. We ran to come back
48:13to this door.
48:18We're here.
48:21We finally made it.
48:24Jesus said,
48:27the bridegroom said, "Depart from me.
48:31Ye worker of iniquity."
48:34What?
48:36That's too stark to tell in 2025, isn't
48:39it?
48:40Let's make that softer.
48:43This is the kind of story that tells
48:45people they're not going to believe in
48:46the Bible.
48:49The Lord gets to pick his truths.
48:52And he was saying, "Make sure that you
48:56get in the presence of the Lord and let
49:00his light
49:02shine.
49:04Keep
49:06the shutters open.
49:08Don't just look good to us at church. I
49:11see you all come. You all look so good.
49:15But if you have it just looking good,
49:17but he's not getting in you. I'm talking
49:20about getting in you. I don't need your
49:23presence here. I need your heart here.
49:26>> I don't need your your physical
49:28structure here. I need your soul here.
49:32>> God is a spirit. He wants to reach your
49:34spirit. That's the reason when we open
49:36the altar, it's a spiritual transaction.
49:39You're just admitting, "I'm ready to
49:41come." It's not just you moving. It's
49:43you saying, "Oh Lord, I'm ready to get
49:45in your presence. I'm going to cover my
49:47face." When I first started praying, I'd
49:48cover my face. I didn't want anybody to
49:50know what I was saying.
49:52Oh Lord, I don't even know how to pray
49:53very good right now. So, I'm not going
49:54to let them know. So, I'm just covering
49:57my face. But I love you. And you know
49:59where my heart is. You know all my
50:02secret thoughts. In you is light and
50:04there is no darkness at all. And I need
50:07you. I need you to help me with my
50:09family. I need you to help my wife. I
50:11need you to help my children. I need you
50:13to bless my job. Oh Lord, you know that
50:15physical ailment that's been upon me and
50:19I don't have an answer. I need you,
50:21Lord. And I'm not too hesitant to bring
50:24it to you and ask you, oh Lord, give me
50:26your strength. Give me your wisdom. Oh
50:29God, you know the circumstance at work.
50:32Oh Lord, I need some favor from on high.
50:36And I'm coming to you, Lord, with all my
50:38heart. I'm letting you know I need you,
50:40Lord Jesus. I need you in my mind. I
50:43need you in my heart. I need you in my
50:45spirit. I need you to help me find
50:48wisdom, oh Lord. I don't want to try to
50:50live life without you. I don't want to
50:52try to figure it out on my own. I've
50:55done my best and I'll keep doing my
50:57best. But Lord, when I'm done with my
50:59best, I know I still need more. There's
51:02so much that I do not know. There's so
51:06much that I can't figure out. There's so
51:09many things that are in front of me that
51:10I got to get right, oh Lord. And I can't
51:13get it right without you. And I want you
51:16to know that. I know that. I'm here to
51:19seek your face. I'm here to turn from my
51:22own ways.
51:25You hear that?
51:28That's what it is. That's what it is.
51:30When you pray,
51:32the house is a house of prayer. I'm
51:35opening this altar right now. Why don't
51:38you open your shutters and let the light
51:41come in? Why don't you let the light
51:44come in?
51:50Come and talk to the Lord a little while
51:54of the world. You step down into