Don't Stumble In The Dark

If you have your Bibles while they're transitioning, uh I want you to turn with me to Matthew chap 11. If you were in Sunday school this past Sunday when I read this text, uh you may think I'm I'm repreaching what I what I taught on Sunday because I did use just a little bit of what or use this text, but I moved quickly through it. But the Holy Ghost would bring me back to it this week and then add add what I feel for this for this service. So, if you have your Bibles, Matthew chapter 4, verses 4-6. To all of those that are watching online, thank you for thank you for tuning in. And I pray that you have church wherever you are with us tonight. Jesus answered and said unto them, "Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see." The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And I don't think it's ironic or a mistake in scripture for it to not end there because in verse number six it gives this powerful scripture. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Deuteronomy 29:29. Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse 29. The Bible says, "The secret things belong unto the Lord. our God. But those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me and the secret things belong to the Lord our God.

I want to I want to endeavor to teach tonight from this title. Don't stumble in the dark. Don't stumble in the dark.

Father, I need you tonight. I need your presence. I need your anointing. I know what you have spoken. I know what you have put into my spirit for this evening. I pray that you would clear any any cloud or any confusion, God. But let it synthesize, oh God, in your spirit what you will say unto the church tonight. I praise you and I I thank you for what you have spoken already through the song. Now pray. I pray you would anoint me this night in Jesus name we pray. Everybody say amen.

Don't stumble in the dark. May be seated. In Matthew chap 11, the gospel of St. Matthew, we find quite possibly what some would say is a shocking scene. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, the preparer of the way. The Bible would describe him the voice crying in the wilderness. This man declared, "Behold the lamb of God." He would baptize Jesus. He would do great and notable things preparing the way for the Messiah to come. But we find John at the portion of scripture that I just read sitting in a prison cell confined in this prison by Herod. This man of God who who once shook the hillside with his voice. He was not one to look upon, but he was one that would be heard echoing through that community. But now we we see him sitting in silence. We see him sitting in prison. And he sends word to Jesus. Art thou he that should come? or do we look for another? And I I could not ha help but uh get into the frame of mind, if you will, how John must have have felt. And then it proposed some questions. What happened to John, that bold preacher of repentance? What happened to that strong voice that was confidence at one confident at one time that was compelling and that was used mightily of God to announce the arrival of the Messiah. I can tell you from my study and look through commentary and multiple scriptures and multimate multiple layers of this I can best summarize what happened.

Prison happened. Delay happened. Silence happened. And Jesus responds through the prison, through the delay, through the silence. He would respond. Go and show John again those things which ye do. Hear and see. And he would say, "And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." And that word offended means to stumble. Jesus was trying to get John to see this and and to understand, John, don't trip over me because uh you don't understand this season of life. Don't trip over me because you don't understand what I'm doing. And greater than that, how I'm doing it. So I propose to us tonight uh what happens when God doesn't match our expectations. You see John preached fire. He declared the axe is laid to the root. The winnowing fan is in his hand. He even declared judgment is coming. John did this, but instead of fire falling, uh, the blind are seeing, the lame are walking, the poor are hearing the good news. Uh, John expected judgment, but Jesus brought mercy first. And from a prison cell, it looked confusing. From where he sat it looks so uh he was disillusioned in the darkness. Uh but let me help someone in this house tonight. Uh the greatest danger to our faith is not our persecution. Uh it's our unmet expectation. We don't stumble when God is obviously moving. We stumble when he appears silent.

That's where the trap of offense comes into play. The Greek word Jesus uses means trigger of a trap. Offense is is not just merely hurt feelings. It's spiritual snares. It begins suddenly. A prayer goes unanswered. A door closed. A promise delayed, a healing that you prayed so desperately for hasn't happened yet. A ministry season that you feel forgotten in and your heart whispers even on this Wednesday if he was really God or if he really loved me and what you don't realize it. Uh but I've come as your pastor to help you. the trap begins to close. Offense comes uh when expectation collides with mystery. There is a fragile place in the human heart uh where assumption meets reality. It's there where offense is born. We expected clarity but God often times gives us process. We expected arrival, but God ordained development. We expected explanation, but God just gave us mystery. He didn't explain himself. He didn't warn us. He didn't put it on our radar so we knew it was coming. uh somewhere between what we thought should happen and what actually unfolds this is where the soul is tempted to stumble but Jesus said blessed is the one who is not offended in me blessed hear me sec blessed is the one who doesn't let confusion turn into distrust Blessed is the one who says, "I may not understand it all, but I still trust you, Lord." Why?

Why? Why? Why can't How can you have that kind of attitude? And I feel my help that just walked in this room. I can tell you unashamedly, the secret is understanding that the secret things belong unto the Lord. The book of Deuteronomy says that the secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us. There are some things that belong to us, they are the revealed things. But the secret things you can't do anything about. The revealed is God is good even on a bad day. God is faithful when we are unfaithful. God keeps covenant when we don't. God cannot lie even when we may choose to. But let me just give you an insight to the to the secret things. You'll never understand why the prison, why the delay, why the silence, why this season, why am I here? Why am I going? There are some things that you just got to understand that there are revealed things and there are secret things. John knew the revealed. But what John was doing, he was wrestling with the secret things of God, the things he was not showing. And here's where our faith must mature. You must build your life on what God has revealed, not on what he has concealed from us. We've got to build our faith on what in our lives on what he has revealed because there are seasons when God feels hidden.

Can I get a witness right now? There are seasons where we God, where are you? Israel felt it in Egypt. David felt it in caves. Job felt it in the ash. John felt it in prison. Heaven can seem silent. But don't you ever mistaken silence for absence. Hidden does not mean inactive. Secret is not abandoned. The same Jesus healing the multitudes was the same Jesus fully aware, fully aware of what prison cell John was sitting in. Let me just tell somebody tonight in the Holy Ghost, while John questioned in prison, Jesus was defending him in public. You'll catch this in a minute. While John was questioning in prison, Jesus was out there defending him in public. Right after this passage, Jesus said, "There has not risen a greater than John the Baptist." Even when John felt uncertain, Jesus was outside the four walls of that prison honoring him. Uh telling about his goodness and greatness. Uh hear me tonight. Even when you feel forgotten, heaven ain't confused [groaning] of who you are. You may seem confused. You may be wondering, but let me tell you, God's not confused in who you are. He knows you. He knows the hair on your head. He knows right where you are and what season of life you're in. But the real test of your faith is this. Faith is easy when miracles are visible. But faith is mature when God seems invisible.

That's right. It's easy to believe when you're seeing the blind eyes open. It's easy to believe when the lame are walking. It's easy to believe when God all the bills are paid. Come on, let's get It's easy to believe when it's just we're we're operating in the overflow. But where your faith is mature and where your faith stands strong in God is when it seems God is invisible. I can shout when the Red Sea opens. But can you trust him when you're standing still on the seashore? The secret things belong to the Lord. I've lived long enough. 51 seems short years. I look back and it seems as though I just blinked. But I can emphatically say sometimes God just doesn't explain himself. But let me tell you, brother Ted, what he does, babe, we've lived this. We know. Let me tell you how good God is. He reveals enough to sustain us, but not enough to satisfy our curiosity. He'll reveal just enough to sustain you, but not enough to satisfy our curiosity. And that's where offense grows. When we demand explanations that God never promised to give, never did, never does. Offense oftent times happen. It happens in the dark. You know, I've I've watched this 17 years. Some people don't backslide because of sin. They backslide because of offense. They prayed, they believed, they served, they sacrificed, but something didn't turn out like they thought it would.

and and and and instead of saying the secret things belong to the Lord, they interpret that God failed me and they stumble. But you hear your pastor clearly, you cannot judge God's faithfulness by one unfinished chapter. You cannot judge God's faithfulness by one unfinished chapter. John did not know that his prison was part of prophecy. He did not know his martyr would seal his testimony forever. He did not know Jesus would immortalize his name in scripture because all John could see was the bars. All he could see was the prison. But God was looking and he saw fulfillment. Can you trust God if he fulfills your purpose when you don't understand? Can you trust God to fulfill your mission in life when he doesn't give you all the details and remain undefended and not stumble in the dark? What I've been feeling so strong in our church from many in this room, many families, and you hadn't confessed this to me, so I'm I I'm I'm truly operating through the vein of prayer, through the vein of discernment. You would say, "I don't understand this season. I don't like this process. But here's what I feel is rising up in some of you. That's why you're here tonight. I refuse to be offended at him. I refuse to be offended at him. Cuz I can't explain what some of you have been through. I can't explain the valleys that some of you are walking in right now.

I can't explain the seasons of life. I can't explain the valleys and I I can't explain the loss. I can't explain it. Uh but what I'm coming after tonight is people in this room under the sound of my voice, those that are watching online, I refuse to be offended at him. I refuse, brother Chris, to trip over what I can't explain. [panting] I'm not going to trip over what I can't explain. I don't know. I don't know the wise God, but I feel like I'm sitting in darkness. Uh, but God's still the God of the darkness. Uh, he's still the God of your dark hours. Uh, he's still the God that knows right where you are. Don't trip in the dark over what you can't explain. How can you say that pastor? Because the secret things belong to him. But the revealed belong to me in what he has revealed. Gives me faith. Brother Paul gives me faith. Sister Paula. He has been faithful. He's revealed that to me. He is still sovereign. He is still faithful. He is working all things for my good. I I bind that spirit that says uh he's left me. He's forsake. No, no, no, no. He's still closer than a brother. He's still here. He's still working even in the chaos for my good. And I got a word I got to preach over somebody right now. He will finish what he started. I said he will finish what he started. He's still working while you're sleeping.

He's still working when you can't comprehend it. He's still working when he seems invisible. Amen. [sighs and gasps] If he's faithful, if he's sovereign, if he's working things for my good, if he finishes what he started, I've just come to I've come to tell you in the Holy Ghost with a spirit that emphatically got to get in some of you, I will not stumble. I will not stumble because there's a blessing on the unoffended. I said there's a blessing on the unoffended. Jesus said bless it. Bless it. Let me tell you where that what that means. That means you're favored. That means you're steady. That means you're established. Am I talking to any blessed people in this room right now? Blessed. There is a blessing on you who survived confusing seasons without getting bitter. There's a blessing when you don't understand why you hadn't got a contract, why you hadn't got a call, but you're still faithful. when the jobs are dried up and you're still faithful. When the when the calls are not coming or when the kids are when the grandkids and when life and whatever it is, there's a blessing on who survives the confusing seasons and not get better. Some of the strongest saints in this church will not be those who saw the most miracles. You may never see a blind eye open. You may not ever see a deaf ear unstopped.

You may never see the lame walk. But I'm going to tell you, the strongest saints that we'll see in this generation till you die will be those who trusted through the silence. who trusted and didn't get offended in him when it didn't work out the way you thought it would. In the prison season, it's tempting when you're wrestling with unanswered questions. It's tempting to quietly withdraw and try to fade out into the abyss. But if you would hear the words of Jesus, if you would hear the words of our savior, blessed is he who is not offended in me. I can't explain how some of you made it through and why things have happened in your eye. We're not made to understand the secret things. We're not made. They belong to God. But if I could ask you to focus on the revealed things, the reveal. Here's one of the most dangerous things that can happen in your life is you let this season you're in right now redefine who he is in your life. You can't let this season redefine who he is. Don't let Don't let delay distort his character because he has been on time. You go back through your life and I didn't know how he was going to do it, but he showed up right on time. I didn't know when it was coming, but it was right on time. Ah, I'll never forget, and you've heard me use it, and I'll use it forever.

I'll never forget, we needed $800 for rent. We were we were at St. Meritz in in Mobile, Alabama and job transitions and three kids and we didn't know how we we left our home in Meridian, moved to Mobile in a faith move and all times were tough. We were hanging on by a thread. My pastor who's gone on to meet his reward would knock on that door. The Lord sent me here today and handed me a envelope of money. Said, "Here's $800 to pay your rent today." I'll never forget that because when times get tough and I don't know how it's going to happen, I go back down memory lane and I say, "I refuse to get offended in this season because I've been in a season like this and he always came through. It came in different measures. It came in different ways, but he came through on time. You can't distort my view of his character. You can't distort my view of how good he is and how good he's been. Don't you let the secret things cause you to stumble over the revealed things that you know he's done and you know he is. Don't let it happen. Don't let it happen in the dark. Cuz if you do, you'll become a casualty. You'll become a what has been. You'll become and live the rest of your life in regret. Don't let the secret things cause you to stumble over the revealed. Some of you are some of you sit tonight.

I was alone with the Lord today. You're not doubting God's existence, but Brother Paul, you're questioning I'm not saying you, but Brother Paul, there's a questioning of his timing. You're not denying his power, but oh, we're sitting back. We are struggling with his method. But the spirit sent me on this Wednesday to tell you, you got to get it. You got to get it now. I don't know what you're going to face tomorrow. I don't know what you're going to face Thursday. I don't know the decisions by Saturday. You've got to get this in your hearts. Don't stumble now. Don't trip in the dark. Don't let offense rob you of destiny. Crucify your flesh. Throw your pride at the feet of the cross and say unto him, God, I'm not made to know the secret things that are reserved for you, but I will walk and obey in the revealed things that I've been made to know. Lord, some things just are reserved for you. But I can tell you what I'm going to do tonight. And I'm standing on the revealed. I'm standing, Sister Amy, on the revealed things. He's been good to me. He's been faithful to me. He's been true to me. He's never left me nor forsaken me. My faith is so strong right now as I stand before you. And I feel you feel it in this room today that's going to rise up in you. I trust you in my prison. I trust you in the silence.

I trust you in what I cannot see. I trust you when I don't understand. And because of who you are, I shall not will not be offended in you. We can say we're offended at one another. I think offense, my own personal belief, the deep root of offense, it starts vertical, not horizontal. Because if you love the law, if you love the word, and he is the word, he said nothing shall offend you. That's right. If we can get this right, this will get right. But when this is fractured and when this is broke, that's why brothers against brothers, sisters against sisters, sons and daughters against this is broken. But if I can get my spirit right and unoffended at God because of what he may have not done the way he we thought he should, life will start making more sense and life will begin to start you'll begin to understand and it be revealed to you that had to happen before you could get here. That had to take place before this could unfold. I look through all my life and it if that hadn't happened, this wouldn't have happened. If that had and I look and I'm like at the time I'm questioning the secret and I'm nearly not embracing the revealed. But the moment I re embraced the revealed, life started getting a little bit better. Life started getting a little more fulfilling. I tr I I tried to quit worrying about what only God knew and I started operating in what I was privileged to know and walk by faith and not by sight.

Walking by faith and not by sight. Walking with you, oh Lord. Where are you tonight? What what what season of life are you in? What's pulling and what's drawing? What's distracting? What's what's tearing? Because the moment you can identify it, the moment you can say, "Okay, God, I'm going to walk in the revealed and I'm not going to stumble in my dark." I want you to stand all over this house. I've delivered what the Lord gave me. I just feel like somebody needs to step out of that pew and just walk to this front. You just need to step out where you are and say, "God, I want this altar to be a safe place. I want this altar to be a place that you can come. And this is this is where God's going to reveal some things to you. This is where God's going to God's going to begin to God's going to begin to reassure you that the season you're in, the place he has put you, he's put in place for you to be able to make some decisions based on the revealed. based upon the revealed. Based on the revealed, I can declare I still I will trust you. Still I will I will trust you, oh God. Oh, still I'll trust you. Oh, I'll trust you, God. I'll trust you in the secret place. I'll trust you when I'm on the back side of the desert and you you won't let me see what I want to see, but you you'll cover me.

You'll just let me see the kinder parts. You see, there was just some things God could not reveal. There was some things he had to keep secret. There's something there's just something about our God. Proverbs read in Proverbs today. God, he he doesn't show us everything. He hides some things. I can't remember the exact portion of scripture, but it's it's the kings that search out, but God just kind of he just hides things. I wonder if sometimes he hides us. He hides. something about hide and seek. We'll count to 10 and we're trying to find the thing that's hidden. We're trying to find where he is. And there's joy that comes in the pursuit. But it does get frustrating when you cannot find him after many hours and many days of searching. But it's because our perspective is slightly skewed. The joy is in the journey. The joy is in the pursuit of him. Because the more I seek him, the more I do find of him. The more I seek of him, it seems like the more he becomes real to me and I intimacy becomes so true and real. And so tonight, God may have played a game of hide and seek with you. Maybe it feels like God's hidden in God's silent. And I just believe God tonight is trying to get you on a journey with him. A journey of trust, a journey of being okay with some secrets he never reveals.

Being content with knowing he knows what's best for me. Being content knowing he loves me unconditionally. If you feel that way tonight, why don't you lift your voice? Let the pursuit begin.