“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
INTRO: Welcome to room # 5 “Light dispels”. Come into the curtained space, and take in the darkness. Then, as you walk into the room, see what happens to darkness when it encounters light. Wherever light shines, dark places stop being dark. Darkness is no match for light. Darkness has never wrestled with light and overpowered it. Never! Light always wins. When light touches darkness, the darkness runs away. Light dispels darkness.
WHAT IT MEANS: Because we are creatures of darkness we cannot get rid of our darkness. It’s impossible to eradicate ourselves of sin. It’s not that we don’t try and some make a valiant effort by moral reform, by good deeds, by charitable giving, by religious devotion, by prayers and tears. Some throughout history have even gone weeks without food and tortured themselves to purge their darkness away. But none of that works. The Bible says that “by the works of the law no man is justified”. This means that we cannot by good works make ourselves innocent. We cannot wash away our sins. We cannot get rid of our guilty stains. The good news is that God came into the world and took all our darkness upon himself in exchange for his light. The Bible says, The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:5 Christ is the light of the world and when we turn to him our darkness is dispelled; our guilt is removed; our heart is flooded with light. This encounter we have with the light of the world transforms us from the inside out. The Bible calls this new birth. We are translated from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of light (Col 1).
PRAYER: God of Light, I can’t get rid of my own darkness. I can try with all my might to do good things. I can become religious and follow the strictest rules. I can pray and cry, but none of it can take away my darkness. And if I come to the end and stand before you with this darkness in me, I’ll be separated from you and all your goodness, forever, in the dark. There’s only one person who can get rid of the darkness: Jesus Christ, the Light of the world! When I come to Him, my darkness is dispelled, my guilt is removed, and my heart is flooded with light. Jesus, you came into the world for this reason: to take our darkness on yourself and replace it with Your Light.
