TOPIC:"Shining Lights In the Darkest of Nights"
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Philippians 2:12-18
"Shining there like lights in a dark world" (Philippians 2:15, Phillips)
We presently live in a dark and dismal world. People have lost their way. They are afraid of going out at night. This was brought vividly to my attention when I was invited a short time ago to conduct a Bible conference in a high crime area outside of Boston, Massachusetts. A high steel fence enclosed the church. The services were held during daylight because people refused to leave their homes at night. We live in dark days. And this darkness has penetrated into almost every aspect of life in this 21st century.
The foundations upon which our country was founded are being torn asunder. Though no nation can make progress in a downward direction, America continues to go downward. In 1962 voluntary prayer was removed from our public schools. In 1963 Bible reading was no longer permitted in the classroom. And some forty years later this trend still continues to exist. At present a strong movement is under way to eliminate the words "In God We Trust" from our coins and the tablets of the Ten Commandments are no longer allowed to be exhibited in our courtrooms. One wonders if it is ever going to stop.
This darkness has entered into the home which is the very foundation of our existence as a society. The institution of marriage as we have known it from biblical times has descended into a state of disarray. Many feel the traditional family is on the verge of extinction. The homosexual agenda is now being imposed on our country. A proposal that would support same-sex marriages in countries throughout the world is being considered by the United Nations. Sodomy is now accepted as a constitutional right.
And in a very moving editorial by Charles Colson in the June edition of Christianity Today for this year, he sets forth his belief that only a marriage amendment to the Constitution by Congress can stop the Supreme Court from imposing its own will of legalizing gay marriages.
Or take the diminishing influence of the church during these dark days. In many respects Christianity has now become big business. The church's motto seems to be: "If it's popular do it." Anything to get a crowd. Hardly any allegiance to anyone or commitment to anything. The Golden Rule as given to us by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount has just about been shattered. It has now been changed to read: "Do in others before they do in you." That's how the church of today looks to many people. Even some of our evangelical leaders are calling for another Reformation.
Never before in my lifetime has evil been so widespread as it is today. Hypocrisy, corruption and mistrust are prevalent . . .