“A Faith That Revels in Darkness” by The Rev. Kaji S. Douša

March 14th,2017 Categories: Pastor Kaji's Blog

I’d like to talk about a faith that revels in darkness. In Revelation, the book of Revelation, written by John of Patmos, one of the things that he talks about is what he calls a Nicolaitan Christian. Now what is a Nicolaitan Christian? It goes back to Nicodemus, who we hear about in John, the Gospel of John, chapter 3. Many of you may know this passage, because John 3:16 is really important, it’s one that everyone talks about. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whosoever believeth in him may not perish but have eternal life.” Lots of people talk about that passage and when they only focus on that, and they start to figure out ways to deny God’s love to people who perhaps don’t believe in Jesus Christ, then they’re operating in a faith that lives in darkness. Because they’re not paying attention to all the words of Jesus. If you take a text out of its context, then you can lose the point – which is a faith that wants to focus in on something narrow so that very few people make it through, instead of being expansive. Because then Jesus says, “For God sent me not to condemn the world,” but because God loves the world so deeply. So, when Jesus was talking about this, he was talking to a man named Nicodemus, who came to Jesus not in the bold daylight, but hid his faith and came at night.  And it took Jesus dying on the cross before Nicodemus would actually stand up for his faith more publicly. And so I ask, do we need Jesus to die again before we’re willing to live in the light? Is that the kind of faith we want? Or will we step into the light and take risks, and notice God, and trusting God to protect us? That is a key question for this time and this age. Amen.

Pastor Kaji’s full sermon is available here: https://parkavenuechristian.com/sermon-video-creatures-of-the-night-by-the-rev-kaji-dousa-sunday-march-12/