From Darkness To Light

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

The other day my wife and I went to see the new remake movie of “True Grit” starring Jeff Bridges as the character John Wayne created called “Rooster Cogburn.” Good movie but let’s face it, it does not even come close to beating the original. No man can fill John Wayne’s shoes. This is not just my opinion, it is fact. John Wayne was a stand up man all the way and set an example of what a real man should be. This article however, is not about a review of the movie. When my wife and I walked into the Hollywood Theater in Joplin, Missouri, it was super dark. I mean you could not see a foot in front of you. The previews were still going on and whatever movie they were advertising had a dark setting with no light on the screen. Whenever a second or so of light did come on the preview we could see the theater was pretty full with the exception of the very front which most adults do not like to sit in. We both had to stand there a few minutes waiting until the screen gave off enough light in order to find a seat. In other words as long as we were in the darkness we were helpless.

Many people are helpless today and are walking in darkness because they do not have God in their lives. Life without God is life in the dark. They cannot see where they are going because the darkness has blinded their eyes. As a matter of fact, it is what we Southerners refer to as “pitch black.” The term “pitch black” means coal black, like being in a coal mine under the ground. Without light one would be lost. We need light to see where we are going. Jesus said “ I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12) This is one of many reasons people need to rely upon Jesus.

We are not just talking about a dark movie theater. People go through life stumbling around in darkness never knowing where they are going because the darkness has blinded their eyes. Most people know I am the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. For years I was in darkness myself until I saw the light and renounced hate, dedicating my life to Jesus Christ. I have been dedicated to Christ 21 years at the time of this writing and have been preaching for 20. Most people think I must be constantly harassed by the KKK, Neo-Nazis, Skinheads and other White Supremacists because they label me as a traitor. Yes, these people do harass me from time to time, but the people who give me the most trouble are so-called “brothers and sisters” in Christ. That’s right..so-called “fellow” believers. I have put up with these sick twisted mentally deranged people almost all of my Christian life. They have attacked me, called me names, spread false rumors, wrote horrible things about me, denounced me from their pulpits, cheated me out of money, wrote letters to pastors of churches encouraging them not to have me and to join them in stopping my ministry, tried to break up friendships and relationships, and told outright damnable lies and gossip about me. They do this all in the name of the Lord because it somehow gives them a feeling of “peace” if they can justify their actions with “God told me to shut down Johnny Lee’s ministry.”

What it really boils down to is a four-letter word called, hate. They will say, “Oh I don’t hate anyone, but God wants me to expose Johnny Lee as a son of Satan or a charlatan at best.” It does not matter whether they say they don’t hate or not because their actions expose them for what they are. In other words, actions speak louder than words. There is nothing more sickening than to see these types of people carrying on this way and using the Lord to do it.

They fail to realize the word of God says in 1 John 2:11 “Those who hate other believers are in the dark and live in the dark. They don't know where they're going, because they can't see in the dark.” 1 John 1:6 “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” 1 John 4:20 “If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

You see after reading and doing a study of these scriptures I have a full understanding of these people and what they are all about. They are NOT Christians according to the Word of God. Those who hate and display the actions of hate are in darkness and they do not know God and will be in hell, and that is sad. Ok, here it comes, as I am sure someone will write or comment, “Who are you to judge them? Judge not lest ye be judged also.” That seems to be the only scripture the “all-grace-no-repentance-new modern-new gospel- new change the word of God crowd,” people seem to know. If they would bother to read the rest of the Bible, and especially the scriptures I have written above they would see God’s word is plain that anyone who hates his brother is not only in darkness but does not know God. Titus 1:16 “They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good.”

As a matter of fact, those who claim to be pastors or just plain old Christians who go around attacking other ministries, 9 out of 10 times it is because they suffer from what I call the “Cain-syndrome.” Cain harbored a rotten attitude toward not only his brother Abel but God Himself after God rejected his tiny little offering of chump change chicken feed compared to what Abel offered to God. Cain could have afforded to give God plenty more but didn’t. When God rejected it, Cain let his bitterness turn to jealously, which became hate, which led to rage, resulting in an outburst of anger, in which he murdered his own brother. Our attitude often determines the outcome of our actions and emotions. For example when someone blows up and says horrible things in anger, it can often be traced to a bad attitude towards someone. That is why we must keep our emotions in check and watch out for negative attitudes toward our fellow believers.

It is easy to fall into this trap. You may be sitting around with a group of people in the lunchroom at work who are all talking turns gossiping about a co-worker. You may be privileged to set at the lunch table at school where the “In-crowd” popular people sit, and may feel tempted to join in with them when they are putting down other students, like the new kid in school or the poor kid who can’t afford to dress as trendy. You may feel tempted to take what you pastor says as “gospel truth” when he is putting down another preacher without ever having researched it yourself or talked to the person being assailed. You may have even been interested in dating someone but dumped them because of what your friends said about them, that may not have even been true. You are no different than Adam and Eve. Sin looked tempting to them so they chomped down on the forbidden fruit even though God told them to stay away from it.

So what could have prevented this? Trusting in God’s warnings and instructions which are found in His Good Book. He is the one who will keep you out of darkness, but you have to trust Him and obey His word. Trust and Obey, there is no other way!

Genesis 1:3-4 says God filled the dark void with light and then pronounced it good. Light gets rid of darkness and brings vision!

Where are you at today in your life? Is there darkness or light? Are you bothered constantly about that idiot at church who is gossiping about you or that co-worker on the job who might be trying to get you fired? Maybe you have the coach or teacher in school that constantly puts you down in front of your classmates and makes you feel like you are the stupidest person on earth? Maybe you are in the ministry and you have so-called “fellow believers” that suffer from the Cain-syndrome who are trying their best to kill your ministry and your reputation out of jealously?

Ecclesiastes 2:14 “The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.”

If you have been walking in darkness and have lost your way, there is a way out of the darkness.

In 1908, Minnie Louise Haskins wrote the following:

I said to the man who stood at the gate

'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God

That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'

©Johnny Lee Clary 2011

www.johnnyleeclary.com

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.