The Light of the Lord
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Darkness characterized the human experience for around 4000 years. The Bible is primarily about God holding out a hand for humanity and giving them the true Light of His Son.
Many have tried to impersonate that light. (Story of Prometheus - employed in secret societies as the story of Satan, who “granted” humanity the gift of knowledge).
Psalm 89:15-18
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
How Does God’s Light Work?
How Does God’s Light Work?
God is the true source of light.
God is light - 1 John 1:5
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
God’s son is light - John 8:12
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
God’s word is light. Psa. 119:105; 2 Cor. 4:4
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
We are the reflectors of God’s light.
We are intended to be the light of the world. Matt. 5:14 ; Phil 2:15
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Candlesticks/lamps are only the bearers of light, not the source.
We are meant to glorify the Source of light. 1 Cor 3:6-7
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
God invites us to walk in His light even when we are sinful.
God invites us to walk in His light even when we are sinful.
In the midst of their rebellion, God invites His People to walk in His light. Is. 2:5
O house of Jacob, come and let us walk
In the light of the Lord.
Turn with me there! Look at the darkness surrounding this verse, yet the hope implied in its simple plea.
This is how God beckons to us. Not through carnal entertainments or emotionalism, but simple, loving truth.
The light of the Messiah is the clearest light to those in darkness! Is. 9:1–7
Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed,
As when at first He lightly esteemed
The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward more heavily oppressed her,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
In Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation
And increased its joy;
They rejoice before You
According to the joy of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian.
For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle,
And garments rolled in blood,
Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The light of Jesus the Messiah changed the world!
Before Jesus, there was no eternal hope for mankind.
Maybe some imagined paradise, but in general the thought was “get all you can before you die” - a familiar thought for us!
If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
He is STILL changing the world - heart to heart.
God’s ability to redeem is light to those who think redemption is impossible. Is. 50:1–11
Thus says the Lord:
“Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce,
Whom I have put away?
Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you?
For your iniquities you have sold yourselves,
And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.
Why, when I came, was there no man?
Why, when I called, was there none to answer?
Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a wilderness;
Their fish stink because there is no water,
And die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with blackness,
And I make sackcloth their covering.”
“The Lord God has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.
The Lord God has opened My ear;
And I was not rebellious,
Nor did I turn away.
I gave My back to those who struck Me,
And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
“For the Lord God will help Me;
Therefore I will not be disgraced;
Therefore I have set My face like a flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
He is near who justifies Me;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us stand together.
Who is My adversary?
Let him come near Me.
Surely the Lord God will help Me;
Who is he who will condemn Me?
Indeed they will all grow old like a garment;
The moth will eat them up.
“Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys the voice of His Servant?
Who walks in darkness
And has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord
And rely upon his God.
Look, all you who kindle a fire,
Who encircle yourselves with sparks:
Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled—
This you shall have from My hand:
You shall lie down in torment.
A stark difference in the one who fears the Lord and the one who adores the “flame”!
We will not see the Light until we see the Darkness!
We will not see the Light until we see the Darkness!
There is much that can keep us from seeing the light.
The god of this world has blinded us and others. 2 Cor. 4:4
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
We can think darkness is light. Is. 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Darkness can look like light on account of Satan. 2 Cor. 11:14
And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
Often we fail to be where we ought to be in order to shine properly. Matt. 5:14-15
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
We have to become aware of our blindness. Is. 59
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies;
They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
The way of peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
“As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
Do we understand how weak and frail we really are without God?
2 “iniquities” separate us from God!
3 hands “defiled with blood”
4 no good being done by mankind!
8 “crooked paths” - these cannot bring us peace!
9-10 Justice far, righteousness cannot reach.
Look for light - DARKNESS
Brightness - walk in BLACKNESS
Grope like the blind.
Stumble at any hour of the day.
As dead men in empty places.
It is He alone who can save us from this!
Our condition displeases Him! It was “evil in his eyes” (Nestle) Why? Because HE LOVES US!
This ALONE should give us all the hope we need to take His hand and to stop living this way!
Failure to see the Light is proof of Blindness. John 8:12-19; 9:40-41
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
Sometimes it’s the Jews (general) speaking against Jesus in John’s Gospel. Here and in next passage it is specifically the Pharisees.
Their unwillingness to regard Jesus with any form of acceptance kept them from believing anything concerning what He said.
Jesus knew that His path led to light, not the darkness that the Jews were marching toward in their corrupt, selfish paths.
Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
This instance is where the blind man is healed, which reveals the works of God in him.
The Pharisees especially want to use this against Jesus, as this happened on the sabbath day.
In speaking with them toward the end of this story, Jesus lays bare that they simply do not comprehend what happened because of their sin.
They worked in darkness, trying to determine the truth of something! Let it never be said of us!
The Light Shines Through All Who Bear It.
The Light Shines Through All Who Bear It.
Jesus’ relationship to His Apostles carried the Light forward. John 12:35–50
Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Jesus admonishes them to believe in Him, yet they did not.
This fits the context of John, portraying Jesus as a lonely figure that no one else understands or fully believes until the end.
However, we see others believing Jesus, though they cannot outwardly express it for reason of cowardice.
Yet Jesus takes this time to establish a CHAIN of belief. If you do not believe Jesus, there is another you do not believe - His Father!
The purpose God has for us in sending the light will be DESTROYED by our lack of faith, and our lack of courage.
So be of good cheer! Have courage against the darkness! The light of the LORD will guide us through this dark world.
We carry the Light forward from the Apostles, and bear it to others. Eph. 5:9–21
(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Let the doctrine of the Apostles fill your heart.
Know it and live it. It is the doctrine of Christ.
Make yourself busy against the forces of darkness.
None of us will conquer with a “sweet disposition”. Rather, we must expose the unfruitful works of darkness.
This takes courage and valor! And God gives us all we need to have that courage. We give each other courage as we sing together!
The Light affects our relationships with each other. 1 John 1:5–9
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This text is very self-explanatory! If I want to be in fellowship with God and His people, I must be walking in the light, practicing the truth, confessing our sins.
The Light Encourages Us To Keep Working.
The Light Encourages Us To Keep Working.
We work in spite of resistance. John 11:7-10
Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
Lazarus’ resurrection would create even more trouble for Jesus in the days to come, yet He still went!
And he encouraged his disciples to come with him.
Jesus calls us all to suffer with Him. He makes us worthy of doing so!
So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.
We work looking toward the eventual rest. Rev. 21:22–27
But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.