Untitled Sermon (29)

Light is good

In Genesis 1:3 God makes light and calls it GOOD

This is the first major development of the world once God has created the heavens and Earth. God looks upon his creation and sees that it is without form and void, and it is DARK- and God’s first item of business is to do something about the darkness. So he calls out light and calls that light good.

This is not just a statement for that moment it time- this becomes a statement for eternity light is good!! Scripture declares this truth over and over again throughout the Bible. The entire work of Scripture continues to create the metaphor that light is good and a symbol of moral purity and ethical behavior. Listen to a few passages that highlight the idea of light:

John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

1 john 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Psl 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psl 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

It seems quite obvious that in the KOG light is GOOD

Darkness is evil

But in order for something to be good- there must be an adverse, something that is evil. In the Scripture evil is portrayed as darkness. Why? Because darkness is the absence of light; or the absence of God. When we embrace darkness it is also embracing the absence of God in our lives.

Again, listen to a few of the passages when the Bible speaks about darkness

John 11:10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.””

Col 1:13 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”

Eph 5:11 “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

Light and Darkness cannot coexist

Now, this is important, so don’t miss it- light and darkness cannot coexist.

Light and darkness are not like colors. I can take 2 colors and blend them together and make a new color. This is primary color wheel. Blue and red make purple; red and yellow make orange. Something beautiful can come from mixing them.

Light and darkness are not like flavors. We can mix flavors and make something new. Sweet and salty, spicy and sweet; things like mango habanero hot wings; chocolate dipped pretzels; applewood smoked chicken— and my favorite, the maple bacon donut- show us that we can take opposite or conflicting flavors and mix them to make something delicious.

Light and darkness are not sounds. I can take different tones like an A and E and put them together and make a chord that is pleasing to the ear. I can take a piano and a guitar and play them together and make beautiful music; I can make harmonies and expressions and weave them together to make a breath taking musical experience.

But friends the Scriptures tell us that light and darkness cannot coexist. John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

We live in a world that has tried to convince us that we can take the light of the Scripture and the darkness of this world and we can allow the two to coexist and create a peaceful place where new revelations of God can be found; but the truth is that the only thing that happens when darkness and light collide is chaos. And if you wonder what God says about chaos look no further than 1 Cor 14:33 “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,”

Our God us a God of order and peace, this is why he provides clear and direct teaching in his word. He does not want us to stumble, trip, or fall in darkness; he does not want us to get lost or disoriented in the chaos around us, so he delivers us clarity in the Word of God.

God calls us to be bearers of light

As carriers of the word of God, we are invited- even required- to be light bearers.

Hear Jesus’ words in John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

How do we know if someone is a follower of Jesus, they will have the light of life

This phrase from Jesus is important, and it is important for us to understand the construct that Jesus is talking about here.

First, the phrase “will have the light of life” is an indicative phrase- or a cause and effect statement- if this is true; than this must be true as well.

For example-

If you are alive then you have a heartbeat

If you jump off a bridge then you will fall

If you get into water then you will get wet

These are indicative phrases- you cannot separate the truths that are connected in them.

So Jesus makes this indicative statement- if you follow Jesus then you will have the light of life.

If you want to know if someone is following Jesus- if you want a litmus test of how closely you are following him- take a look at how the light of the Word of God is manifesting in your life.

But this statement of Jesus is also a verb- it is an action statement. To have the light of life is an action statement. It requires commitment, deliberative action.

The light of life lives in us, but we choose to carry it as an action, we choose how that light will break out of 1

Carrying the light of Christ is an act of War

But make no mistake friend, carrying the light of Christ is not always sunshine and roses.

Often we project the idea of carrying the light of Christ as something that is fun and we make it seem like everyone loves light- but check this out

Eph 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

I kno that many Christians can get unc at this thought, but friends we are in a spiritual war. And war is not easy and war is not fun. We must remember that when the world, or when Satan is coming against us that it does not mean we are doing something wrong, it means we are doing something right.

In fact, I might be as bold as to say that if you have not been attacked by Satan or the world lately you may want to see how you are walking with Jesus. Because if your enemy is not threatened by you, they have no reason to attack you.

In warfare, there is always an objective. In many wars, the objective is land. For example, in the Middle East, Israel and the Palestinians are fighting because they both want to have the same land. In Afghanistan we’re fighting because we want to destroy the power base of terrorism. Hitler fought because he wanted to create a “superior” race. The Southern states fought the Civil War because they wanted to be free from the oppression of the Northern States. The Gulf War was fought because the U.S. wanted to end the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, so they could have access to oil. I mention all of these wars, not because I want to say who was right or wrong, but to show that in every war, there is an objective. There is a reason we are fighting the war. And the same is true with spiritual warfare. If we are going to wage war on Satan’s kingdom, we have to know what our objective is. Our objective, our mission is to rescue people from Satan’s grip. To free them from his control. Just as Jesus said at the start of his ministry.

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