High Beams!

Garrett Cantey reads and prays

Luke 11:33–36 NKJV

33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

Luke 18:16 NKJV

16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

Prayer-Garrett

Message

Thank you Garrett.

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Luke 18:16 “16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.”

I showed that scene because that is the epitome of what Jesus is talking about. The scene reflects that children have an unbridled expression in life. Young children have no filter, bar none, no hold back, all out joy in the moment they are experiencing.

Think of this frozen moment as we parallel the spiritual concept of light mentioned in the Bible. We read this morning of an allegory about light. Light is an extremely important concept to Jesus.

Are you aware that the word light is mentioned in the Bible 260 times?

Notice the origin of light and its importance.

Genesis 1:1–5 (NKJV)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

John 1:1–5 (NKJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Revelation 22:5 “5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”

I believe by this point that you get it. Light is spelled out all through the word of God representing our spiritual sight.

Jesus mentions light in similarity in the following places:

Matthew 5:15 “15 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.”

Luke 8:16 “16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.”

And here again this morning as we study this parable of the lighted lamp in Luke 11:33-36.

The Principle of Light is to Illuminate v. 33

Luke 11:33 “33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.”

I entitled the message this morning, “High Beams!” And for good reason, spiritually speaking, the Lord never intended for us to operate on low beams. Remember, “we must come as little children and such is the kingdom of God.” God’s spiritual light in us has one setting, all out, full lumens! Read what Jesus Himself states in this parable.

“no one”-you know what that means in the Greek, no one. No one operates their lights on low beam or use a dimmer switch as it relates to our spiritual lighting. Jesus states that no one lights a lamp and puts in a secret place or under a basket to tone the illumination down. Anyone in right mind would gain all the lumens from the light source they are using and the Lord calls us to do the same thing.

As I think about that scene I showed of our grandchildren totally unbridled in joy over the moment, we as grandparents along with their parents had to subdue that energy when we went to public places to eat for example. They had to harness all that and at a young age that is a feat to bridle them back. The world teaches us to tone it down, to harness, to bridle back. God never intended for you to be reserved, toned down, watered down or hold back as it relates to the spiritual high beams of joy that radiate from your life.

Romans 1:20 “20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”

Ill. How many of you have experienced thunderstorms each day over these last days? The Sun-clouds and storms on Friday. Lightning came and went. Clouds and rains came and went. The winds came and went. Was the sun consistent? Can you bank on the consistency of the sun? The sun shined at its same brilliance all through the day. Other factors block or subdue, but the sun never quits shining. How do I know that? Flight commercially and get up to 30,000 feet and you will quickly discover the sun’s consistency.

John 8:12 “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.””

The Penetration of Light is to Segregate vv. 33-35

Luke 11:33-35 “33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.”

There is a universal rule about light or the lack thereof.

When light is beamed in the proper direction, light is a great revelator. Light reveals and it distinguishes, it offers clarity, it separates good from bad.

Light reports itself and its brilliance, its lumen. There is no hiding the brightness of light.

Matthew 5:14-15 “14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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.”

Have you ever had an embarrassing moment when something about your appearance could not be overcome. We had a former Associate Pastor at my church when I served as laity. He was aging and he used Grecian Formula for Men on his hair to overcome graying. Undoubtedly he mixed the product wrong or used too heavy a dose and he came to church with purple hair. True story!

Oh listen dearly beloved, your light will flame up or flame out and everyone knows it.

Both a secret place and under a basket refers to hidden light or the lack thereof. Dearly beloved, quite simply, the opposite of light is darkness. Go back to Genesis 1:4 “4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

And there the great chasm, the great divide was created. John 1:4-5 “4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Jesus’ light in our lives gives us life. When we subdue or hide that light is when problems begin for us and the others we influence. There is no middle ground.

Revelation 3:15 “15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.”

Luke 16:13 “13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.””

Oh dear church listen to me, we can not find middle ground, or low beam living for Jesus.

Does our world need light? Do we see the outcome of our world both close and far as it relates to lowbeam living?

Ill. Riverfront Boat Fight- four arrests

Ill. Maui-80 people. The largest in US History killed by wildfires. LAHAINA, Hawaii

“The lamp of the body is the eye”

Light reveals segregation from good and bad in our lives. The pipeline of that data that affects our hard drives is the eyes.

Ill. Prilosec On Wednesday, the journal Neurology published an attention-grabbing study, reporting a possible link between taking heartburn medications like Prilosec and developing dementia.

So, it goes without saying that I stopped taking omniprazole for acid reflux. Just as those things we eat or take in, so does the things we consume with our eyes.

Firstly, ask yourself this question. Would I watch this with anyone else in the room? Dearly beloved, if you are watching things that are in secret or hidden from someone else, there is a 99% chance you do not need to be watching it.

Remember as I described the kids unadulterated, all out joy and the difficulty of harnessing that. We have allowed the world to teach us to harness our lights and we become desensitized because we are not in the light. When your spiritual lights are on dim you find no fault in watching an R-rated movies. Brother Luke, do you realize there are less than a handful of movies produced each year that would be G rated and that is all that is written this day and time is R-rated movies. What else am I going to watch?

Sociologist with PHD’s struggle to find correlations between sexual crimes, a crime of pedophilia and the watching of pornography or filthy magazines. Law Enforcement knows well that when they go into make an arrest, invariably they find a room filled with filthy pictures or an audit trail of pornography that has infiltrated the minds of the criminal to influence their thinking.

Genesis 3:5–6 (NKJV)

5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Listen dearly beloved, the eyes are the birthplace of your problems. The eyes are lamps and they become dulled when they are taking in those things that bring darkness in your life.

v. 35 “Take heed that the light in you is not darkness.” We talk about the spiritual life and sin as a great chasm, the great separator.

So, when you live a double life of a sin in secret and continue to participate in those sinful activities, your senses of the things of God become dulled.

Luke 8:10 “10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’”

You might find yourself in a place this morning where you are without answer to life circumstances. You may be finding life dull or meaningless. Or, it may be a little more innocent. You just do not have that spark, that laughter, that joy in your spiritual walk. Ask yourself this question. What have I allowed in my life to dull the light’s brilliance in my life?

Hebrews 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

The sun has never quit shining. What clouds, what rains, what storms, what lighting have I allowed in my life to block the light of Jesus in my life?

Proverbs 15:30 “30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.”

What is your mind stayed on? Let’s assume your focus is more innocent. You pride yourself on being news savvy. As a pastor, I attempt to be news savvy to avoid embarrassing myself, but let me tell you something. If you read or listen to 10 articles, 1 will be positive reports and 9 will be negative reporting.

Romans 12:2 “2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Focus on the Good News! Fill your mind with the Word of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:13 “13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.”

How can you regain the light?

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

The Purpose of Light is to Regenerate

I truly wonder if we really know how much light means to our lives. Light brings regeneration in our lives.

In a National Geographic Article about Photosynthesis, the article states:

Most life on Earth depends on photosynthesis.The process is carried out by plants, algae, and some types of bacteria, which capture energy from sunlight to produce oxygen (O2) and chemical energy stored in glucose (a sugar). Herbivores then obtain this energy by eating plants, and carnivores obtain it by eating herbivores.

I was sharing with Brother Neal about mine and Terry’s trip to Alaska and thanking him for exposing us to the ministry needs in Alaska. He knew Jae McGhee and wife Carol well. He had made many trips to Alaska and one of the things when he served with NAMB was to bring the spouses of the missionaries to the states temporarily and show them NAMB hospitality and restoration before going back to Alaska. He shared that the spouses would cry unmercifully over the winter months of darkness and they would do anything not to have to go back.

Juneau Inside Passage (Southeast Alaska Panhandle) 6 hours 22 minutes

Anchorage Southcentral 5 hours 28 minutes

Fairbanks Interior 3 hours 42 minutes

Barrow The Arctic: 330 miles north of Arctic Circle 67 days of darkness

Oh dear church, darkness is your enemy, darkness is my enemy, darkness is the enemy of the church.

Luke 11:36 “36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.””

Oh dearly beloved, the Lord would have us lives a life on high beams shining His glory everywhere we go. And, when our eyes are not focused on the things that we should, our minds and hearts are dulled to the things of God.

Matthew 5:16 “16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

One of the beautiful hymns we sing and I will ask Michael to lead us after the Invitation this morning as we depart.

Heavenly Sunlight lyrics

1 Walking in sunlight, all of my journey, over the mountains, through the deep vale; Jesus has said, "I’ll never forsake thee," promise divine that never can fail.

Refrain: Heavenly sunlight, heavenly sunlight, flooding my soul with glory divine: hallelujah, I am rejoicing, singing His praises, Jesus is mine.

2 Shadows around me, shadows above me, never conceal my Savior and Guide; He is the light, in Him is no darkness; ever I’m walking close to His side. [Refrain]

3 In the bright sunlight, ever rejoicing, pressing my way to mansions above; singing His praises gladly I’m walking, walking in sunlight, sunlight of love. [Refrain]

Who has watched the weather the last few days?

It is amazing to me to see the peeps of Sun and openings that will occur in the midst of some horrendous looking moments of winds and dark clouds. Who here this morning needs the Son, Jesus to peep into your life and remove the darkness?

Let’s pray.