God Is Light

Intro

Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light.

God’s Light Expells Darkness

We live in a dark world. Listen to how the prophet Isaiah describes someone’s life without God:

Isaiah 59:9–10 (ESV)

Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

What is described here is exactly how the world around us is living! This is a dark world with people stumbling along looking for their next step.

Darkness is all around, and we are in need of the LIGHT!

All the way back to the beginning of time, we see a contrast between darkness and light.

Genesis 1:1–4 ESV

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

God’s original design was to separate the light from the darkness. God’s word and God’s presence is enough to drive out the darkness of the world. God entered the world and drove out the darkness. He separated dark and light.

When God enters our lives, the darkness is driven out. The darkness literally disappears. So what does that mean? Do we just stop sinning? Of course not.

What happens when God expells the darkness from our lives is that we lose the natural innate desire to do wrong. Like that hunger for sin is gone. The only time it rears its ugly head is when we are directly faced with the temptation or when we haven’t been exposed to the light in a while.

God’s Light Exposes Sin

When we are near God’s light, our sin is exposed. That which we try to conceal in the darkness gets exposed!

John 3:19–21 ESV

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

So what does this mean? Does this mean that if you sin, then you’re not in the light? So then you’re not saved?

NO WAY!

What this means is that anyone who is walking in the light, meaning actively growing in the Lord, will not have dark actions in their life. When we go days/weeks/months/years without reading God’s word or being in communion with him, we will inevitably start to sway to darkness.

And when we find ourselves allowing a sin to live, once the light of truth starts to shine in our life. That sin gets called out. You know why people avoid reading scripture? Because it calls out the sin in their life. You know why people don’t come to church? Because the sin in their life gets pointed out. Typically and preferably by the Holy Spirit, but it does.

The darkness cannot hide from the light. Nothing can hide when the light is shining on it.

John 1:5 ESV

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

What is that sin in your life that God is bringing up today?

God’s Light Exudes Righteousness

When we are actively walking in the light of the Lord, we will be reflecting that light into the world.

I think an excellent analogy of this is the sun and the moon. The moon produces no light by its own power. No matter how you look at it, the moon is just a rock with no bioluminescent power. It creates zero light. But every night, the moon is out and is lighting up the night sky. How? By reflecting the light of the sun.

We are much like the moon in this analogy. Try as we may, we have no way to generate light into this dark world. For all intents and purposes, we are a dark being. Darkness cannot change anything about darkness. But we CAN reflect the light of God into the world. When the moon is positioned properly, it will radiate the light from the sun, but if it is off or out of line, it won’t. Similarly, we must be in line with where God wants us.

When we walk with the Lord, his light will radiate into the world. Think about what Jesus said to his disciples.

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

How can you be the light of the world?

Michael Jordan and Gatorade story

We must consume so much of God that he comes out all over!

1 John 1:9 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

My challenge to you church is to be in the light so much that people see that you are different. People need to be able to look at you and the way you live and tell that you are a Christian. I challenge you to come next week and have story after story for me of how the world recognized your difference.

Next Sunday is Back to Church Sunday! We will be having breakfast at 9:00. I encourage you to invite as many people as possible! It will be a very seeker-friendly service so all will fit right at home.