This Little Light of Mine

During this Christmas Season, as a teaching series we have been focusing on the Themes of Advent. We’ve taken each of the 4 themes of Advent from our Advent Wreath, starting with Hope, then Peace, Then Joy and Lastly Love.

And we have taken the time to unwrap each of these gifts of God. Because the worst thing that could happen this Holiday Season is that we just go another whole Christmas looking forward to gifts and trees, and cookies and the lights but never truly receiving the greatest gift of all.

God is faithful to his promises.

And long ago He promised a Savior. A deliverer. A light into the darkness.

And tonight we celebrate that light. That gives life to all mankind.

It is truly amazing what a little bit of light will do in a dark room. Darkness cannot overcome light. And just a little bit of light is comforting.

Share hunting story in the darkness...

Light is comforting. Light gives direction. Light gives warmth.

Before the foundations of the earth there was nothing but darkness. But then the Lord spoke and said. Let there be light. And it was so.

But what is light according to the bible. Because we like light, we find it comforting but what does the bible say about light...

1 John 1:5-7

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

This is the message we heard from Jesus…

God is Light

That got me wondering…what message did they hear from Jesus about light?

How did they hear this message from Jesus?

And so when you go back to the gospel of John in chapter 8:12 we read the words of Christ to his disciples.

John 8:12

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Jesus’ message to his followers was that He was the Light of the world. And John took this to heart. This foundational teaching that Jesus is the Light of the World. So much so that when John was working out the introduction to His gospel…and if you have ever watched the first episode of season 2 of the Chosen, they do a fantastic job portraying what John’s experience might have been like, writing one of the most beautiful introductions to the gospels, and perhaps my favorite Christmas story.

John 1:4-9

The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]     and his life brought light to everyone.

5 The light shines in the darkness,     and the darkness can never extinguish it.[b]

6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,[c] 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

What a beautiful picture of the message that Jesus taught them.

The Word incarnate was coming and He would be the light of the world. It’s straight out of a prophesy that Isaiah gave 700 years prior in very great and specific detail…

Isaiah 9:1-7

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness     will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness,     a light will shine.

…jump on down to verse 6

6

For a child is born to us,     a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders.     And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7

His government and its peace     will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David     for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies     will make this happen!

2,023 Years ago, things were looking pretty dark for a young betrothed couple forced to take a trip to Bethlehem in Judea from their hometown of Nazareth. Engaged yet pregnant. No one was willing to take them in, hopeless.

Luke 2:7 reads “She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them.”

The Son of God, coming as a baby in a manger and there was no room for him. He wasn’t welcomed.

What a dark moment it was, when the light of life came into this world.

Likewise things are looking pretty dark in our world today. Unemployment is higher than its been in a very long time, small businesses are struggling and closing left and right, people are passing away, things just don’t seem to be that hopeful.

We long to experience just a little bit of light. To drive out the darkness.

In other words…Jesus, who is God himself is the light of the world and that light of the world drives out darkness.

God is light just like God is love, just like God is Truth.

He is the fullness of love. He is the fullness of truth and he is the fullness of light.

God is not just a light… He isn’t the sun. He isn’t a flame… No he is the source of all light. The one who gives light and life to everyone and everything.

There are some who would want to worship the sun or the starts or the moon because they are out of this world. And they bring light to us here on earth, but God is not the Sun. 🌞 He is not the stars.

Remember he exists outside of creation, he has to. But on day one of creation, the Word spoke…let there be light and there was.

There will be a day when the sun, and the moon and the stars will all be gone. But we will still be able to see. There will still be the source of all light…the radiance of the glory of God that outshines the sun.

My bible doesn’t read that God is a light…No it reads God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

John goes on to write in his final book, Revelation about what our experience will be like in heaven.

He writes,

Revelation 21:23-27

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Can you imagine what this will be like? It’s almost unfathomable. But we get to experience it someday. All those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will have the opportunity to dwell in the New Jerusalem.

And I’m not really a city guy. Like I really struggled this past week as I spent the week in different neighborhoods throughout the city of Pittsburgh. In fact, as we were leaving Friday I got into a conversation with someone about cities and he was telling em about how great it is in New York City. And, i had to just stop him.

Because cities are hard on me. And I turned to him and said, yeah but I sure do hope there are outskirts in heaven, because that’s where I want to live.

And then I got to researching how big this new city is going to be. Did you know its roughly 1,500 square miles? That takes up more than half of the United States! I think I’ll be ok there :)

And in this New Jerusalem there is no need for the Sun or the Moon because there is no night at all. Why?

Because God is Light and in him there is no darkness at all!

The writer of Hebrews puts it this way…

Hebrews 1:2-3

And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

The son radiates the glory of God.

So what does it mean for us to know that God is light?

It’s a valid question, but thankfully John doesn’t leave us guessing.

1 John 1:6

“So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.”

What do we know about light? Let’s think about our sun for a minute.

Light is energy. And when we, especially those of us who are of a pale complexion, are out in that energy too long we get?

Sunburns…

But what fuel does the sun actually burn? Well scientists believe that the sun consumes around 600 million tons of hydrogen every second. How they have figured that out, I will leave up to them, but let’s think about the light that comes from a campfire or a candle for a minute.

This candle consumes wax to give us it’s light.

A campfire consumes wood, or whatever else you might be burning these days to give of it’s light.

I would argue that one of the basic principles of light is that it consumes something in order to give off energy.

Light is consuming.

And if light is consuming then God is a consuming light…or a consuming fire. Doesn’t that sound familiar?

The author of Hebrews writes…

Hebrews 12:28-29 NLT

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.

God is light and therefore God is a consuming fire. But what does the consuming fire of God consume?

Idolatry: Duet 4:23-24

So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the Lord your God has forbidden this. 24 The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

Our Enemies: Deut 9:3

But recognize today that the Lord your God is the one who will cross over ahead of you like a devouring fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you will quickly conquer them and drive them out, just as the Lord has promised.

Today our enemies are not flesh and blood. But they are the powers and principalities and they are also the sin that so easy entangles us. And God wants to cleans us and purify us from all sin. He wants us to live in the light that exposes the darkness of our souls and consume the sin and false idols of our lives.

It’s a process we refer to as the refiners fire.

Malachi 3:2-3

But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. 3 He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord.

Our God wants us to be holy. Our God wants us to live lives that are like Jesus. And a lot of the time we fall short. We like the darkness because we believe it hides our sin. We don’t want to expose it to the Light because we fear the reprocussions of exposure.

What will happen if they find out about this? Will they still love me if they know that I struggle with this sin? I could lose my job…I could lose my family…

And then fear starts to work in your soul. Fear of the unknown. Fear is allowed free reign in darkness. Fear is a liar and a theif. And we as followers of Christ, if we are hiding in darkness we cannot have fellowship if we are not practicing the truth.

John’s point in 1 John 1:6 is he is saying why are you lying to yourself? You cannot have fellowship with God while your living in darkness. It’s not possible because God is light. God’s very nature is holy and radiant. Light and darkness cannot co-exist.

But the enemy will keep you trapped there in that cycle of darkness and sin if you let him. If you let the fear capture your heart. What we need to remember is God’s other characteristics.

God is love, right? God is Holy, but God is also Love. And love has made a way for you to be right in God’s sight and that is by living in the light.

Living in the Light

“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

Exposing darkness to the light is one of the scariest things you will ever do. And I am not telling you to go around and tell everyone you know all your dirty sins and secrets. No, please do not do that. What I am asking you to do though is to ask God to search your heart.

Pray the prayer of David in Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Because it is when we expose our darkness to the light and life of Christ, that is when the love of God is poured out in our hearts and we experience a level of freedom from our sin and shame that we have never experienced before. And that leads to a true fellowship….and it is especially interesting to me that John writes…

then we have fellowship with one another…

Because back to Ephesians 5:8-

We were once darkness.

The whole reason Jesus came was to bring light to the darkness. To set the captives free, To bring healing to the sick and salvation to all people.

The question that needs to be answered is…is there room in your life, in your heart for the light of the world to enter? Or is your door closed? Have you shut him out, or are you ready to open the door to

The bible tells us that all people have sinned fallen short of the glory of God.

Everyone has missed the mark we are all in darkness because our sin has separated us from God.

But the Bible also says that the wages of sin is death. Eternal separation from God.

Ephesians 5:8- We were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord.

John 1:12- Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 8:14- I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

Paul says it this way. That God demonstrates his love towards us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He paid for our sin. The penalty that was due to us, death…was paid by Jesus on that cross. What we have to do then is walk in the light.

Is to repent, to ask for forgiveness from our sin and follow Jesus. If we are going to walk in the light, to live with Jesus, he needs to be in Charge. He needs to become Lord of our lives.

Romans 10:9-10

“ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

We were once darkness, but now we are children of the light.

Jesus is knocking. He has come for you. He has come for me. The light has penetrated the darkness and now you have a choice as to whether or not you want to open up that door to him or not.

ADVENT WREATH.

TURN DOWN THE LIGHTS…

Grab a candle. This is my favorite part of Christmas Eve Service.

It’s a way we can all participate in the service. See when Jesus came to the world he brought the Light of Life. He is the light. And when someone believes in Jesus their life becomes light. Their candle is lit, but its not enough for us just to get the light and keep it for ourselves. We are called to share the light of life. We are called to share what Jesus has done for each of us.

And so we live as children of the light, we share the light with those we come into contact with. We share about Jesus and what He has done for us. And when that person repents and believes, they their light is then lit, and they then take that light and share it with those whom they love. And this is the way we are called to bring light to the darkness.

This is the way we will bring hope to the hopeless.

This is the way we will live out being children of the light.