6/2/2024 - A Home Full of Light

Notes
Transcript
Handout
Ephesians 5:8-21
I love a well lit home.
When they did the remodel in the kitchen they added some can lights in the ceiling placed throughout.
I love to see the kitchen all lit up.
I think there is something cozy about a warmly lit, study with a fireplace and warm colors all around.
But There is just something that feels right about a room with light flooding in.
The Bible tells us that we as Christians were one time darkness, but now we are light in the Lord.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
When we accepted Christ as Savior, we accepted the Light.
Jesus is the Light.
John 8:12 KJV
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
God’s Word is the light that shows our path.
Psalm 119:105 KJV
105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
In 1 John, we are told...
1 John 1:7 KJV
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Light is very commonly used throughout Scripture to describe righteousness.
Before we came to Christ we were not only in a wold of darkness, but we were part of the darkness.
We did the deeds of the darkness.
But When we heard the gospel, and accepted Jesus as our Savior we became part of the light.
When we accepted Christ we began to be filled with the Spirit, and began to see the fruit of the Spirit.
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
And as we go through this life, as Children of the light we began to see the things we once did, that it was darkness.
We began to choose things that were light.
We began...
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Now Paul is challenging the Christians at Ephesus, and us here today, to walk as children of the light.
The truth is light exposes darkness.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
The word reproved means to convict, to shame.
The things of darkness are convicted when the light shines on them.
But we as Christians are warned to not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
Don’t let it in!
Don’t let it influence you or your family!
We, as Children of the Light need to guard our homes.
We put up security lights, have weapons for security, maybe even have an alarm system to alert us of an intruder.
But far too often we are not as careful with the Spiritual realm.
We live in a very dark world.
The ruler of this dark world has been doing this a long time.
He likes to sneak in and capture our families affections before we ever even realize it.
We need to be on guard.

I. Light Reproves Darkness

The Bible tells us to
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Don’t even play with it!
Have nothing to do with it!
Many Christian have dabbled in darkness thinking it was harmless, just a game, just a book, just a movie…whatever it is…but it is not harmless if it’s darkness.
We are told that we need to reprove them!
The Greek word reprove means to shame or convict, by implication in this verse, it means to show it for what it is.
Verse 12 tells us
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Many of the things that are done in darkness are done in secret.
If there is something that you are doing that you don’t want everyone at church to know you are doing it…you better check it out…make sure it is not something the devil is using to pull you away from God.
God is calling us to wake up and see the dangers around us before the devil has a chance to pull us away!
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Be careful, pay attention to the things that influence you!
The devil has many influences craftily hidden in plain sight, if he can get you accustomed to the things of darkness, he can get you to accept even more.
There are some influences that you need to be careful of:

A. The Occult

There has been a rise in occult linked entertainment in the last decades.
The entertainment that centers around self-proclaimed darkness is dangerous.
Whether movies, games, books or any other entertainment.
Entering into a world of darkness, whether it is vampires, witches, wizards, or magic as a whole is a dangerous opening.
Witchtok is a gaining ground on the social media app tiktok
People are inviting demons into their lives and using demons to perform their wishes.
They think they have the power over the demon, but they soon realize the demon is taking over them.
They have no idea what they are playing with.
We are not to dabble in the occultic practices of taro cards, or astrology, or spells or anything else that links itself with the occult.
We are to reprove the darkness.
Shame it - it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Be careful what you allow into your home!

B. Immorality

Entertainment in general, and even the world all around us is wrapped up into pushing the limits of immorality.
The Christian needs to purposely walk in the light, do not seek the things of darkness.
We have become accustomed to the things of darkness.
pre-marital relations
homosexuality
living together outside the bonds of marriage
nudity
sexual dialogue
We become accustomed, so we don’t even really see how much of it is there.
But when the light is shined upon it, the darkness is made manifest by the light.
We begin to see just how wrong these things are.
Guard your home!
Do not let these satanic influences into your home!

C. Language

Foul language just seems to be the norm any more.
Children are speaking it.
Women are cursing like a sailor.
It wasn’t that long ago that males were careful with their language around children or ladies.
But not any more
It’s on Television and movies all over.
The more we hear it the more it is in our minds, we soon begin to think them.
Jesus said
Matthew 12:34 KJV
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A woman in one preacher’s church came to him and spoke to him at length about her struggle with cursing. She claimed she just couldn’t control it. After about 30 minutes of talking with the lady he said, “You know we have been talking for about 30 minutes and you haven’t cursed once.”
“Oh, I would never curse in front of the preacher!”
The pastor then began to point out that she obviously could control her cursing, she was just choosing not to.
Be careful what you allow to influence your home!
There is another sinister implement of darkness is

D. Worldly Philosophy

When we say worldly philosophy we are talking about philosophies and ideologies that are contrary to God’s Word.
The devil is very sly in how he does this.
It is not always easy to spot.
It is just a little off.
It sounds right, but not completely.
The Bible tells us to...
Colossians 2:8 KJV
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
In order to be careful not to be spoiled by worldly philosophy, we must dive into and immerse ourselves in God’s doctrine.
The world philosophies - life is short, live it the way you want to live.
Look at what is at the end of Paul’s list of what people will do in the last days:
2 Timothy 3:4 KJV
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
everywhere we look people are more concerned about their own pleasures than loving God.
God says the pursuit of God produces happiness.
Psalm 16:11 KJV
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
True happiness and fulfillment comes from being in God’s presence.
The World’s Philosophies say - Take care of number one!
Matthew 6:33 KJV
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Jesus is the perfect example -
Philippians 2:5–7 KJV
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
The World’s philosophy says - The one with the most toys wins.
Luke 12:15–21 KJV
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Looking to gather for yourself, and always looking for the newest and greatest thing is covetousness.
And the Bible says that covetousness is idolatry
Colossians 3:5 KJV
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
You have created an idol.
Matthew 6:21 KJV
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
There are so many other philosophies that we allow to sneak into our lives and they effect our choices, our plan and our hopes.
Be careful!
Are worldly philosophies affecting your home?
Reprove the darkness as children of Light.
It is easy to let things slip by, but we must guard against it…or as verse 14 puts it - wake up to it!
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Wake up and Reprove the darkness!
How do we do this?
We must have spiritual discernment.
Because we see that...

II. Light Reveals Discernment

In the next seven verses we see a list of things that we can do to Reprove the Darkness in our homes.
The more you are in the light the more you will be able to discern the things that are of darkness.
Stay in the light by
Faithfully reading God’s Word
By faithful prayer time
by faithful church attendance
by faithful christian fellowship
And we can gain discernment by:

A. Walking Circumspectly

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Circum-around
Spect - look or see
to be cautious, to look around.
So when you walk circumspectly you are walking with your eyes open, cautiously looking around.
Paul tells us this is the practice of the wise man.
Are you keeping your eyes open around your home?
Are you asking to Lord to show you anything in your home that may be influencing you or your children, or your grandchildren away from God?
Walk Circumspectly, this will help you gain discernment.

B. Redeem the Time

Ephesians 5:16 KJV
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
To redeem means to buy out or from something.
It carries the idea of gaining as much time and opportunity as possible.
Illustration of the Marble Jar
Parents you have just 932 weeks with your kids, until they are 18 years old.
That is not very much!
And time is quickly disappearing!
We need to have discernment by realizing that our time is quickly going away - use the time you have left wisely!
Teach those kids what they need to know!
Those whose kids are grown - your time is ticking away - I don’t mean to be morbid - but we all have a limited amount of time on this earth…are we using it wisely?
Redeem the time - use it for God not for evil.
Gain discernment by Walking Circumspectly
Gain discernment by Redeeming the Time
Gain discernment by

C. Seeking God’s Will

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Wisdom is seeking God’s Will!
Proverbs 9:10 KJV
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
When we fear the Lord we are concerned about what His will is, and we desire to do His will.
When you seek the will of God for your home you will be led into the paths of light, not darkness.
God will never lead you in the wrong way.
So you need to be sure to have regularly times with God so you can discover God’s Will.
God has given much of His will in written revelation.
whether by direct command or by biblical principle we have everything we need to discern God’s will.
2 Peter 1:3 KJV
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
So that means if you are serious about having a home full of light - you are going to have to do the work and dig into God’s Word!
A little every day - praying, and asking God to show you what you need for your family!
So you can gain discernment by walking circumspectly
you can gain discernment by redeeming the time
you can gain discernment by knowing God’s Will
Fourthly we can gain discernment by...

D. Being Filled with the Spirit

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
This verse speaks of what you are allowing to control you.
If you are drunk with wine, you do not have full control over your own body, the alcohol affects you.
So Paul uses that illustration to show that we are to be controlled - filled - with the Spirit.
If we are filled with the Spirit, our home will be more filled with light!
We will see the fruit of the Spirit in our home.
Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance - do those sound like things that you want in your home?
I do!!
If you will be filled with the Holy Spirit it will lead others in your home to do right.
The Holy Spirit - God Himself will be guiding you to do the right thing.
You can gain discernment by walking circumspectly
you can gain discernment by redeeming the time
You can gain discernment by knowing God’s Will
You can gain discernment by being filled with the Spirit.
You can gain discernment by...

E. Filling Your Home with Godly Music

19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - a spirit filled person sings in church!
You can always tell when someone is struggling (now someone may be sick…and I don’t mean that…but you can usually tell the difference).
The Spirit filled person sings godly music!
They sing the psalms,
they sing the hymns
They sing the spiritual songs
they make melody in their heart…singing to the Lord.
When you fill your home with godly music, it becomes very easy to discern the worldly music!
It becomes very easy to discern worldly influence of darkness.
Then sixth…You can gain discernment by ...

F. Cultivate Thankful Hearts

It truly is amazing how your perspective changes when you focus on thankfulness.
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
When we are thankful, we are not complaining, we are not covetous, we are not fighting with each other.
A thankful heart helps us discern and see things and others the way God sees them.
You can gain discernment by walking circumspectly
you can gain discernment by redeeming the time
You can gain discernment by knowing God’s Will
You can gain discernment by being filled with the Spirit.
You can gain discernment by filling your home with godly music.
You can gain discernment by having a thankful heart.
And then lastly…you can gain discernment by...

G. Submitting Yourselves One to Another

21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
When you fear God the way you ought, you will see the others in your home as God’s children…and you will see God’s will is for you to submit to each other.
What does this mean?
The Greek word that is translated submitting is the word hypotasso - it means to place in order, to place under in an orderly fashion.
Husbands like the next verse, wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands…but God first said to submit yourselves one to another.
The Bible dictionary says that this verse is a willing personal subjection…a willingness to put the other person’s desires, will, preferences above your own.
The Greek word translated one to another is an interesting word that in of itself indicates equality of all concerned.
It is not that any one is less important than another.
Rather the opposite - it is the realization that all are equal, therefore you need to have a loving, kind conversation to determine what is right for your home.
But discernment that will be gained just simply by submitting to the desires of one another.
We can learn a lot when we just stop and listen!

Conclusion

God wants our homes to be a safe haven.
He wants your home to be a home that reproves darkness.
A home that does not allow this worlds and the devil’s influences into the home.
He wants you home to be a home that reveals discernment.
When we walk circumspectly we will see around us the hazards that he devil puts in our path.
When we Redeem the Time, we will not allow time to be wasted…but use every moment you have to grow the people in your home for Christ.
When we Seek God’s Will, we will know the right path to take.
When we are Filled with the Holy Spirit, we will bring into our home the fruit of the Spirit.
When we Fill our home with Godly Music we bring peace and joy into our home. (Just think of the example of King Saul, when David played).
When we Cultivate Thankful Hearts, we begin to see things more clearly.
When we Submit ourselves one to another we begin to see others the way God does, and we begin to treat others the way God wants us to.
I have a few questions for you to discuss as a family:
What is the biggest threat to joy and peace in our home lately?
How can we eliminate it and cultivate more of the fruit of the Spirit together?
How can we better walk in the light?
We gather here as the family of God.
We spend times of fellowship together, we grow together, we encourage one another, we lift each other up.
We too need to take these things to heart with our church family as well.
As we begin to prepare our hearts for the time of communion…will you pray with me for a few moments asking God to show us the areas where we have failed in this area.
Confess with me any sins that have not been confessed and let’s come to the table with clean hearts before the Lord, ready to share in this important time together.
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