Light and Darkness
Notes
Transcript
Intro; Throughout the Bible light is contrasted with darkness. God is light (1 John 1:5), and living in the light refers to living in God’s truth, goodness, and wisdom. On the other hand, living in darkness describes living in sin or living a life apart from God.
Paul makes a very clear distinction between light and darkness and an appeal for the separation of light and darkness;
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Tonight I want us to look at the paradox “When Light Becomes Darkness”
Text; Mt. 6:22-23
Matthew 6:22–23 (NKJV)
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Paradox- a statement that attracts attention because it seems to contradict itself. A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.
1. The Paradox of Light and Darkness; 23b
1. The Paradox of Light and Darkness; 23b
The first question we must ask is “how can light become darkness”?
In the context of scripture in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is talking about our body as the temple of God and His tool for ministry. Remember that He is speaking his disciples and those who will become followers about how they are to live. What we treasure will be the focus of our life. If we are out of focus, then the light in us becomes darkness by trying to serve two masters, and that is not possible for the believer.
Luke 6:46 (NKJV)
46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
This is an example of the light becoming darkness in us. Jesus is not talking about being saved or lost here, He is talking about how the saved are to serve Him!
13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
2. A Good Eye; 22
2. A Good Eye; 22
“Good eyes” are called “single eyes/single vision”.
Single- comes from the Greek word {hap-looce’} which means that God wants our eye/heart to be “clear, sincere, open and aboveboard, honest, with no ‘hidden agendas.”
Outlook always determines outcome. What the eye sees, the mind imagines, the heart desires and the will acts upon.
Eve looked at the forbidden tree, desired the fruit, ate it, shared it with her husband, and with Adam was punished by the Lord (Gen. 3:1–7). [Adam and Eve created perfect with no sin nature]
Lot looked at the plains of Jordan, chose them for his home, and ended up losing everything (Gen. 13:10; 19) [Bible says that Lot is a righteous man, 2 Pet. 2:7]
King David looked lustfully upon Uriah’s wife and paid dearly for the sins that followed with the death of their son and the division in his family. (2 Sam. 11–12) [David a man after God’s heart]
The eye is the window to our souls/heart and it needs to be clear and healthy to view things in the light of God’s Word. What goes on in our heart is going to affect our vision or view of life.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
26 My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.
2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!
10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Mark 12:30 (NKJV)
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
A good eye is a healthy eye because it does not walk in darkness, but in the light of the LORD!
3. A Bad Eye; 23
3. A Bad Eye; 23
If a good eye is healthy then a bad eye is unhealthy!
Jesus warns against double vision. He knew the tendency of people to want more of what the world has to offer while at the same time trying to keep our eyes on Jesus [ref. v.24]
Double vision is when you are not seeing clearly, dizzy or disoriented. We have trouble staying faithful to the Lord because we have lost our focus!
What are some things that can make us lose our focus on Jesus?
money, pride, bitterness, coveting, hurt feelings, jealousy, greed
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
We become so influenced by our current culture that we measure success by how much we earn and own rather than how much we have grown in the Lord!
When you have a camera, sometimes you have to adjust the lens to focus the picture properly. Often we have to make adjustments in our lives to fix our focus so that we will clearly see that which is truly valuable and important and not have a distorted view of life.
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Close;
When the Lord does not have all of us, we will be spiritually weakened and a target for Satanic attack. One of the reasons a tribe of lions on an African plain will walk along the herds of animals is to keep the herds moving. When the animals are grazing and still, it is difficult to see those animals that are weak or injured. When the herds are running, it is much easier to see the lame, the sick, or the young which are prime targets for attack. Satan and his forces roam this world to see which Christians are weak and prime targets for temptation and destruction.
A divided eye gives you a twisted view of life, while the single (healthy) eye enables you to see matters as they really are.
How is our eyesight tonight? Are we seeing clearly in the light or do we need the Eye Doctor?