Untitled Sermon (2)

Light in the Darkness

Well, the days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting longer, it is that time of the year. Which reminds me, do not forget to set your clocks back and hour next week, daylight savings end next week.

It is funny to say that, daylight savings… and the fact that it is ending…

Especially in the time of the year where our nights get longer, and days get shorter…

But just like everything in this world God created it to be like this, for the seasons…

And as the days get shorter the temperature begins to drop and the plants begin their process of conserving energy for the winter, a time of darkness and cold…

It is also a time we mark for harvest, as the plants are at their peak we harvest their fruitfulness of the year, to store for the winter. It is both a time of plenty and thankfulness as it is for a time of seeming death and darkness…

This time of the year and the upcoming months of winter always get me pondering about light….

I mean I love light that shines in the darkness. This time of the year it begins with pumpkins, people carving out images and faces to then put candles in them to shine in the darkness… Which has a beautiful meaning if you think about it, but I am not going there right now, but if you hang around for the Harvest party you will get to hear the story…

And then as we get closer to Thanksgiving, people begin to light their houses with Christmas lights and other lighted displays…

My family and I love driving around looking at all the displays during this time of the year.

But it never beats the light display that God created in the skies above us, does it? Going out late at night, and this time of the year not so late at night and leaving the city to find an extra dark place to then just gaze upon God’s infinite beauty of His creation [Photos]. And at times being able to see even the aurora borealis…[Photos] Which has been popping up a lot this year.

There is just something about the light that draws us in… Kind of like moths to the flame…

In John 1:1-5 (NLT)

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.

The Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

2 He existed in the beginning with God.

3 God created everything through him,

and nothing was created except through him.

4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,

and his life brought light to everyone.

5 The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Light is the one that conquers the darkness, and Jesus came as a light into this dark world… to bring life…

However, there are some who do not like the light…

John 3:16-21 (NLT)

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.

Why do some not like the light?

Well because it reveals the truth of what they are and what they are about…

But then there are others who come to the light to show that they are living in such a way not for selfish reasons but because they are doing what God wants.

So, what does it mean to live in the light?

I mean Jesus calls us the light of the world…

Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

So, we are to live in the light as to light the world for all to see, so that all will praise God, your heavenly Father…

So, how are we supposed to live as light for the world?

Ephesians 5:1-14 (NLT)

1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. 4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. 5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. 7 Don’t participate in the things these people do. 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

“Awake, O sleeper,

rise up from the dead,

and Christ will give you light.”

To live as Christ lived, but how do we know how Christ lived?

Psalms 119:105-106 (NLT)

105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path.

106 I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:

I will obey your righteous regulations.

We need to be in God’s word…

His word is our lamp so I wont stumble and that I know where I am going…

Proverbs 4:18 (NLT)

The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

Righteousness or living in right relationship with others is like the first gleamer of dawn.

How do I know what is God’s righteous regulations…

Proverbs 6:23 (NLT)

For their command is a lamp

and their instruction a light;

their corrective discipline

is the way to life.

In this verse here command is the Hebrew mizva and instruction is torah.

God’s word, his teachings through the first books of the Bible are our instruction in how to live, and the commands the varying regulations are mere rules and guidelines, but if we do not live and follow them with the intention of God’s torah, which Jesus states in

Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

So, if we do not live out these rules and guidelines in love in total commitment to God and to others, then we are not living in right-relationship…

1 John 1:5-10 (NLT)

5 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.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

We need to be living in the truth, the truth is we are not worthy of God’s love but God loves us anyways, we never deserved God’s love.

However, if we live in God’s love and live out God’s directing His guidance then we are in God’s light

1 John 2:7-11 (NLT)

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

We cannot live a life of light and of love, without loving those that really know how to hurt us…