Walking in the Light with Christ

To be in the light is to know God and to have purpose, it is to set yourself aside and surrender to his way of life.

In Greek the word light means to “shine” or to “make manifest”

All throughout American history we see that as humans we praise the existence of light.

For example:

In 1879 the Light Bulb was invented and billions of people would be able to access immediate light at any point of the day.

1914 The First Traffic Lights were installed. Now billions of people would now have illuminating lights that would based on color would give them directions on where they should go, slow down, or stop.

Throughout history light has given purpose, direction, and exposed the darkness.

Before there was light there was darkness.

Why would God create the darkness before the light?

Lets look at Genesis 1:3-4

English Standard Version Chapter 1

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness

On Day 1 God created light.

Throughout scripture light is know as The Son of God which is Christ Jesus.

God wanted his soon to be creation to be able to see his glory, so that they could walk in fellowship with God.

Ex: If a person was born blind how would they no want light looks like. They can’t.

Christ turned darkness into light so that we could spiritually be awakened to who he is .

So God brightened up the dark and void earth so that one day the whole word could see Christ Jesus the son of Man and all his glory. God used the light created in Genesis 1:3-4 in order to help us see John 1:1–2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

Lets read 1 John 1:5–10 to understand more about what this light is and what it should compel us as believers to do.

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

What is the light?

Christ

John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

Us

Matthew 5:14–16 ““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.”

God is the light and we are his reflectors.

How do we get the light and what does it do?

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

We are able to have the light by walking in fellowship with Christ

What will the light do!!

It will cleanse us from our sin, the light exposes the dirty parts of our lives that we do not want anyone to see.

Cockroaches love the darkness. They seek shelter and like to be in areas that they are no one is at, they don’t like to be see or be exposed. Perhaps you can say cockroach’s love there privacy. As soon as the light comes on the cockroaches become exposed they run and flee because they feel that if they are seen they are in danger, they become vulnerable.

Christ gave his life so that we do not have to be like the cockroaches. We don’t have to run from God, our parents, or our friends. The more we draw closer to the light the more we draw closer to God. He sees all of who we are and there is nothing that the darkness can hid from Christ. We can be honest about our struggles and the scary parts of our lives. He wants all of who we are to be who he is.

Hebrews 4:13 “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

How do we maintain the light?

Once we become followers of Christ we are removed from our old lives and given a new life.

New life= the light of Christ (salvation)

Romans 6:4 “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Here are some ways we can maintain the light.

Actively praying

Reading our bible

Serving in the church

Worship (washing the dishes, singing praises, cleaning your room, playing a sport)

Be in relationship with Christ. Actively speaking and being with him throughout the day.

Applying scripture to our lives and making goals that we can strive for.

Keep going

Theres good news. No matter how much we mess up in life our salvation can never be taken away from us. Because that just how much Jesus loves you.

So, how can we apply this scripture.

We must examine our hearts

Are we living in darkness or in light?

Here are some questions to consider when asking if you are walking in darkness or light.

Are you loving towards

Are you obedient to Christ and his commands

Are we honoring our mother and father

Are we serving the Lord with a heart of thanksgiving

Are we keeping our mind focused on Jesus

Are we making God a priority

Are we showing characteristics of Christ

Are we honest

No one is perfect. God does not call us to be. We all have not done something on this list. The true experience of walking in the light is by exposing the sin and fleeing from it so that one day at a time we can become more like Jesus.

Ephesians 5:11–13 “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,”

Lets shine our lights so bright that the world can see what it means to walk a life with Christ.