Dark or Light?

Announcements:

Men’s retreat is this weekend…

First Thursdays will be happening next month and that will be our last first Thursday and then starting in June we will switch over to young adults summer nights

If you would like to get connected, please go ahead and scan the QR code on the screen. I have cards as well. I can give you we would love for you to be able to join our GroupMe and be connected over the summer when we do fun activities.

Intro:

But if you have your Bible, go ahead open up to Ephesians chapter 5, we will look at versus eight through 14

We’ve been going over the book of Ephesians for several weeks now, and we are heading towards the end the second to last chapter of Ephesians

The last two weeks we’ve looked at the dues and the Don’ts of Christianity

What we are supposed to do and what we’re not supposed to use as Christians

And tonight we’re gonna look at what it means to be a child of light and what it looks like to walk in darkness

But before we jump into it, I wanted to share a story with you guys

Growing up, I grew up in the church. I was Christian and because of that I learned to live in the dark…

What that means is, I would do Bible quizzing. I would study my Bible in front of my youth, pastor or parents, but in the background, I lived a life, contrary to what I read, and even believed….

I allowed Shame… fear… pride… to keep me From stepping into the light

And that cost me a lot of unnecessary suffering a lot of pain and continues to cost me…

So tonight before we even jump into our text, I wanted to share a passage with you

1 John 1:7 ESV

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.

So if you are in this room and you want to be connected and you want friends and you want fellowship, we have to walk in the Light…

Because true Christian fellowship is with Jesus not just you and me you me and Jesus together and he is the light of the world

But before we get into it, let’s pray…

Prayer:

Text:

Ephesians 5:8–14 ESV

8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

For at one time you and I were disobedient… Disobedient isn’t even the right word for at one time we were openly unashamedly rebellious…

We did not care to be obedient to God we did not care to be in the light, but we did chose darkness…

John 3:19 ESV

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

There was a time in our life where the darkness is more comfortable than the light… And maybe in your life, the darkness feels more comfortable than the light

And that is because when we stepped into the light, we are seen we are known not just by God, but by everyone

So our default as people will be to go to the darkness to not have to be seen to not have to be judged to not have to be known

Because when you are Seen and known you can be hurt…

But the other side of that is when you’re seen, and you’re known you can be helped you can be loved…

Paul is talking to believers saying you were at one time hiding in the dark but now you are in the light

And then he commands us because of this walk as children of light

Paul says you are a child of life if you have repented and believed

But he also says you must act like one as well…

In a picture that demonstrates this is when a child is adopted often sometimes it takes them time

To learn how to live like those adopted parents or their parents

It takes time to step into the light and say I am your child

So today I want to remind you you are a child of the light you are not who you once were but are you acting like who you were supposed to be?

And the apostle tells us what that means tells us what it means to act like a child of light

Ephesians 5:8–14 ESV

9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

So what does it look like to be a child of light it is to do what is good and right and true

And we’re gonna quickly break down each of those

Good:

Good breaks down to this idea of being generous, giving and kind

To be good is to be charitable… When someone is in need, we don’t look to the left or to the right to see who will help we look to ourselves and we step in and help…

To be generous with our time to be generous with our finances to generous with our patients

Children of light are good children, obedient children this is a fruit or something that is produced in the lives of children of light

The second attribute we see is right

Right:

And Right means to have integrity to a walk in a way That is upright that is Honorable…

Instead of asking the question is it wrong of me to do this? Ask the question is it right of me to do this???

Is it right for me to steal if it’s something small?

Is it right for me to take advantage of someone if they don’t know it?

Children of light exemplify right behavior, Especially when there’s no consequences to doing otherwise … (Repeat)….

As I was reading through a commentary, the commentator shared a story about Corry ten Tenboom’s father

He was a watchmaker, and his family was financially struggling, and a very wealthy man came into his shop to purchase a very expensive watch

This watch would have paid for all their bills and put them in the green put them in the clear

But as he was completing this transaction, the wealthy man said he was buying the watch because the shotmaker down the road could not fix the watch he previously purchased…

And Corey’s father looked over this watch, made a small adjustment and it started working again…

And at that moment, he said we can cancel this transaction. You returned the watch. I’ll return your money. I hope you have an amazing day.

And if you need any help with small repairs in the future, be sure to take care of it for you

The Man did not know that his watch could be fixed, but Corey’s father did and he acted in integrity… It would have been easier just to take the man’s money rather than to help him in a way that he didn’t even know he needed help

Conclusion of story…

Children of light do what is good

Children of light do what is right

And to our final point of this section children of light do what is true

True:

To do what is true is to be honest to not be deceptive

This means you don’t wait for someone to ask you if this is true or not you tell them the truth either way

You don’t try to tell the truth in just the right way in order to get them to feel this or think this you just say what is true

With no agenda with no twisting or changing or adjusting

This is to operate in the absence of falsehood the absence of deception

when you could spin things a certain way to make you look better you choose to give it to somebody straight Honest story

True Conclusion:

So Children of light, we do what is good we do what is right and we do what is true

And this is because we were reflected the one who is good the one who is right and do what is true

We are like the moon reflecting the light of the sun to the rest of the world

And that leads me to a question…

Do you reflect the character of Christ?

Are these things true in your life? As a child of light…

And maybe you’re sitting here and you’re wondering how do I reflect these things? How do I reflect the character of God?

the only way to reflect light is to be in light…

If you feel as though you’re not reflecting, Christ, I have to ask you are you in the light?

Why don’t I look more like Jesus because you don’t spend time with Jesus…

Because you are not honest with yourself about the things that need to be given up

or the things that need to be confessed in your own life…

If you keep yourself in the dark, there is no way to reflect the light to other people…

I’ve heard of put this way the Grace you receive is the Grace that you give… If you Don’t receive grace from God, you will not give grace to other others…

How much of your day is concerned With being in the presence of God…

How much of your day is spent in prayer? How much of your day is spent in study? How much of your day is spent in quiet…

We can only reflect light if we are in the light…

We are either acting as those in the light or acting as those in the darkness

Once again we have been adopted, and we have to choose to live within the victory of that adoption…

Otherwise, we will default to acting like who we once were instead of who we In Christ…

And this is why Paul Warren, the Ephesians and us about the Unfruitful Works of darkness…

Ephesians 5:8–14 ESV

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,

We are warned, do not take part in the evil and wickedness that we see in our world…

Do not take part in the things that your friends are doing on the weekends

Do not take part in the celebrations of death and of debauchery drunkenness that people want to draw you into

Do not take part and hook up culture

And for some of Us right now we feel pretty good well Zach I don’t do those things I gave up those things a long time ago

When temptation comes my way, I step out and say you know what I’m not gonna participate…

When that friend calls me up, I say no man I’m good…

And that’s a good response, but I want us to look at that last part of that verse…

But instead Expose them… But instead, call them out and show them the truth

The Bible says that we are to be salt and light salt preserves we are to preserve those around us from sin

We’re not supposed to just step back, but we have to act as a flash act as the moon and shed light on this evil…

And now we’re all uncomfortable…

But I want to be clear the Bible says to speak truth in love…

Light in the cave illustration

Imagine you’re in a cave with your friends trapped trying to figure out where to go. You can’t see a thing.

The power went out. The lights went out you can’t see.

But you have a flashlight

Do you use the flashlight to get out?

Or do you use the flashlight to help others get out as well?

We are meant to illuminate people with the truth… with the love of Christ….

Momentary discomfort can have eternal value

People are in the dark, not knowing where to go or what to do and we hold the flashlight we hold the truth to light up the room,

and if we choose to reflect it and give it to others, there can be a change…

verse 14 Paul puts it beautifully…

Ephesians 5:8–14 ESV

14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

And I can see a two fold meaning here there are those in our life who are dead

They are asleep on the Titanic. It is sinking, and someone needs to turn on the light to shake them awake and get them in a lifeboat Who is Jesus…

We are called to run in the room flip on the light and say let’s go.

This world is a sinking ship. You don’t have tomorrow you must repent and believe.

Truth in love…

And for some of us in the room, we are asleep…

In the book of Revelation, there is a message written to the church in Sardis and it says this

Revelation 3:1–3 ESV

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

For some of us in this room, we’ve been sitting through this entire message, saying I’m good…

You’ve grown up in the church you give in the giving box but I want to ask you about your fruit…

When we look at what it means to be a child of light, are you awake or are you asleep?

Are you alive or are you dead?

Because maybe this is the first time you’ve realized you can’t do it on your own. You can’t save yourself.

Maybe for the first time, you’ve realized you need mercy you need Grace. You need something to change.

Tonight I want to encourage you to have that change done in your life…

If you repent and believe in Jesus, you will be awakened. You will be alive. You will be a child of light.

Not perfect, but saved

All you have to do is confess Jesus as Lord Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the debt for salvation and you will be saved…

So tonight, do you need to be awakened or do you need to reflect the light of God and awaken others?

As we break into a discussion groups, please think about those things be open be honest and be real…

Let’s pray…