Jesus Shines Brighter

Introduction

Moon and Stars

In our household, we have become fascinated by the moon and stars this year. Amidst everything else that has been aggravating and depressing, one really cool thing has been to walk outside, at night, to look up and see the planets that shine bright each month. It seems like each month, I have stepped outside at night, looked up and saw a star that appeared to be shining brighter than all of the others. Then, I do what we all do for research now days. I get out my phone and I say, “hey Siri, what planets can I see in the night sky?” It’s very professional, I know. Then, I normally run in the house and say, “hey you want to see ‘such and such’ planet?”

All year long, Siri comes back and pulls up some Google reference to planets. It has let me know that it was Jupiter or Saturn or Mars that I could shining bright. We’ve also found fascination with the full moon each month. Last week, Isaac looked outside and saw the crescent moon hanging in the sky and said, “thats the new quarter moon.” Which I had to Google to find out, because even I didn’t know what it was called. Which lead to a discussion about why the moon appears to take different shapes. So, in the best way that I could, with what little knowledge I have, I began to explain how the sun illuminates the moon and the earth casts a shadow that makes the moon appear to be a half moon or a quarter moon. It appears to be small, because of the shadow that is cast. You can’t see all of it, but its there. The shadows seem to take over, but the sun is still shining bright.

I really feels like that is a metaphor for life. There are times when things move in and they block the sun. They cast darkness and shadows, where we can’t see anything. In those moments, when things are in a fog or darkness, and it doesn’t seem like we can find anything, we have to remember that the sun is still shining.

As Christians, this thought it more than happy thoughts, warm thoughts, or encouraging thoughts. Rather, it is life sustaining truth that:

Jesus shines brighter than the dark in your life.

Read

John 1:1–5 CSB

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Pray

Lord each one of us bring our hurts, our worries, our fear, and our shame before you this morning. Whatever darkness looms over us, I pray that there is not one person that will walk away from this mornings message, without fully trusting in, fully resting in you and placing all of their hope in you.

John uses two words verses 4 & 5 that will be repeated again, throughout the Gospel of John,, another 100 times; life and light. Just as a composer will often begin by stating the theme in which they are going to elaborate in the course of their work, so too John highlights life and light in verse 4. John’s aim in the Gospel was writing so that everyone might “believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

Life and light are used over 100 times.

This morning, I want to focus on light, because this week has been a difficult week for many in our community. Heck, I feel like this year, almost every Sunday that I stand before you, I mention something about the trials and struggles that people are going through. However, the fact is, if we live long enough we are going to encounter problems. It may not be a major problem. It may not be a 4 alarm fire. It may not be disastrous, tragic or an emergency. Problems can come in the form of, that password that you can’t remember, or it can come in the form of a fast approaching deadline, on top of an unexpected phone call that doesn’t bring good news, on top of the bad news you already heard that day.

Quite frankly, the little things and the big things can begin to pile up to where, just like the earth, casts shadow over the moon, we begin to feel the darkness creep in and distort life as we know it.

Jesus can shine bright, but man, let that event, that phone call, that criticism, that snarky comment, that headline, the humiliation get in and all of the sudden the darkness creeps in. We can read “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men,” and we can know He is the light, but does it really affect our circumstances.

Verse 5 says, “the light shines in the darkness.” Many of you have joined my family in prayer over the last year and half, as we have prayed for my dad as he has battled pancreatic cancer. Your prayers, phone calls and text messages have been appreciated by our family. It has meant the world to mom and dad, each time someone from Mt Elam chose to reach out and show their support during this time.

This week was a difficult week. Dad had a doctors appointment that we were dreading, because we were certain of the news that we were going to hear. Our suspicions were confirmed. I wanted to give you all an update. My dads cancer numbers within his blood work have tripled, which is indicative that the chemotherapy that the doctors were using, is no longer effective. That was the third type of chemotherapy that they have tried since March 2019. Given that the medicine is ineffective, in fact the side effects are making him for worse, and that his type of cancer is such an aggressive cancer, with a gene that is very intolerant to any sort of medical therapy, they have elected to stop treatment.

On Wednesday, my brother and I sat in the van, listening to the doctors report via cellphone, hearing the unfortunate news coming in, it was as if my thoughts drifted away from the present moment. That present moment that held so much confusion, that present moment that held so much grief, so much disappointment, so much anger and so much heartbreak, and at once, as I am looking out at the trees and the landscaping, the words to the hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus” came to mind.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands, robed in the blooming garb of spring: Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight, and all the twinkling starry host: Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer than all the angels heaven can boast

As I was removed from that moment, I realized in those big moments, it is easier (at least for me) to not be quite as stressed about those big moments. Those moments feel so out of control, that you just have to accept whatever comes along.

There are three reasons why I believe that we can look at Jesus and declare that He is brighter than the dark in our lives.

God Never Fails

Joshua 21:45 CSB

45 None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.

The Old Testament speaks to the integrity, the truthfulness and faithfulness of God. Every single promise that He made to the nation of Israel, to His chosen people, He was faithful to keep. We see things from our perspective so often and we don’t understand how it is working with what God has promised, or we don’t understand how it can be compatible with our understanding of God. Yet, His ways are higher than our ways. He has indeed been good to us, and proven himself faithful.

2. We were called into a relationship with him.

1 Corinthians 1:9 CSB

9 God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

One translation says, ‘God is never failing.’ Yet, this goes beyond His faithfulness. What this verse states is that the Creator is reaching out to the created thing and calling him into fellowship, into a relationship with Him. This is one of the things that is different than others faiths, we serve the God who is imminent to us. He is close. In fact, He took on the flesh of one of us, and lived among us, so that we could have a relationship with Him.

3. God will supply all of my needs.

Philippians 4:19 CSB

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

God will indeed supply all of my needs, but probably not all of my “wants.” He knows every need before I speak of it, and He has a way of providing what I need, right when I need .

4. His plans are not ours.

Isaiah 55:8–9 CSB

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Just when we think we have it all under control. Just when we think we have made strides in a certain area, then God provides. We have to come to the conclusion that we aren’t goin to be able to find out everything. He works all things together for the good of eedd