Illuminate

Pray

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Luke Chapter 11)

33 “aNo one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.34 “aThe eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is 1clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is 2bad, your body also is full of darkness.35 “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.36 “If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

Title: Illuminate

I wanted to call this sermon, “Light it Up” but I thought that might be slightly inappropriate, so it’s Illuminate.

Because I believe that Christians have the responsibility to bring The Light to every situation they encounter. When you get a Christian cornered, it shouldn’t be darkness that comes out of them, but light!

The enemy’s goal in your life is to get your light to be darkness. If he can hit you hard enough, come at you long enough, he is convinced he can make your light darkness.

That’s what he did with Job. “If you let me attack him, he will curse you to your face...” But Job stayed true to the Lord.

The idea/concept of light in the Greco-Roman world was innately connected to the idea of sight. Without light there was no sight.

Expand on lighting methods

But the biblical concept of light goes much further back, to the dawn of creation. It is in this narrative where we find the Source of the Light

The Source of the Light

In the Old Testament, the symbolic use of the idea of “Light” and darkness is the connection the text makes between light representing the personal presence of God, and the darkness representing all that opposes God.

This is not to say that darkness somehow has a fighting chance against the light in a battle.

Have you ever seen darkness and light in a struggle when you flip the light switch?

From the very beginning, light is set up as this powerful force that dominates over darkness. Darkness has no choice in the matter, it is subject to the presence of the light.

It’s called an “uneven duality”- They may be opposite in nature, but there is no match in power.

The devil may be the opposite of God in nature, but he is no match in power. It was a bad day to wake up on the day he decided to challenge God.

The enemy would like you to believe there was a cosmic battle between Heaven’s angels and the devil’s angels, but they aren’t called fallen angels because they flew down. THEY FELL…

Jesus said, “I saw satan FALL light lightning from heaven.” Can I tell you, God didn’t have to break a sweat on that battle. He gave the command and Satan was gone.

Darkness cannot overcome the light! It has been this way since the beginning...

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Genesis Chapter 1)

2 The earth was 1aformless and void, and bdarkness was over the 2surface of the deep, and cthe Spirit of God dwas 3moving over the 2surface of the waters.3 Then aGod said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.4 God saw that the light was agood; and God bseparated the light from the darkness.

Notice Darkness is over the face of the deep. The biblical author found it important to mention that there was darkness to illustrate the contrast between the two in the verses that follow.

Then God said, “let their be light. And there was light.” Just like everything else God calls forth in creation, there was no question about it, no struggle for it, it just was.

Light did not have to come from a womb in a long birthing process, or from a far away place and it took time to arrive, no God spoke it and it was! There was no cosmic battle in the heavens for dominance. God spoke, light showed up, and darkness was looking for a place to hide.

Look at v. 4-5

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

4 God saw that the light was agood; and God bseparated the light from the darkness.

5 aGod called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And bthere was evening and there was morning, one day.

Now there is a boundary to the darkness called light and the light institutes time and order over the chaos of the formless void. There is now day and night, separated by the presence of the light at the command of the Word of God.

Light as Order

All of a sudden, at the introduction of light, there is order. Things are put into their place. The stage is set fo the rest of creation to happen.

Throughout the rest of creation, light represents order in the midst of what would otherwise be chaos.

The light is what makes distinct the day from the night. It is the light of the stars that mark the seasons that men live by.

The Source of Light

Interesting note: Look at the order of creation. Light, day and night is the first thing God creates, which denotes it’s priority to God. It is the first representation of God until man comes along. But the Sun and Moon are not created until day 4.

I think this a distinction intended by God to show that He does not rely on anything for help or assistance. When He speaks it, it comes to pass. The sun was not even in existence to give its light, but when God spoke light, there was light. That light came from Him, the source of the light.

He is the source of the light, and the source of life. There is no other source but Him.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Psalm 104

1 aBless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD my God, You are very great;

You are bclothed with splendor and majesty,

2 Covering Yourself with alight as with a cloak,

Light as a cloak… He clothes Himself in light. He’s not subject to it or dependent on it, He is the source of it!

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Daniel Chapter 2)

22 “It is He who areveals the profound and hidden things;bHe knows what is in the darkness,And the clight dwells with Him.

And the light DWELLS WITH HIM… He doesn’t dwell with it, light dwells with HIM. The light relies on Him as the source of power and illumination.

Illuminate

Plague in Egypt/Fire by night

This is what was so terrifying to the Egyptians when God sent the plague of darkness to their land.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible In the Old Testament > Light

During one of the plagues in Egypt the Egyptians were in thick darkness while the Israelites had light (Ex 10:23).

This would fly in the face of their sun god who was said to provide the light of the sun. But when you’re the source of the light, you don’t need the sun to dictate the light for you.

YHWH decided where the light would go and where it wouldn’t, regardless of the sun’s place in the sky.

Then, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, being led by God they had an advantage… God appeared to them as a pillar of cloud by day and FIRE by night… Which means, even when their enemies were in darkness, there was light in the camp of God’s people.

Because they serve the source of the light.

Throughout the Scriptures, the illustration of light is used again and again, and each time it is connected to God and His people.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 4)

18 But the apath of the righteous is like the blight of dawn,That cshines brighter and brighter until the dfull day.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Psalm 27

1 The LORD is my alight and my bsalvation;

Whom shall I fear?

When we get into the NT, there’s a shift, and all of a sudden the light takes on a new dimension.

Both Matthew and Luke, the Gospel writers center the symbolic meaning of light on Jesus, but John takes it a step further and builds it into the theology of his letter:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

4 aIn Him was life, and the life was bthe Light of men.

5 aThe Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not 1comprehend it.

The Light is no longer so abstract from here, it is a person.

Light as a Person

Now we have taken a step from God being the source of the light, to God being the light and the source.

What was once this abstract idea has now manifested amongst us in flesh and bone. What was once only prophecy and hope is now walking along side us as a man - Jesus the Christ.

There develops from this an expansion on the traditional dualism that is darkness and light and paints a picture of Jesus on the one side as the light and those who follow Him as walking in the light, and Darkness on the other hand representing sin and opposition to Jesus.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (John Chapter 8)

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 8

12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “aI am the Light of the world; bhe who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Jesus calls himself light and those who follow him recipients of that light.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (John Chapter 12)

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 12

46 “aI have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

46 “aI have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

In other words, those who are without Jesus are in Darkness and only those who have accepted Him have the light!

Carriers of the Light

The church, then, is put into a unique position: We are carriers of the light.

Look what He says, “those who believe in me will not remain in darkness.”

If Jesus is the light, and now He lives in us, we are carriers of that light…

Paul puts it this way:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (2 Cor. Chapter 4)

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

6 For God, who said, “aLight shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has bshone in our hearts to give the cLight of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in aearthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of bthe power will be of God and not from ourselves;

6 For God, who said, “aLight shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has bshone in our hearts to give the cLight of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.7 But we have this treasure in aearthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of bthe power will be of God and not from ourselves;

This treasure.. What Treasure? The LIGHT… In earthen vessels…

So now, Jesus is the light of the world. The source of the light. The light incarnate, in person, wrapped up in flesh, yet He says of the Church:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 5

14 “You are athe light of the world. A city set on a 1hill cannot be hidden;

15 anor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a 1basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may asee your good works, and bglorify your Father who is in heaven.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Matthew Chapter 5)

14 “You are athe light of the world. A city set on a 1hill cannot be hidden;15 anor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a 1basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may asee your good works, and bglorify your Father who is in heaven.

You are the light of the world… Let your light shine.

In other words, the Light is Jesus, but we are illuminated by His rays… He shines through us… We carry His light.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised II. In the NT

It is important that those who have been illuminated become illuminators and not simply keep to themselves the light they have received. Thus Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:16).

Which brings us back to the text we started with:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Luke Chapter 11)

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 11

33 “aNo one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.

34 “aThe eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is 1clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is 2bad, your body also is full of darkness.

35 “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.

36 “If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

33 “aNo one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.34 “aThe eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is 1clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is 2bad, your body also is full of darkness.35 “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.36 “If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

When I first read this, it was probably more confusing, but now that you have an understanding of the light and how those listening would’ve understood the concept of the light, it makes more sense.

No one who lights a lamp… Jesus is the light and we are the carriers of the light.. the lamps.

The eye is the lamp of the body… Remember in the Greco-Roman thought, light was all about seeing. So if your eye is the lamp of the body, then...

How you see it (eye)… The way you perceive things, your perspective… informs, illuminates (lamp) how you live (body).

You can always tell what a person actually believes by the way they live. What they say is less important, because people lie, but their actions and how they live will inform you of what they believe.

“THEN, Watch out that your light does not become darkness.” In other words, see to that your perspective doesn’t cause the light to be as darkness.

Have you ever met someone who goes to church every time the doors are open, but are mean as a rattlesnake?

Don’t let your perspective make your light darkness!

It is ok for us to have different perspectives, different interpretations of some texts, different outlooks on life, different styles of worship… As long as it is the source of light we are showing to the world…

What happens is, you have this style of worship, and someone else likes a different kind of preaching, and the baptist church does it one way, and the methodist church… etc.

Lighting Illustration

What’s important is that we all allow Jesus to shine through us…

Illuminate

The purpose of the Church, the reason you’re here is to Worship the Light and to spread the light!

Love God, Make disciples… That is what we are meant to do!

What happens too often is we get so caught up in our colors that we would rather spend time with only the shade of light that looks like us, but we are missing the bigger picture.

What is important is that He is the source of the light and everything we do should reveal Him!

The moment we get out on our own and lose track of our purpose, we are disconnecting from the source.

Plug In Light Illustration

The light works great until it is no longer connected to the source!

We must stay connected to Him, put aside our differences with other Christians and do the work of the Kingdom!

Ask everyone to Stand

Closing

We are carriers of the light. Our job is to illuminate.

Title Slide

There’s so much more to this idea of light, but this is where God told me to stop and make this clear:

ILLUMINATE.

Everywhere you go, whatever you do, do it for His glory. Shine to those around you. Show His light to everyone you encounter.

ILLUMINATE.

Salvation Call, Prayer