Awake, Not Woke

Introduction

Ephesians 5:7–14 ESV

7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 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. 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, 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.”

In 1638 Galileo attempted to measure the speed of light by measuring the time it took for two lanterns on separate hilltops to be reveled. He couldn’t even come close to a good calculation, only estimating light was 10 times the speed of sound. In 1676 a Danish astronomer was able to get close to measuring it at 200,000 KM per second. Today we know that light travels at 186,282.397 miles per second; some 900,000 times the speed of sound.

Now, here is the amazing part of light. In a perfect vacuum the speed is always at a constant state of velocity independent of the emitting body. In other words, the speed of light is sacred. You cannot speed it up or slow it down by your own movement.

Let’s illustrate it this way: Suppose you are standing in the freeway and your friend is traveling down that freeway at 60 MPH. At the same time your friend goes by you a police motorcycle goes by you at 70 mph. To you the speed of the motorcycle will be 70 mph, but to your friend that motorcycle will pass him at 10 mph.

Now, picture the same scenario, except instead of a motorcycle passing you and your cousin, it is a beam of light. In this case - and only in cases involving light, the light beam passes both of you at the exact same speed. No matter who you are, no matter what you believe, no matter how fast or how slow you are going the speed of light is always going to be unchanged. (Michael Guillem, Amazing Truths)

The same thing is true for God. In the Bible, God and Jesus are repeatedly identified with light. 1 John 1:5 “5 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.” God is constant. He never changes. His character and nature never changes. His holiness never changes. No matter what is happening in the world, God’s nature does not change, nor does it adjust or is it relative to the events and condition of the world.

Likewise God is not subject to the limits of space, matter or time.. Revelation 1:8 “8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” For Jehovah God (the God of the Bible) there is no past, present, or future. There are all one and the same to him. Whereas we are always developing, always changes, always different than we were yesterday and will be different tomorrow, God simply is… he never changes - Period. Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”

I. Express the Light (vv. 7-10).

We live in a luminous society. If we were to turn off all of the lights off in this room, we would see lights from various sources, mainly electronic. Few of us have ever experienced complete darkness. Light for us is common and abundant as air and we often take advantage of that. It is also true for us spiritually. In today’s passage, Paul likens evil not to something similar or equal to light, but the absence of light - darkness. Moreover, the Apostle Paul compares those who are children of God through Jesus Christ as children of light and those who are disobedient to God as those walking - living - in darkness. This is a fascinating consideration that I want to take a moment and consider more deeply.

Paul spends much of his letter telling us what a life of darkness involves. He describes children of the world as futile, darkened, sexually immoral, alienated from God, ignorant, hard-hearted, greedy of impurity, angry, vulgar, thieves. It is an unflattering list and it is darkness that causes sinful people to be gravitated to these dark things. Just as light and darkness are incompatible, so it is that these things are incompatible with the believer in Christ.

John 8:12 ESV

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.”

Now, this is vitally important, because if you want to have victory over the war on your family, the war on your marriage, and ultimately the spiritual battle over satan, then you must ahve nothing to do with these things. Instead, as Paul says in Ephesians 5:1 “1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” and then again in Ephesians 5:7-8 “7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”

Light in the Bible is symbolic of morality and truth. The good news is that you do not need to remain living in darkness or stay on the path of sin, darkness, or destruction. That’s no long how your life is defined. You are children of light, so live as children of light.

Notice that Paul doesn’t only say that we were once in darkness. He says we were once darkness itself. Now, we are not only in the light, we are light in the Lord. (Guzik). Therefore, as children of light, our fruit is completely different from the rest of the world and our fruit should keep with our identity.

Ephesians Express Light (5:8–10)

Paul here summarizes the fruit that he has been describing over the last several paragraphs: goodness (i.e., good-heartedness toward others in contrast to malice, Eph. 4:26–27, 29–32); righteousness (i.e., honoring God’s standards especially as in living a separated life as opposed to indulging the culture’s sensuality and selfishness, Eph. 4:19; 5:3–5; 6:14), and truth (i.e., displaying integrity, dealing honestly, and speaking truthfully

Additionally, Paul tells us that living as children of the light is determined not only by what we do, but also by whom we please. In other words, living as children of light is a matter of motive as much as it the work of our hands.

II. Expose the Darkness (vv 11-13)

Ephesians 5:11–13 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,

A young soldier and his commanding officer got on a train together. The only available seats were across from an attractive young lady who was traveling with her grandmother. As the four engaged in conversation, the soldier and the young lady kept eyeing one another, as there was an obvious mutual attraction.

Suddenly the train went into a tunnel, sending the train car into darkness. Immediately two sounds were heard: the smack of a kiss, followed by the whack of a slap across someone’s face.

As the four came back into the light:

The grandmother thought, “I can’t believe he kissed my granddaughter, but I’m glad she gave him the slap he deserved.”

The commanding officer thought, “I don’t blame the boy for kissing the girl, but I wish her aim was better and that she’d slapped him instead of me.”

The young girl thought, “I’m glad he kissed me, but I wish my grandmother hadn’t slapped him for doing it.”

And as the young soldier sat in his seat smiling, he thought, “Wow, I can’t believe I got to lay one on such a hot girl, slap my commanding officer, and get away with both!

The Point:

It’s easier to get away with certain things in the dark. That’s why the Bible (John 3:19) tells us that many people love the dark because of how it hides their evil ways. (Timothy Click, Sermon Central)

Romans 1:28 ESV

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Romans 1:21 ESV

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

The phrase “take no part in” means “to share possession of.” In the literal sense we take part in the darkness through our habits. Last week we read the ware no not to have even a hint of sexual immorality (Ephesians 5:3). Paul emphasizes this in verse Ephesians 5:12 “12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.” First it is not possible for the believer to live a double life. You may be able to fool those around you for a little while, but everything is known to God. He is calling you to repent.

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.

The other way we can share in possession in the darkness is how we invest our resources and money. This is be through the entertainment we buy or the places we support through our consumerism. For instance, if Disney is persistent in their woke agenda, I don’t care how much you enjoy their movies or parks, we should have nothing to do with them. Spiritually, we are sharing possession of these places when we give them our money.

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Paul takes this a step further, however. He doesn’t tell us to avoid such people but even more, we are to expose their sin. This requires that we ourselves are bearers of God’s light, we must be ready to enter into the dark places, and we must bring the light of God with us - not join in the darkness.

John 3:20 ESV

20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

Let’s be clear. This is spiritual warfare. Spiritual darkness is not only the work, but the dominion of Satan. The unbeliever does the work of Satan because he is under Satan’s control (Luke 22:53). That is why people will often reject Christ to hold onto their sins.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

We are to glow with the brilliance of the Holy Spirit wherever we go. It is more than being a reflection. The idea is not that of say being a "Moon Christian". We are to be the actual bearers of the light of God. That God’s presence encompasses our lives so much, that we actually are the emitters of God’s light.

The sun is a star that is empowered with light. It's basic chemical composition creates light and emanates light. It is that light that enables us here on earth to enjoy life. Without the sun there would be no life on our planet. Like the moon we would only be a piece of dead rock floating around our galaxy.

In His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:14) Jesus told his followers that they were the light of the world. Jesus tells them that the LORD wants them to be much more than mere reflections of His grace and glory, Instead, it is God's will that His grace and glory be so placed in them/us that they/we would shine because His light is now their/our light. And therefore from that light others will be drawn to the LORD.

The purpose of exposing the darkness is for those in the darkness to come to see God’s truth and become children of God themselves. You will never bring someone to repentance without exposing the guilt of their sin. On the day of Pentecost, those who heard Peter’s sermon were ‘cut to the heart’ to the point where they were seeking out the light of God (Acts 2:37).

Romans 6:21 ESV

21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

Examine Our Lives

All of this reveals to us an essential truth. The best way for us to resist and defeat temptation is to make sure that our LORD is at the center of our lives. We can never go wrong when we allow God to take His throne in the middle of our hearts, our lives, our homes and in His Church. We can no longer live in ignorance of his light and life.

Ephesians 5:14 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.”

Paul offers an invitation for anyone in darkness - you can be saved. The church needs to be awake, not woke. No human efforts can save anyone or make the world a better place. We are only descending into deeper spiritual darkness without the radical intervention of Christ.

Isaiah 60:1 ESV

1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Many believe that this verse is taken from an Easter hymn sung by the early church and used as an invitation to come to the Lord Jesus Christ, the light of the World. It is an invitation from death to life and only possible through the power of God. Which brings me back to our discussion on the physics of light:

Everything within the earth that is ordinary atomic matter lives in what is called a tardyon realm. No matter how hard we try, we can never achieve the speed of light. The reason is, according to Einstein, that the faster we travel, the more dense in mass we become and therefore it would take an infinite amount of energy to move an infinitely increasing mass. This has been scientifically proven.

On the flip-side, everything that exists traveling above the speed of light is known as tachyons. As they attempt to slow down to the hallowed speed limit, their masses inflate uncontrollably. Ultimately, an infinite amount of energy would be needed to slow one all the way down to below the speed of light. And that’s not all. For tardyons and tachyons alike, time exists. It flows one way for us tardyons and the opposite way for tachyons. Whereas for light itself, time slows to a complete stop. (Credit: Michale Guillem, Amazing Truths).

There is only one that transcended space, time, and light to bring the light to the world, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 8:12 (ESV)

12 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.”

Darkness cannot drive out light, only light can drive out darkness. Which do you chose to live in today - light or darkness?