Shine the Light

Shine The Light

Darkness. The word is best defined as “absence of light.” When there is no light you have darkness.

Darkness, in the Bible, is used as a metaphor to describe what life is like without God. When you live without his presence or His love, when you refuse to follow His directions, when you choose your foolishness over His wisdom, you find yourself in a dark place. Here’ s what I want you to understand, until you grasp the extent of the darkness in this world you won’t be able to fully celebrate the light.

To a degree, our eyes have adjusted to the darkness. The news reports of a gunman who kills 9 on Christmas eve, the death of 280 after air strike in Gaza, house fire in Philadelphia kills 7, Baghdad car bomb kills 22, & former chairman of NASDAQ rips off investors of over 50 billion, all these & more & we shrug it off, because we have grown use to the darkness. Our eyes have adjusted to the darkness.

The reason we don’t always notice the darkness is because we are part of the darkness. What often concerns me the most is my own darkness. Did I really talk that way to my spouse? Did I really just let my eyes watch that & my mind to think that? Did I really betray my friend like that? Did I really do that last night?

Are you ever caught off guard by the darkness within you? There is darkness in each of us & even though I’m not a child, I’m still afraid of the dark within me!

A few things you need to remember about the darkness:

1- The darkness has always been there. You felt it when you were a kid when you lied to your parents about where you had been. You felt it when you stole that item from the store. You felt it when you went out & got drunk. The darkness has always been there.

2- The darkness is naturally progressive. Darkness will grow & grow & eventually will overtake the light. When Jesus was arrested prior to his crucifixion, we read in Lk 22 “This is the hour when darkness reigns.”And when darkens reigns, man is capable of unbelievable evil.

Some of you have lost yourself in the darkness. You thought you could control the “darkness”, but now you discovered that darkness will always take you further than you ever intended to go? It takes you from yelling at the kids to hitting them. It takes you from a few drinks with some friends to getting wasted on too many occasions. It takes you from looking at a few pictures on the screen to spending hours on line looking at graphic images. It takes you from stealing a few dollars out of petty cash to embezzling thousands. It takes you from a little overspending to crippling credit card debt.

There is a song by Casting Crowns that captures the progression of the darkness. The name of the song is “Slow Fade.” The chorus goes like this: It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away. It’s a slow fade when black & white have turned to gray. Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid, when you give yourself away. People never crumble in a day, it’s a slow fade! It’s a slow fade!” That’s the way darkness takes over. Our first response, our only possible hope is to cry out in the darkness to our Heavenly Father.

(Turn lights back on.)

Jesus is God’s answer to the darkness. The darkness in the world we live in & the darkness that lives within us. In this dark world God brought a light, his Son Jesus Christ.

John 1:9 says, “The true light gives light to every person was coming into the world.” Jesus was announced as the “true light” that gives light to the darkness. And that is why we celebrate Christmas. Into our dark world a light has broken through & his name is Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12) So Jesus is the LIGHT that shines into the darkness.

Are you experiencing the darkness of despair in your own life, because something has not gone like you had hoped? Would you let the light of God’s hope come into your life? If you’re experiencing the darkness of suffering or someone you love is, would you pray that they would experience the light of God’s joy? If you are experiencing the darkness of anxiety or depression hanging over you like a dark cloud, would you ask for the light of God’s peace to pierce your darkness.

Maybe you are in the dark because of your own choice or the choice of some one else & you wish life could have been different. No matter how dark it is right now the light of Jesus can still break through.

Jesus came to shine his light into the darkness & give you life. And without Jesus in your life you don’t have real life! I John 5:12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” It’s very simple; if you don’t have Jesus you don’t have real life. You may have a form of life, but it’s not the real life found in Jesus.

Some people shun the light. Jn 1:4-5 “In Jesus was life, & that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” For those of us who have seen & accepted the light, it is very frustrating having someone we care about refuse to embrace the light. Maybe it’s a relative or a neighbor, a co-worker or a friend, who won’t to accept the light.

It’s very difficult for those who are in the darkness to see the light. We can see it, why don’t they see it? Why, because Satan has blinded their eyes. 2 Cor. 4:4 “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News”.(NLT) And that is one of the reasons it is so important for us to shine the light so that those who are in the darkness will see it.

John 3: “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil “(3:19 NLT) Many people reject the light for this simple fact: The darkness can be fun! They love the darkness! Now they may say, “I don’t think Jesus was God’s son or that they don’t believe the Bible is really God’s word. But the truth is they just like the darkness. And many people reject the light because they like the darkness. There is an appeal that the darkness has on us.

And John says, “Don’t be surprised when people refuse the light because the darkness can be fun.” There is a battle in this world between the light & the darkness. And unless we turn the light on the darkness the darkness remains. How do we do turn the light on the darkness? Jesus tells us in Matthew 5. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp & then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matt. 5:14-16 NLT)

We shine our light, as Christians, when we do “good deeds”. We shine the brightest through acts of kindness, compassion, service & love. James writes: “Religion that God accepts as pure & without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, & keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence”. James 1:27 More important than exact doctrine, or statement of faith or our bible knowledge or the right church affiliation, is our “shineability.” Make sure that when you go to your work place

or your school, or Wal-Mart that you DON’T hide your light.

What can you do to shine the light? Our light, as a church, is shinning a little brighter in this community through the baby bin ministry, through the Christmas box ministry; through the giving tree ministry, & in March we will have an opportunity to shine the light through “Feed My Starving Children” ministry.

I want to challenge you to think of ways you could shine the light of Jesus this coming year. Remember that this light is NOT a self-generating light. It’s a light that comes from Jesus. When you accept Jesus as your savior, receive Him by personal invitation & follow him faithfully, His light will shine through you!

I wonder if some of you are in darkness right now. Let the light of Jesus break through. No matter how dark the darkness, the light of Jesus can break through. If you want to talk to someone about your relationship with Jesus, then meet me down front after the closing prayer.

Video – Jesus Light of the World by Third Day