Fanning the Flames

The Coming of the Light of the World   Part 10 of 10

“No longer will you have the sun for light by day,
Nor for brightness will the moon give you light;
But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light,
And your God for your glory.
Your sun will no longer set,
Nor will your moon wane;
For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning will be over.” (Isaiah 60:19-20)

Isaiah prophesied that a day is coming when we will have no need for the sun or moon to provide light for us.  Life will be totally illumined by the glory of the Lord.

“And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

We see this promise repeated in Revelation chapter 22 by Jesus.  And we also learn a little more about the when and where.  It will be in our forever in the new heaven where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4) and “our days of mourning will be over” (Isaiah 60:20).  Oh, what a day that will be!

A day is coming at the consummation of the age when we will dwell in the presence of the Light forever.  Until then, let’s press on as we celebrate this Christmas the Light that came into the world 2000 years ago; a Light of salvation for all who believe.  I implore you, believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ and come home into the Light!

Jesus will be our Light because Jesus is the Light of the world!

The Coming of the Light of the World   Part 8 of 10

“For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord.  Walk as children of Light for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth” (Ephesians 5:8-9).

Notice this timeline.  You were FORMERLY darkness.  But now, today and every day, “you are Light in the Lord.”  You are ALWAYS in the Light.  Now as children of Light, let’s walk according to our new identity.  Let’s display the fruits of who we already are; goodness, righteousness, and truth.

“Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12).

Let’s lay aside that former way of life.  Let’s lay aside those deeds of darkness.  Even though we no longer walk in darkness, we can carry out dark deeds.  We still sin.  We still walk according to the flesh at times.  We may even go as far as to “look” like a lost person; to “look” like we are walking in darkness.  But as a child of God, you are always in the Light.

And we find the power to lay those dark deeds aside by putting on the “armor of light.”  By putting on Christ.  He is our Light.  He is our armor.  And by virtue of His Light living in us, we have everything we need to “lay aside the deeds of darkness” and to walk in the Light and the power of our indwelling Savior.

We are clothed with the armor of Light because Jesus is the Light of the world!

The Coming of the Light of the World   Part 9 of 10

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all … And since we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 5,7).

Is this sounding a bit repetitive?  I will say it again anyway.  God is light and there is no darkness in Him.  So we, having been found in Him, have no darkness in us.  We are children of Light.  And two of the things that happened to us when we were transferred from darkness to light are …

First, we have fellowship with each other.  We are now part of a community of Light.  We are now in a family of Light.  We are now a kingdom of Light.  And the other?  We have been washed clean from our sin.

“For you are all sons of light and sons of day.  We are not of night nor of darkness” (I Thessalonians 5:5).  You are not just a son of Light.  You are “all sons (plural) of Light.”  You are part of a community.  You are in the body of Christ.  You have a home among the beloved.  Welcome home.  We are happy you are here!

We have become a community of Light because Jesus is the Light of the world!

The Coming of the Light of the World   Part 7 of 10

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13).

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9).

This theme continues into the letters of the apostles.  We have been transferred, picked up and moved, from the “domain of darkness” to “His marvelous light.”  We have a new home in the domain of the kingdom of God.

This thread throughout the New Testament is so important to understand.  Light and darkness are pictures of the kingdom of God and the domain of Satan.  There is a myriad of ways to say it; light or darkness, God or Satan, saved or lost, believer or unbeliever, in Christ or in Adam.  We do not wander back and forth between the two.  We are always in the light, in Christ, saved, based upon our choice to believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Based on your belief in that gospel, you are now part of “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.”  And you are completely and forever safe in your new home.

Jesus literally transferred you from darkness to His marvelous Light because Jesus is the Light of the world!

The Coming of the Light of the World   Part 6 of 10

“The voice said, ‘I am rescuing you, and sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me’ “ (Acts 26:17-18)

During his testimony before King Agrippa, the apostle Paul described his conversion experience.  The voice he heard from heaven gave Paul this commission that succinctly summarized not only his mission, but the gospel itself.

We proclaim the gospel today so that folks’ eyes may be opened that they may turn from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to the kingdom of God.  When they do this, they receive the complete forgiveness of their sins, become co-heirs with Christ, and are sanctified by their faith in the finished work of Jesus who died in their place.

One of the hallmarks of the grace message is the complete forgiveness of sins.  And it is the hallmark of the gospel that Paul was called to preach.  And it is the hallmark of the gospel that we were called to preach.

When Jesus appeared before His disciples on the evening of His resurrection, He left them with this charge, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:46-49).

Our number one message to the world, “to all the nations,” is this, “Repent, change your mind about how you are made right with God, and you will receive the complete forgiveness of your sins.”  And we spread this message in the same power as the apostles, the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us.

When we believe the gospel message of Jesus, we turn from darkness to light because Jesus is the Light of the world!