Let Your Light Shine

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting at Harvest Fellowship
Sunday @ 9:30 a.m. 801 E. Cliff Rd. in Burnsville, MN Info: (952) 431-2063 Pastor: Rich Meidl Today’s Date: July 24, 2005

Let Your Light Shine
by Dan Trygg

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

"…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.’ 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:8-17

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Romans 13:10-14

The Bible employs the images of light and darkness many times to depict the spiritual atmosphere and character of people and places. Often darkness refers to spiritual ignorance, deception or blindness (Matt. 6:22,23; Jn. 1:5; 3:19; 12:35,46; Rom. 2:19; I Thess. 5:4; I Jn. 1:5,6; 2:8-11). At other times, it refers to the heaviness of depression and hopelessness (Matt. 4:16; Isa. 59:9-12). It is also used as an image to describe the evil spiritual kingdom set at odds against God (Lk. 22:53; Acts 26:18; Col. 1:12; Eph. 6:12). Finally, it is used to describe a place of death, isolation and punishment that awaits the wicked (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; II Pet. 2:17; Jude 1:6,13). As they chose to live in this life, so they have a future of confusion, loneliness, and separation from all that is good and righteous. What is important for us to grasp is that this present world is largely under the dominion of the powers of darkness. Men and women are darkened in their understanding of spiritual things, and they experience an inner emptiness that causes them to reach out for more, to find meaning and fulfillment for their existence. Because they are blind to the spiritual realities around them, they are often entrapped in lies, behaviors and relationships which misguide them and lead them into destructive bondage.

Spiritual forces of wickedness are always at work to keep this cloud of confusion, blindness and misdirection upon people to maintain their influence and control. They use people to spread and reinforce this darkness through deception, erroneous example, and abuse in every area of human life. Satan’s agenda is to keep human beings from coming to know God and finding freedom, especially to neutralize our lives so that we are no threat to his earthly kingdom. He is a master at using darkness and deception at every conceivable level to accomplish his ends. He will use what seems to be harmless distraction to waste our moments and hours, until our lives are spent with no impact for God. He will lure us with pleasurable experiences and behaviors to entrap us in an unending slavery of self-seeking hedonism. Sometimes he offers success and wealth so that we become proud and live in the lethargy of luxury and self-indulgence. Sometimes he misdirects our awareness of just causes to manipulate us into social or political activities which appear commendable, but keep us from the whole truth that is in God’s will alone. His true colors show, however, when he uses people to abuse, defile and oppress others. Where he can, he delights to crush the innocent, deface, degrade and murder human beings, because he so despises the image of the Creator which is still somehow visible in us. Furthermore, he assigns demonic parasites to attempt to invade our lives, to blind us to the gospel and manipulate us to do his will (cf. II Tim. 2:24-26). These evil creatures are responsible for all manner of afflictions of the spirit, mind and body.

On the other hand, Jesus referred to Himself as the light of the world on two occasions (Jn. 8:12; 9:5). He came to bring the glory and radiance of His Father’s liberating love and goodness into this dark planet (Jn. 1:9-14; Heb. 1:3). He came to do much more than that, however. He came to break the power of the dominion of darkness, and begin to spread the light of the knowledge of the glory of God abroad to liberate those held under its heavy cloak. The way He has chosen to do that is by (1.) undercutting the power of the enemy; and (2.) gathering up an army of people to bring His Kingdom glory to every corner of the earth.

We who know Him are that army. Once we were darkness, but He has changed that. We were as powerless as clay pots would be to light up a dark place, but, …miracle of miracles…, He has shone in our hearts to enable us to shine forth the reality of knowing God in Jesus (II Cor. 4:6,7). As He said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Because of His presence in our lives, our identity, our very nature has changed. Once we were darkness, but now we are children of light. Once we were under the dominion and authority of the prince of darkness, now our citizenship has been transferred to the Kingdom of Jesus, God’s beloved Son (Col. 1:13). Since we are no longer under Satan’s authority, we can break off his attempts to control us. Because we have been spiritually reborn, we have been qualified to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light (Col. 1:12), and have been given weaponry and giftings to enable us to fulfill what God is calling us to accomplish (Matt. 28:19,20; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 6:10-20; I Cor. 12).

All of that said, the big picture is that we should be living lives that are noticeably different from our pre-Christian behaviors, …lives that should stand out as radically different from our non-Christian neighbors, co-workers, family and friends. There should be something different about our character and behavior that proclaims the goodness of God, the righteousness of God and the power of Jesus’ presence in our lives to overcome sin and enable us to live moral, godly, and upright lives in this day and age (Tit. 2:11-14). Our faith should be expressed in our behavior in such ways that should dispel the darkness, much as Jesus’ own life did.

Often our Christianity is no more than a form of godliness. Paul wrote to Timothy that in the last days difficult times will come, times of great evil. One aspect of that is that people will maintain an outward form of devotion to God, but they will deny or refuse the power of what that really means (II Tim. 1:1-5). Many go to church out of a sense of duty, or from an underlying belief that their religious attendance and devotional rituals will bring God’s favor and blessing upon their agenda. This is nothing other than witchcraft, trying to manipulate and control spiritual powers by ritual and religious performance. Self-centeredness is at the core of such a mindset. Instead of surrendering themselves to serve God, they are trying to get God to serve their interests. Such people are to be avoided, says Paul. Their true nature and/or orientation will become evident by the fruit of their lives. Are they becoming more Christlike in character, …more loving, more patient, more joyful and able to give of themselves? Are they investing themselves in the King’s business, or living for their own personal comforts? Are they reaching out to the weak and powerless? Are they gracious and forgiving, or bitter and argumentative? Are they making sacrifices to serve God and others?

How do we walk as children of light? What must we do to be more effective in this area?

(1.) Repent and submit to God. If you see you have been self-oriented, and not as deeply devoted as you ought, the starting point for a change in life and relationship with God is simply to admit that, confess it to Him, and ask Him to have His way in your life. I Jn. 1:9 tells us that if we agree with God about our behavior, He will be faithful to forgive us from our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Expect Him to begin to work. To "cast off the works of darkness" and "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness" are necessary first steps to open your life up to God. "What sharing-together has light and darkness?" (II Cor. 6:14) If you want to walk as a child of light, you must put aside the works of darkness out of obedience and submission to God.

(2.) Invest yourself to know Him and His will. He is the true source of light and life. We will be transformed as we begin to know Him better, and commune with Him. II Cor. 3:18 says as we behold His glory, …His grace, His love, His faithfulness…, we will be changed into His likeness. Expect Him to communicate to you what He wants from you. He will begin to make His will known to you. The Spirit will lead you (Rom. 8:14).

(3.) Step into the opportunities He brings to you. God creates us as He sees fit, shaping, tooling and equipping us to do His will. He also gives His spiritual gifts as He desires. He will also bring to us the opportunities to serve others in ways that will bring Him glory. We, however, have to choose to step into those when they come. Fear and discomfort are our greatest obstacles, here. Pray for boldness and compelling love from the Spirit (II Cor. 5:14). [Note what the Scriptures say we should be looking to do: good works, acts of kindness and love (Matt. 5:16; Tit. 2:7,14; 3:8,14; Heb. 10:24). These show an uncommon concern and graciousness for others. These strike at the root of human selfishness. They are the outward expression of the change God makes in our hearts, as we become like Him. Jesus said that love is the premier mark of the genuine follower of Jesus (Jn. 13:34,35). The enemy can imitate and counterfeit other spiritual gifts and supernatural acts, but he cannot move people to consistently love, as defined in I Cor. 13.]

(4.) Be prepared for warfare. Whenever we make advances in the things of the Spirit, we can expect that there will be a backlash and/or a price to be paid. This is war, after all. Satan will oppose us, and attempt to destroy the impact of what we do. Count on it. "Put on the armor of light." Be mentally and spiritually prepared.

(5.) Choose to make this a way of life. The word picture of a "walk" is that of repeated steps. If we are going to walk in the Spirit, if we are going to walk as children of light, we must make repeated, regular, consistent steps of obedience in response to His leading.