06-09-2024 – “Children of Light”

Bible Text: Luke 11:33-36 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the link to YouTube or audio recordings.

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June 9, 2024
“Children of Light”
Luke 11:33-36
    

Read Luke 11:33-36…  We understand and have all experienced both light and darkness, in the physical realm; but here Jesus is using light as a metaphor for divine truth, and darkness as a metaphor for the absence of divine truth, i.e., light reveals, where as, darkness conceals.

Ephesians 4:17-18, “Walk no longer as the [unbelieving] walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.”

Ephesians 5:8-13, “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), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.”

Read Luke 11:33…  Light exposes things, it reveals all that is in the area on which the light is shining.  And so, light should be held up, put up on a stand, so that everything might be made visible by it.  Can you imagine someone covering the lamp in their room with a large box, or turning on a flashlight in a dark room, only to put the flashlight into a thick bag so that its light can’t be seen?

1John 1:5 declares, “God is light,” in Him there is no darkness.  “Light” is synonymous with God’s righteousness and truth; “darkness,” refers to all that is false, all that is void of the character and nature of God.

Hebrews 1:3 declares God’s Son to be the “radiance of God’s glory,” the very “Light” of God; so if Christ is in you, God’s light will shine through your life.

So what is the major deterrent keeping a person from receiving and being able to show God’s Light?

2Corinthians 4:4-6, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

In Matthew 5:14-16, speaking of those who believe in Him, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” 

Individual believers are like lamps in each house, providing light to those who would otherwise be in darkness.  God’s Church is to be like a lighted city on a hill, serving as a beacon to travelers in the valley below or on hills far away.

Christians are to shine God’s light, for we were all, at one time, living in darkness, guilty of sin, separated from the Light and Life of God.

Believing in Christ brings you into the light, where you receive life from God.  Our purpose as Christians, is to let God’s light shine so that those living in darkness might find their way to God’s love and forgiveness.

From the very beginning God separated light from darkness.

Genesis 1:1-4, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”

God will one day remove all darkness forever.

Revelation 21:3-5, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’

And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”

23, “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

22:3-5, “There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 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.”

      Jesus said (John 12:46), “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”

      In 2Corinthians 6:14, Paul exhorts us, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? What fellowship can light have with darkness?”

1Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, 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.”

Read Luke 11:34…  Light enters your brain [and your whole body] through your eyes, for the eye is the lamp of the body; if something is wrong with your eyes, you don’t see so well.  The same is true with spiritual light, knowledge of God’s revelation concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior.

Jesus spoke about those with hardened hearts [toward Him], as those who remain in darkness (Matthew 13:14), “You keep on hearing, but will not understand; You keep on seeing, but will not perceive.”

      The self-righteous religious leaders of Israel and all those who are unresponsive or indifferent toward Christ the Lord, remain in darkness.

John 3:16-20, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

Read Luke 11:35…  Jesus warns of the deception that causes a person to refuse to acknowledge and repent of sin and receive forgiveness; that person is deluded into thinking that they are good enough to go to heaven just as they are, perhaps because they are a Jew, or are very religious, or keep the Law, or have some how by their own merit become acceptable and pleasing to God.

We must plead with unbelievers (2Corinthians 5:20), for we are “ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

The truth is, there is absolutely no one who is righteous, no one who is good, no one who is acceptable to God, based on any inherent human quality, characteristic, attribute, or acquisition (cf. Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1).

      Read Luke 11:36…  Jesus said (Mark 10:18), “No one is good except God alone.”  We are only Good if God is in us, we can only experience and be full of the Light of God if we have been born again by the Spirit of God, having been made righteous by God, having been justified in His presence [just if I’d never sinned], now and forever.

Romans 10:9-10, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

13, “for, ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

To all those who will repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, God has granted eternal life, having placed His own Spirit in us and marked us as His very own possession for all of eternity.

Ephesians 1:13-14, “In [Christ], you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

      Paul writes (2Corinthians 5:21), “ He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son, Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

      Jesus died for our sins, paying our penalty to God for all our sins [past, present, and future], so that all who believe in Him will not be condemned, but instead we share in the righteousness that belongs to God alone, having been born-again by God’s Spirit, becoming children of God!.

John 1:12-13, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God [meaning, born from above, born of the Holy Spirit, i.e., born again].”

      Jesus said John 3:3, “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

6-8, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. You must be born again, born of the Spirit.”

The aged Apostle John summed up the testimony of God’s Word concerning God’s Son, and what all those who believe in Him have received.

1John 1:1-5, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 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.”

1John 5:11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

It is my deepest prayer that you will acknowledge, confess, believe in, and serve Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, so that the Love and Light of God will show in your life, where others will see it, experience it, and then perhaps ask you to tell them about the marvelous gift of forgiveness and eternal through God’s Son who was crucified, buried, resurrected, appeared to hundreds of His followers over a 40 day period, after which He ascended into heaven, from where He will return, to take all who believe in Him to be with Him in heaven, forever.

 

 
Pastor Mike Hale