The Light of the World
The Light of the World:
- The wonder of the Advent season.
- 4 weeks emphasizing hope, love, joy and peace.
- It is a preparation time to celebrate the first coming of Christ.
- It does make sense that the Advent celebration would be held on the Lord’s day.
- But instead our minds immediately trend towards: me – will anyone be in church on Sunday, our kids – how will we open our presents on Christmas morn, Families – how will we finish food prep and get to grandmaw’s….
- Our traditions, our travels, our tendencies…
- But with every mention of the first coming one is reminded and anticipates Jesus’ second advent.
- There were 400 years of silence before the first advent took place.
- 400 years of darkness without the Word of the Lord going forth.
- In the fullness of time the silence was broken with the Sun of Righteousness.
Malachi 4:1-2 (NKJV) 1 “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
1. Light burst forth breaking the silence.
Matthew 4:15-16 (NKJV) 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned
1.1. They have seen a great light.
1.2. It was spoken long before that a great light would come forth into this world.
1.3. Light brings healing.
1.4. A light that would guide us, a light that would awaken us, a light that would drown out the darkness.
1.5. Ela… As the sun rises every morning to void the effect of darkness.
1.6. Ela… Isn’t the sun that rises every morning light enough? Isn’t the moon and stars that shines forth at night a sufficient light? The answer is no. All of these lights are only a reflection speaking of and pointing us towards the true light of the world.
2. The nature of the light of Christ
Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Ephesians 5: 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.”
2.1. We’ve all felt the long, thick darkness of night.
2.1.1. But then the kindness of our Savior appeared and dispelled the night.
2.1.2. The morning star shines the brightest when the darkness is about to dissipate and the day is about to break.
2.1.3. Only the light of Christ can drive away the darkness within a man or women’s heart.
2.1.4. For He is our morning star.
2.1.5. Darkness has no defense against light.
2.1.6. Light drives out darkness.
2.1.7. Christ has come to put an end to our endless night.
2.2. Darkness has no choice but to give way to light and has no power to overcome it.
John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
2.3. Light dispels darkness.
2.4. When there is light there is no darkness present. 2.5. Let your light shine brightly before men.
2.6. Light makes visible.
2.6.1. Becomes visible = whatsoever doth make manifest–rather, “everything that is (that is, suffers itself to be) made manifest.
2.6.2. The devil and the wicked will not suffer themselves to be made manifest by the light, but love darkness, though outwardly the light shines round them. Therefore, “light” has no transforming effect on them, so that they do not become light (John 3:19, 20).
2.6.3. But, says the apostle, you being now light yourselves (Eph 5:8), by bringing to light through reproof those who are in darkness, will convert them to light.
2.6.4. Our consistent lives and faithful reproofs will be our “armor of light” (Ro 13:12) in making an inroad on the kingdom of darkness.
2.7. “Everyone of us is in that condition until the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ breaks in and melts the hardness, and dispels the darkness, and unites us to the life of God and makes us new creatures through faith in Christ.” John Piper
3. Jesus has come to take us out of darkness
1 Peter 2: 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
3.1. Marvelous light.
3.1.1. worthy of pious admiration, admirable, excellent 3.1.2. passing human comprehension
3.1.3. causing amazement joined with terror
3.1.4. extraordinary, striking, surprising
3.2. Darkness becomes uncomfortable to the Children of the Light. 3.3. Light up your life…
Luke 11:33-36 (NKJV) 33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. 34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
4. The eternal day of light.
Isa 60: 19 – 22 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. 20 Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the Lord will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21 Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
John 12:35-36 (NKJV) 35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
4.1. We live in a time where darkness is understood and expected.
4.2. The need for artificial and temporary light will cease as we enter into the pure, infinite light of Christ.
4.3. Each day we wake up to a rising sun.
4.4. Each night we go to sleep in the darkness.
4.5. Ela…God gives us a daily reminder of the struggle between light and darkness.