Last week we
learned that we are to believe in the Light, trust the Light, walk in the Light
and be sons and daughters of the Light of Jesus.
· Light is
unchangeable; light cannot be made dark.
· Light exposes
everything.
· Light is the
sustainer of all life.
This is true
also of the Light of Truth – the Word of God. The Word is unchangeable and not
only sustains our spiritual life, it also exposes the ways of darkness.
Proverbs 4:13-17 says that the “path of the righteous
is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of
day.” When we first believe in
Jesus our light is dim, but as we are willing, Jesus will teach us and increase
His Light and glory in us. God wants us to be a shining light reflecting the
Light of Jesus to a world that is spiritually lost, spiritually dying and
spiritually in darkness.
This same
proverb warns that we are not to “set
foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.” V14 Followers
of Christ are not to have anything to do with the unfruitful works of darkness
but rather expose and refute them. Ephesians
5:8-14 says, “For you were once
darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the
fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find
out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of
darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the
disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible.
For it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Wake
up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.” Shine the
light of Truth against the works of darkness. The devil is cunning and works in
secret, scheming, lying, hiding, manipulating and deceiving. God and true
believers are to expose the secret works of those who are in darkness bringing
these things to the light of truth.
Jesus said
that we are to live as children of the light – His Light. Those who belong to
Christ are not to remain silent regarding the deeds of darkness and immorality.
We are not to make excuses for the works of darkness but rather recognize it
for what it is, expose it, cry out against unrighteousness and stand with God.
Jesus did! He exposed the Pharisees as a “brood
of vipers” and rebuked them for their false beliefs. They were leading
God’s people astray with untruth. They turned their ears away from the Truth that
Jesus spoke.
We are not to
condone sin and make excuses for it in ourselves or in others. Our holy God
hates sin, but He loves the repentant sinner. There were times in the Older
Testament that God gave the Israelites over to their sin because they
stubbornly refused to turn from their sin back to Him and His ways. God didn’t
condone sin even though He was long-suffering with His people. Turning them
over to their sin was God’s way of loving them hoping that they would get tired
of the results of their sin and come back to Him. For whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom
he delights. Proverbs 3:12 It is
important to point out that God’s love for His people in the process never
diminished. This is true of the Older Testament and the New. God’s ways don’t
change! Even though at times they moved into darkness, God eventually drew them
back to Him. God told His people that eventually He would make the darkness
light and the crooked things straight at His appointed time. (see Isaiah 42:16; 45:2) If we are to
reflect the light of Christ, then we must turn from the works of darkness.
Our fleshly
ways war against the Holy Spirit. Galatians
5:16-17: “So I say, live by the
Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the
sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the sinful nature. They
conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” When we
stray from God’s ways and allow our fleshly nature to take over, we are doing
the deeds of the devil not God. The Holy Spirit of God is not leading us. We
are to test the spirits and see who is guiding us and others.
Do not think for a moment that God is not aware of what
is going on in today’s world especially in the political arena. As the secrecy,
lying, manipulating and immorality are being exposed, God is hoping that those
who profess to love and serve Him will do something about it and bring it to
the Light, not turn a blind eye to the truth or make excuses for behavior that
is so obviously led by the devil himself. Any Christian should know that when a
person lies, hides, manipulates, boasts, belittles, judges unjustly and tears
others down is not led by the Holy Spirit of God, but by the devil who works
through our fleshly ways.
A leader can
be put in place by God to either bring blessing or punishment. All one must do
is read the history of the Israelites in the Bible. God anointed and put in
place some kings that He chose and prepared to lead His people. This is God’s
way. He prepares a leader for the office and then puts His anointed one in the
position of leader over His people. In the Older Testament, God’s choice of
king brought blessing and abundance to His people, but others who were not led
by God brought disaster and bondage to His people. An example is David who was chosen and
anointed by God to be king over Israel when he was in his teens. He did not
actually become king over God's people until he was 30 years of age and had gone through many trials and tests. God had to prepare David for the awesome responsibility of leading His people. David was God’s choice, but Saul was the people’s choice. Saul
looked good and said the right things, but he was not God’s choice. The result
of Saul's reign is that God’s people did not prosper. Saul even tried to kill
David. God protected His anointed one. David was a mighty warrior who regained most of the land of Israel back to
God’s people. David is a type and shadow of
Christ. He was a shepherd in his father’s field who became a conquering king
with a kingdom!
I believe God is saying as He said through
His prophet Isaiah “Wake up, O sleeper!”
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