Good Morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
I grew up on a lake, and when I was about 12 years old, the lake froze very hard. I always remember that year because Instead of receiving snow, it drizzled instead, turning our small bay into a big black sheet of glass. We used to do a lot of ice skating, and for a month, we had the largest rink that you could ever find! It seemed that every day after school we were on the lake doing something. We would skate until it was pitch black, when you could hardly tell the difference between the darkness and the ice anymore. When we got tired, we would sit down on the shore and have a quick snack. Sometimes, I would pull out my old flashlight, and with all the strength that I could muster, I would throw it as hard as I could out into the middle of a lake, like skipping a stone across open water. Because the ice was flawless and perfectly smooth, it kept spinning across the bay, for what seemed like forever. It was quite the distance across to the neighbors, maybe a quarter of a mile or so, and at times it seemed like it was almost going to get there. After a few minutes, you could still see that one little beam of light shining brightly on the far side of the lake. When it finally stopped spinning, I would tighten the laces on my skates, put on my choppers, and begin the long journey across the bay in order to retrieve it.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
There was a lot of darkness that surrounded me as I stood out on that cold sheet of ice that winter, but even though I only had a small little flashlight, its brightness could easily be seen. We might be very small in comparison to the world around us, but no matter how small we may be, we need to let our little light shine.
Matthew 5 ¹⁴ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
In order to be a light unto others there must first be a flame inside of you. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that we can receive through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the fuel that we need in order to shine brightly in the world. A flashlight needs fresh batteries. A lamp needs to be filled up with oil. Our hearts must be filled with God’s Holy Word in order to burn radiantly.
…Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105
On a dark night, we can find our way by the moonlight, but the moon does not have light in and of itself. It reflects the light of the sun. It receives its brightness from somewhere else. Likewise, we are to receive God’s light and then reflect it to the world, and in order to shine brightly, we must walk in the light, as He is in the light.
“If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.” Luke 11:36
We must cleanse ourselves by departing from iniquity, and walk as He walked.
1 John 2 ⁵ But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. ⁶ He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
We must become a reflection of everything that He is, created in His image.
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Ephesians 4:13
True followers of Christ Jesus are not going to walk in the darkness of sin. They will purify themselves, even as He is pure.
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
If somebody abides in darkness, it means that they continue sinning. They never get to the point in their life when they finally overcome the sinful desires of the flesh, which is a result of unbelief. Those who truly believe in Jesus Christ will depart from iniquity, and completely overcome the carnal nature. It is through this type of sanctifying faith that we are ultimately saved.
“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” John 12:46
Many people have reduced the Christian Life to just a confession. They claim that they believe with their lips, but their heart is far away from submission to God. Jesus warned about these types of people who rejected true faith and repentance.
Matthew 7 ²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
The Christian life is more than words alone, it is about actions.
Ephesians 5 ⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ⁹ (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) ¹⁰ Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” Philippians 2:15
In order to shine, we must walk in the truth, being filled with the fruits of righteousness.
“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” 2 Peter 1:19
To be filled with light, we must walk in His will. Obedience to God will fan the flame of our hearts, until they glow brightly like a hot ember.
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;” Luke 12:35
“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.” Hebrews 1:7
In these latter days, many are turning away from the true faith. The more you look around, the less people you are going to find who are genuinely serving the Lord Jesus. But irrelevant of what others do, we must dig in and stand up for the truth. We must seek the source of our illumination, Jesus Christ our Lord. No matter how much the crowd thins out, no matter how much darkness surrounds you, we must continue to shine for Christ.
One small flame might not seem like very much, but it will always cut through the darkness, even if it’s just…
…. One Little Light.
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.♥️
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