Light versus Darkness.
The first Word we hear from God is….
“Let there be light”
Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light:”
Of course this was spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ….He is called the Word.
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
(How do we communicate our thoughts, our feelings, and our will? By our words…..whatever language you use…..it is in words.
So with God….He communicated His Will from the very first, by His Word, through HIs Son.
And His Will is……that Light overcomes darkness.)
And what is the first thing God communicates to His new creation formed in us?
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
When He was here on earth, the Lord Jesus showed more of the Glory of God…..than the creation around us……although that is a very powerful witness to the Godship of God, (Psalm 19:1-3)….
……and more than the personal testimonies of all His servants….Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, the Prophets, John the Baptist…..
……..for the glory Jesus showed of God, when He was here, was “the brightness of His glory.”
Hebrews 1:1-3 “God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hath in these days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds;
Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
Jesus Christ showed us God….the Light of the knowledge of God….in His person, in His actions, in those He called,…….and in the Word He spoke then.
John 12:46, 48-49 “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.
He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
Light….He showed us Light, the Light of God, by His Word.
He came to shine light into a world of darkness. And He came to shine light into the darkness of our souls…..by His salvation….
….. (as Paul describes it…for himself and others….”To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light…” Acts 26:18)
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Walking in the Light He has given us, we have fellowship….(remember, “fellowship” means “a sharer, a partnership”……The Lord with us, and us with the Lord…..and with fellow Christians.)
And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.
This “cleanseth” is in the present tense….it is always there to cleanse away the defilement that the sin causes….and it cleanses the intention of the heart, so we want His Will, not ours.
The defilement of sin…..is the stain of it.
You know when you spill something on a white tablecloth….it can become stained. You clean up the spill….but the stain remains…..and everyone sees what happened.
So it is with our sin.
We were completely forgiven “in Christ Jesus”, the moment we were born again….
……but, the stain of the sins we commit….are there, till we go to Him, and confess them to the Lord.
His blood then cleanses our conscience from this stain.
It is cleansed, so that the influence of that sin,…
is removed from our hearts [for otherwise, they can begin to grow cold toward Christ],……
our minds [as long as we do not confess our sin, there is a draw there…that our minds goes after],…..
and our wills [Let’s face it…there is something which we have put above Christ, and we need to dethrone it].
It is in our going to Him, and getting honest about our sin, in confession, that brings the cleansing of liberty.
1 John 1:8-9 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Here is the means for that cleansing from all sin….confession to Him.
It is to know deliverance from the stain of the sin,…….and the power of the sin, in our life.
It is not ever sinless perfection…..but deliverance……
For I want to stress this….
When light comes in, the darkness is driven out.
They cannot dwell together. It may not be completely light….but the darkness of our sin, attitude, intent….is driven back….and the Light of God begins to rule.
1 John 1:5 “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”
As Christians, we are responsible to know God’s Will…..
Psalms 34:5 “They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.”
James 1:16-17 “Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Commit your life in unreserved obedience to Him….you will do His Will….no matter what….
When you come to this point….you are looking ahead….and up to Him.
(I have only talked of the Light of God, here. That is the only Light that will defeat darkness.
There is a light which is “kindled” by us…..”sparks”, God calls this light…for it only starts fires within us….fires of doubt, or presumption….fires of accusation or false peace….fires which bring only sorrow [worry and anguish]….not truth and peace.
Isaiah 50:10 “Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servants, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.
If you seem to be walking in darkness,….in Him you will find true Light. [Remember the name of God means all that He is]
But for those who will not come to the Light of God….
Isaiah 50:11 “Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of Mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.”
It is coming to Christ Jesus, that we receive real Light…..for He manifests God’s Light as nothing else….and He is found in the scriptures.
Isaiah 61:1-3 [Jesus quoted this in Luke 4:18-19].
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, was
that He might be glorified.”
This is the reason for our existence: that He might be glorified!
Let us come to the Light of God….and walk in that Light….and glorify Him.)
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 