ON or OFF
I have some light bulbs in a drawer and it is dark in that drawer. They are called light bulbs but they cannot produce even one tiny flicker of light. Why did the people (Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16) sit, walk, live in intense darkness with the shadow of death upon them? Because they had no light. What was the great light they saw and when could they enjoy the benefits of that light? All of the prophets (e.g. Genesis 49:10, Micah 5:2) were God’s flashlights and they pointed to a great future Light, Who was coming and He would dawn on the people who had been enveloped in smothering darkness. The Lord had one more flashlight, John the baptizer (John 1:6, John 1:8) who was not that Light but he was a man sent from God to bear witness to that Light. So at exactly the right time (Galatians 4:4) God sent His Son into the world and the very Life that was in Jesus (John 1:4) was the Light of all mankind. He was the true Light Who came into the world (John 1:9) to illuminate every person. Jesus said (John 8:12) that He is the Light of the world and everyone who receives Him would be rescued from the darkness and receive the Light which is eternal Life. Jesus came into the world (John 12:46) as a light so that whoever believes in Him would not continue to live in darkness.
The Lord also said something that has deep meaning and responsibility for us who are Christians. He said (Matthew 5:14-16) you are the Light of the world and your Light must not be hidden. I have some light bulbs which spread light in every room in my apartment. They clearly define everything and reveal the truth about everything their light touches. They have exactly the same properties as the bulbs in the drawer, so what makes the difference? The bulbs, which give needed light, are closely attached and firmly connected to the power source. Since Jesus said that you and I are the light of the world, what must we do in order to spread the Light in our world, where we live and move about? Exactly what the light-bearing bulbs do - - - live, abide continually in the Power Source.
The Lord created every person with a conscience and our conscience is (Luke 11:34-35) the lamp which illuminates us to discern right and wrong. But if the light that is in you be darkness, if you turn off the light by regularly ignoring the conscience, persistent sin will be (1 Timothy 4:2) a hot iron to sear the conscience. We hear of shocking brutalities and horrific atrocities which we cannot understand. This is the explanation - - when the conscience is cauterized it can no longer arouse a sense of guilt.
Don’t ever look for sympathy or compassion in such a person or even remorse. He has murdered his conscience. If you turn off the light in a brightly lit room the darkness will seem even darker. A truly born-again Christian has the Light and Life of Jesus within himself. If he chooses to obey the dark dictates of the flesh he will (Ephesians 4:30) grieve and (1 Thessalonians 5:19) quench the Holy Spirit and God will discipline him (Hebrews 12:5) with the chastening of the Lord.
God is Light (1 John 1:5) and in him is not darkness at all. He operates only and always in Truth and He is the only Source of Light. Sometimes I notice that a bulb I expected light from is dark. I give it a twist and light shines again. What happened? Something that caused a loose connection with the power source. This can happen to us if our connection to the Lord is loosened by a troubling distraction temptation. Satan has one strategy for tempting Christians. He tries to distract our attention on God’s big picture and narrows our interests until our focus is only on the one thing we want, we can see nothing else. (Dr. Stanley) used (4) incidents to illustrate how vulnerable we are if Satan can change our focus. The longer we focus on the temptation, the more intense the desire will become.
Eve forgot the whole beautiful garden God had given (Genesis 3:6) and she SAW only the fruit.
Achan forgot the victory God had given in the battle (Joshua 7:21) and he SAW only what could make him rich.
David forgot about God’s goodness in establishing his position and his kingdom (2 Samuel 11:2) and he SAW only a naked woman.
Elijah forgot God’s miracles in the tremendous victory over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 19:2) and he SAW only threatening Jezebel.
Whether their focus was on wisdom, greed, lust or fear – it was definitely not on God. We can see how damaging a wrong focus can be for us. We can learn how to handle temptations from another man. Joseph’s temptations were daily and more intense and insidious than David’s were with Bathsheba. Joseph did not ever have a loose connection with the Lord. He kept his focus on God’s big picture and clearly (Genesis 39:9) he SAW the danger of any deviation from his focus on God.
Set your mind, keep your focus (Colossians 3:1-2) on things above on Christ. Without connection and dependence on the power source a light bulb is just a fragile hunk of useless glass.
The True Light came into the world but (John 3:19) the people loved the darkness rather than the Light. (Dr. Tozer) mentioned that the old Greeks said, “Whom the gods would destroy they must first make mad.” When they recognized God (Romans 1:21, Romans 1:26) they did not honour Him but defiled themselves in the darkness of their senseless minds. So God gave them up to their own choices of degrading darkness with all the consequences. This madness can also affect Christians who have an ever-loosening connection with the Lord. We who have the Light (John 12:36) are to be filled with Light because we are the children of Light.
We have all seen church leaders who exchanged the Truth they (2 Timothy 4:3-4) formerly preached for a money-making, people pleasing, watered-down, soothing gospel. It is no longer about Truth but about their ego. EGO – Edging God Out and when God is out the Light is out and there remains only darkness.
Big offerings, big crowds, big popularity, huge darkness. There is always a Judas (John 12:46) who will betray the Truth and pilfer the collection bag.
Jesus came into the world (Isaiah 49:6) to be a Light to the nations so that salvation would extend to the ends of the earth. How would He accomplish that? Through His Body (Matthew 28:19-20) the Church. Notice that (Job 38:19) does not say – the place – but – the way – where light dwells. The light is always moving so it cannot remain stationary in one place. We who are indwelt by the light have a responsibility to be always in the WAY of Light, shedding the Light, spreading the Light, sharing the Light in all our ways. What kind of a light bulb are you, am I?
Are we God’s Light bulbs so firmly connected to Jesus - our Power source - that our Light never fails? God’s sunshine travels 93 million miles to conquer the darkness and the whole world revolves to receive the welcome morning light. The light dawns, darkness flees and everything is changed. I know what I am in myself and it could fill me with the darkness of hopelessness and despair except for the fact that I know who and what I am in Christ Jesus. Because the Lord Jesus lives in me through the power of the Holy Spirit, there is no limit to the possibilities of the (1 John 4:17) Light I can be in my world as the revelation of the True God is always shining out through me to the glory of God by the fulfilling of the purpose for which He created me. What grander privilege could there be?