Arise, Shine!!!

Arise, Shine!!!

Bible Passage: Isaiah 60:1

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

For the purpose of this study we would break this scripture into 4 parts in order to get the full import of the passage. 1 Timothy 2:15 says study to show yourself approved a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. That is what we want to do in this place this morning.

If you study the scripture above carefully you would notice that it has already been broken down into four sections already. Arise comma, pause and think about it.. Shine semi colon, this is to show that the shining is connected to the next statement. Semi colon actually shows that the following statement or clause is related to the one before… For thy light is come comma, first the ‘is’ in this statement indicates that it is a present continuous tense… and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee full stop. We would therefore take these for sections one at a time as the Holy Ghost would help us.

Arise, the comma in the front of this indicates that it can be a statement on its own. Arise is an action word telling us to do something. The dictionary says it is a call to action, to get up, to make a move, to change position etc. Someone might want to ask how does this relate to me? Well, I want to let you know that we all need to arise from wherever we are at the moment to where we are supposed to be. We need to arise in our walk with God.. you have been doing very well but there is always room for improvement. We need to arise in our academics, I know you are the best student in your class but you can be the best student in the country. We need to arise in our relationships, you are best friend with so many people, infact there are people lining up trying to be your friend on facebook but do you give your best to your best friend? Is that all you can give? Arise!!! G.O. said something sometimes ago and I would quote it “If you find yourself in a place where everyone is sitting down, make sure you stand up. If everyone is standing up, stand out. If they all manage to stand out, be outstanding. If too many people become outstanding become a standard!!! This is the principle I have lived my life by for a while now and I am still work in progress. Arise!!! In order to arise there are 3 basic questions we need to ask ourselves and be very honest about it. Your answer might not be so wonderful but it would help you on this journey.

1. Where am I at the moment? You need to do an honest assessment of your life at the moment. You need to sit down and have a meeting with you. Where am I? God called out to Adam in the garden in Genesis 3:9 where art thou? Do you think the all knowing God did not know where Adam was? When God, the creator, asks you man, his created a question it is not for Him it is for you. The answer of that question for Adam was meant to be his turning point. He was able to confirm his state of nakedness and despair or fear. Where are you? What is you spiritual state of being? I am not talking about where people think you are. You are the only one that can answer for yourself. Where are you emotionally? Is your emotions running riot on you? Romans 7, Paul’s emotions was running riot. Where are you at the moment.

2. Where am I supposed to be? Luke 15 we see the story of the prodigal son. Left his father took his inheritance and wasted it but when he came to himself he thought about where he was supposed to be. I need you to learn something very crucial in this story. Luke 15 has 3 parables that Jesus Himself told his disciples, the first was the man who had 100 sheep and lost 1. Left 99 to look for one lost sheep. The second was a woman who had 10 pieces of silver, lost one but swept the house until she found it. Is it not amazing that these people looked for their lost item but the father did not look for His son. It wasn’t that he did not like him because he was waiting for him on his return. This simply tells me that it is my responsibility as a son to find my way home back to where I am supposed to be. Let me digress a bit and say that when you were an unbeliever God did everything possible to get your attention, sent several people to chase you up and invite you to church. Before you ask you get, just to let you know He loves you. As soon as you are now a son if you walk away from His grace it is your responsibility to find your way back home. Where is home for you? Where would you be fulfilled to be at this moment. What’s your destination?