This is our final hymn in the series Hymns You Love
Heavenly Sunlight is an amazing hymn that brings us joy
Joy in the fact that as we bask in the light from heaven we can truly be blessed with joy beyond measure
This sunlight floods our soul with glory divine
Hallelujah I am rejoicing, singing His praises, Jesus is mine
You will notice there is a common thread among all four of these hymns we have studied
How Great Thou Art, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, The Old Rugged Cross, and Heavenly Sunlight
That common thread is Jesus
He is the basis for all we believe
He is the central truth throughout our faint
And throughout the entire Scriptures
I John 1:1-10
I read a story about a group of friends that used to play a game they called manhunt
They played at night and one night there was no moonlight or stars to light their way
Once they left the lights of the houses and found the good hiding places it was pitch black
He said, My team was doing the chasing first and we quickly found someone from the other team
So we began to run in that direction then all of a sudden “WHACK” we heard something hit a tree
When we got closer we saw that the guy hiding had run square into a tree with his face and was all cut up and bruised
The point, it helps to have light (Coby- running through a forest)
It helps to have light
This morning we are focusing on that light, Heavenly Sunlight
We need to be walking in light
First John was written by John on of Jesus’ original 12 apostles
It is believed he was the one referred to as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”
John, along with Peter and James had a special relationship with Jesus
Often called the inner circle
So John had an intimate knowledge of what it meant to walk in the light
As he walked closely with Jesus during His ministry
This is what John is speaking of in these first four verses
John opens his letter to the churched similarly to how he began his Gospel
Emphasizing that Christ “the Word of Life” is eternal
That God came into the world as a human
That he, John, was an eyewitness to Jesus’ life and that Jesus brings light and life
He says that which was from the beginning
Meaning Jesus is eternal
He say we have heard Him, seen Him, and touched Him
We proclaim Him to be the Word of Life
And why is he proclaiming this fact?
So that you also can experience it along with us
As an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry John was qualified to teach the truth about Him
The readers of this letter, including us, had not seen or heard Jesus themselves
But they could trust that what John wrote was accurate
I believe the main focus of this first chapter is the phrase “God is light”
We need light just like we need God
Do you realize there is a physical disorder caused by lack of light?
It is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) and it effects 1 in 5 of us
It is caused by lack of exposure to sunlight, which in turn alters a person’s brain chemistry
During the fall and winter months when the hours of daylight are shorter, less light passes through the eyes
Which inhibits the release of an important brain chemical, serotonin
When serotonin is not released in sufficient quantities, symptoms of depression may occur
Melatonin, which regulates our sleep cycle is released in greater quantities, adding to the depressive state
How is S.A.D. treated? The standard treatment is light therapy
The principle behind light therapy is that by increasing a person’s exposure to bright light, the chemicals in a person’s brain can be brought back to normal levels and lesson or remove the symptoms
We need light
I want us to share some of the functions of light
We will look at five functions of light
And how God performs each in our lives
L – Light gives life
One of the first things God created was light
Gen 1:3 God said let there be light
I John teaches us that life comes from God
And eternal life comes through Jesus Christ
Apart from Him there is no life
Me and my father-in-law used to have a project we liked to work on together
It was with chickens
On several occasions we incubated some eggs
He had an incubator and I would care for it while the eggs were “cooking”
One of the key elements in hatching those eggs was temperature control
If the temp. didn’t remain fairly constant we wouldn’t have good results
But another element was light
The incubator had two windows on top in order to let the light come in
If is was kept in complete darkness we wouldn’t have good results either
Light gives life
Just like a garden, it needs light to produce
God is light, not us, we merely reflect the light
Dr. Alexander Popaderos, a Greek philosopher, used to teach an ethics class on the island of Crete
As he was getting ready to close the class one summer he said “Now are there any questions before we go?”
A little man in the back of the room, rather timidly carefully raised his hand and asked
Dr. I’d like to know, what is the meaning of life”
The Dr. reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small mirror, and told this story
When I was a child, I had so much fun with this mirror
I would simply catch the glint of the sun and shine that mirror into an otherwise darkened place
As I grew older I began to learn that this is no child’s toy
This is really a metaphor for my life
Now I am not the light – I am not the source of the light
I am simply a broken mirror fragment
But if I allow the sun to shine on my mirror fragment
It is amazing what light I can bring into darkness
Ladies and Gentleman this is the meaning of life”
Each of us is a mirror fragment
We are not the light
But when we permit the SON to hit our mirror fragment
And then bounce off into the life of a darkened heart
There can be change, there can be illumination
So, light brings life
Walking in sunlight all of my journey, over the mountains and through the deep vale; Jesus has said I will never forsake thee, promise divine that never can fail
Makes me think of Psalm 23 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me
His Heavenly Sunlight shines into the dark places and protects us from harm
His light gives life
I – Light Inspires
In Him there is no darkness at all
When we are inspired by God’s light and our relationship with Him
We will have a different lifestyle
The light He gives us inspires us to live a life in order to show that light to others
There may be shadows around and above us
But they never conceal my Savior and guide
He is the light in Him is no darkness
Ever I’m walking close to His side
That should inspire us to always press on
Always move forward
He is always by our side
No matter how difficult our journey may seem
No matter how difficult it might seem to reach others with His light He is always there
In 1857 Hosea Lewis, the keep of a lighthouse on Lime Rock Island at Newport Rhode Island suffered a stroke
His teenage daughter Ida assumed responsibility for the light
With long and demanding tasks, Ida was unable to continue her schooling
But daily she delivered her siblings to class no matter the weather, by rowing the 500 yards to the mainland
The teenager gained a measure of fame at age 16 when she rescued four young men after their boat capsized
She rowed to their aid as they clung to their overturned craft
On March 29, 1869 Ida saved two drowning servicemen from nearby Fort Adams
This inspired President Ulysses S Grant to visit Ida at Newport later that year
Ida rescued another two soldiers in 1881, for which she was awarded the U.S. Lifesaving Service’s highest medal
These soldiers were crossing from Newport to Lime Rock Island on foot when the ice gave way
Ida came running with a rope. Ignoring the peril to herself from the weak and broken ice
She pulled them both to safety
All told Ida Lewis personally saved around 25 people in fifty plus years of keeping the light
Her last reported rescue came at the age of 63 when she rescued a friend from the water on her way to visit Ida on the island
Asked where she found the strength and courage for such a feat Ida answered
“I don’t know, I aint particularly strong. The Lord Almighty gives it to me when I need it, that’s all”
Ida Lewis was a faithful steward
But the reason she was so faithful in her task is that she realized there were always people that needed to be saved
Do you realize there are always people that need to be saved?
Does the heavenly sunlight you are reflecting inspire others to come to the light?
G – Light is a guide
Do you know the Pledge to the Bible we often say during VBS?
“I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Hold Word, I will make it a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path…”
What do airports line their runways with?
What do people place along the side of their driveways?
They use light
We read in Exodus that God guided the nation of Israel at night with a pillar of fire
This gave them light
He guided them
In John 8:12 a famous passage we read Jesus’ words
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will have the light of life and will never walk in the darkness”
Jesus was speaking in the temple where candles burned to symbolize this pillar of fire that led the Israelites
Jesus was calling Himself the light of the world
The pillar of fire represented God’s presence, protection and guidance
Jesus brings God’s presence, protection and guidance
Is He the light of you world?
God desires to guide His children
He wants to guide you through everything you face in this life
In the bright sunlight ever rejoicing, pressing my way to mansions above
His light is your guide
H – Light is a symbol of Hope
As we are pressing towards that mansion above we have hope
Hope means something different to us today
I hope I make it on time
I hope I passed that benchmark test
I hope they haven’t ran out of jelly donuts
Hope in the Bible means something completely different
Hope means – to desire something with confident expectation of its fulfillment
Having hope means wanting something and knowing you will receive it
We have hope in His light
Revelation 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.
There is our hope
In Coby and Caleb’s room there is a small light that is a symbol of hope to Caleb
A night light
It gives him comfort in the dark
A group of graduate students did a very bizarre experiment
They took lab rats and put them in a tank of water and placed it in a totally dark room
They then monitored them with video equipment
The rats swam for almost six hours before giving up and drowning
The students then took another set of lab rats and put them in a tank of water and placed that tank in a room where there was a small lamp
Their hypothesis was that the light would give the rats hope and they would survive longer
As is turns out they were right
The rats swam almost 17 hours
Much longer than the rats in total darkness
Something about the light enabled them to survive longer
In His Heavenly sunlight we have hope
We are singing His praises gladly I’m walking
Gladly because we have that hope
T – Light represents truth
Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life
Truth is a person
The person of Jesus Christ
He is the ultimate truth
There is that famous line from the movie A Few Good Men
That Jack Nicholas’ character says
“You can’t handle to truth”
Some people can’t handle the truth
They don’t want to face the fact that they are a sinner and the only way to receive eternal life is to face the truth
The truth that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ
Lets suppose you are awakened at night by a noise outside
You are concerned that the noise may be caused by a burglar
You get out of bed and turn on the outside lights
Why do you do this? You want to get to the truth
Lets suppose you are driving down the highway, minding your own business, doing 70 in a 50 mph zone
You look in your rear view mirror to see those blue lights
You are about to face the truth
In the Bible when the apostle Paul was converted to faith in Christ
God used a bright light to awaken him to the truth
The truth brought him to saving faith in Jesus Christ
This heavenly sunlight shines into this dark world revealing the truth
Which is that we are a depraved people
We can never be good enough to be in the presence of God
Not without the life given to us by Christ’s sacrifice on that cross
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us
BUT, there is a big, invisible but between verses 8 and 9
But, if we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness
Why do we have to admit we are sinners?
If we don’t , we make God out to be a liar
And God being truth , He cannot lie
A pastor wanted to check his congregations’ understanding of his sermon
So he asked, “Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?”
There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room a small boy spoke up
“You have to sin”
We must confront our sin
We must face the truth
And John 8:32 tells us “the truth will set you free”
So are you walking in heavenly sunlight?
The five functions of light
Light gives life
Inspires
Guides
Gives hope, and
Reveals truth
God meets those needs in our lives
The truth is, God desires to meet all of those needs in your life today
Light represents what is good, pure, holy and reliable
Darkness represents what is sinful and evil
Light is also related to truth in that light exposes whatever exists, whether good or bad
He can guide us out of the darkness and into the light
Has His heavenly sunlight given you life?
Do you know Him as Savior?
Bask in His light today
If you do know Him are you allowing His light to inspire you to do great things for Him
Such as inspiring others to come to His life giving light?
Or are you allowing His light to guide your path through life?
Are you truly relying on that hope His light brings?
And are you allowing His light to reveal His truth in your sinful life?
Heavenly Sunlight, heavenly sunlight
Flooding my soul with glory divine
Hallelujah, I am rejoicing
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine
Jesus is mine!
