November 24, 2013
Morning Worship
Text: Psalm 89:15
Subject: Living according to the Word
Title: Walk In the Light You Have
I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Isn’t it good to know the things that you have to be thankful for? But you know, our understanding of those things doesn’t just happen. Often we have to stop and consider the blessings we have received and also the One from whom we have received them. Your family, friends, your church family, your jobs… all gifts from God. There are often hidden gifts from the Lord that we don’t immediately recognize, but when we do see them we understand where they are from.
Today I want to begin a series about how you, as believers, are expected to walk in the light that you have. Each of us is at a different level spiritually speaking. Some study the word more than others. Some receive revelation. Others gain understanding at a faster rate than others. The reality is that regardless where you are in your relationship with the lord you are expected to walk according to the light you have received.
Back in 1967 a new sport came to St. Louis. It wasn’t a new sport as such, but it was new to me. The national Hockey League came to St. Louis as the St. Louis Blues. I loved sports of all kinds but I knew absolutely nothing about hockey. But I became very interested in the sport and began watching it on TV. And the more I watched the more I began to understand the rules. Then I started playing the game. And because I had become a student of the game I was now responsible for playing by the rules.
The same holds true in your Christian walk. You may not know all the rules yet but as you receive revelation and understanding from your study of the word or from the preaching of the word, you now become responsible for walking in the light you have.
In our series we will look at various aspects of light in the life of a Christian and see how those various aspects play out in your lives.
Psalm 89:15,
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.
I believe this is God's Word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
I appropriate it to my life today…
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.
1. We walk in the light of God’s presence by Revelation.
Do you know that your Christian walk involves a learning process? It is not something that just happens. As you grow in the Lord you can receive instruction from various sources. It can be by your own study of the word… the Holy Spirit that lives in you wants to do in your life the things that He alone can do. He wants to give you revelation of the word. When I talk about revelation I mean that when you read from the word, the instant you get that sense that you get it, that is your revelation moment and it is from the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:27, 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. You know, you can read the same passage over and over and suddenly it comes to you and you say, “Oh…oh, now I get it. I always wondered what that meant… Oh!” That doesn’t come from yourself. You see, there is somebody else besides you living in you and the Holy Spirit in you teaches. He gives you revelation. In your spirit man you just know that this or that scripture means something different than you ever saw before – that comes from the Holy Spirit – and then He also will bear witness with your spirit that it is so. How important is revelation to the believer? Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no vision, the people perish… Let’s look at some other translations. The NIV says, Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint… the NLT, When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild… Do you think you need revelation from the Lord? If there is no revelation in your life you’ll just go on doing what seems right and that opens up the door for the enemy to come in and start lying to you and telling you it’s all right if you do the same things you used to do or believe the way you used to believe… Ephesians 1:17, I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
2. We walk in the light of God’s presence by Hearing.
Another way we learn to walk in the light we have is through hearing… In the book of Amos in chapter 8 and verse 11,
“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD,
“when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
In the natural sense, when there is a famine, what would be the things that people would strive for? Food and water! Seeking after the things that would give life or sustain life. The same holds true for the word of God. I think that is where we are today. We are thirsting for the word of God and hungering for revelation.
Why would we care about whether or not we can receive revelation from the word? Because it is through the word that we build up our faith. Romans 10:17, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The NIV, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 8:16, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. There is something that takes place within us when we hear the word and it begins to come alive in us. We begin to gain so much confidence in the word that we have heard that we just believe every bit of it. If the Spirit of God living in us is able to bear witness with our spirits that we are the children of God, then don’t you think that He would bear witness with our spirits concerning the word of God? When Paul wrote, “faith comes by hearing” – when he talks about faith what do you think that means? Most people see faith as believing there is a God or that Jesus really walked the earth. They even go so far as to say they believe Jesus died on a cross for their sin… the online dictionary says,
1. 1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
synonyms:
trust, belief, confidence, conviction; More
optimism, hopefulness, hope
in the original language the word translated as faith means, being fully persuaded… Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
So where do we get that kind of faith? By hearing the word of God proclaimed.
3. We walk in the light of God’s presence by Understanding.
The word hearing carries with it the idea of not just having an audible sensation, but understanding. Job 32:8, But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
Are you with me so far? Let’s look at Mark chapter 12. Jesus was questioned by a scribe, a Jewish lawyer, about which of the commandments was the most important. In verse 32, “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
In these verses we see that man is a three part being – body, soul and spirit. For us as Christians, everything that we do in our soul (understanding) or body (strength) should be influenced by the spiritual man. But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that gives him understanding…
There are unbelieving people all over the world that read the bible but they are limited in their understanding because they do not have the Holy Spirit in them. Psalm 119:130, The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. The word unfolding means, an opening or disclosure… understanding through revelation… 1 Corinthians 2:14, The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
2 Corinthians 4:4, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. But you are not like unbelievers. You have the spirit of the living God dwelling in you, bearing witness with your spirit about the things of God… Ephesians 1:7-8, In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
In verse 8, the word lavished depicts the idea of abundance, but in the Greek this word goes beyond abundance. perisseuo (per-is-syoo'-o) v.
1. to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous
2. to cause to superabound or excel
that same word is used in 2 Corinthians 9:8, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.
Each of us is responsible to walk according to the light that we have. Whether it is through revelation, hearing, or understanding what you know is right is how you should walk. James 4:17, Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
As we celebrate this Thanksgiving season let us remember our salvation… and every word that proceeds from the mouth of God – that’s the bible – His holy Word.
Are you walking in the light that you have received?
