Light Pollution
Luke 4:16-21
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, (Let me stop right there and point out that even Jesus went to Church regularly, so if the Son of God did not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, then what excuse can any of us have?) and stood up for to read. (17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, (18) The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (20) And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. (21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
I. In “pop culture” that would be called a “Boss Move” that Jesus “did a mic drop”. Today that moment would be a viral sensation with “gifs” and “memes”. The caption would read “the carpenters son came to church and boss read Isaiah”. This was a powerful moment in Christ ministry.
A. During His childhood and youth, Jesus had worshiped among His brethren in the synagogue at Nazareth. Since the opening of His ministry He had been absent from them, but they had not been ignorant of Him. Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased, Jesus performed His 1st miracle at the wedding in Cana turning Water to Wine, He cleansed the Temple where He poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. Nicodemus would visit Him by night seeking how to be saved, He spoke to the Woman at the well, healed the Nobleman's son.
1. He again appeared among them, the familiar forms and faces of those whom He had known from infancy. Here were His mother, His brothers and sisters, and all eyes were turned upon Him as He entered the synagogue upon the Sabbath day, and took His place among the worshipers.
2. In the regular service for the day, the elder read from the prophets, and exhorted the people still to hope for the Coming One, who would bring in a glorious reign, and banish all oppression. He sought to encourage his hearers by rehearsing the evidence that the Messiah's coming was near. He described the glory of His advent, keeping prominent the thought that He would appear at the head of armies to deliver Israel.
3. When a rabbi was present at the synagogue, he was expected to deliver the sermon, and any Israelite might give the reading from the prophets.
a. In this moment Jesus stood before the people as a living expositor of the prophecies concerning Himself. He spoke of the Messiah as a reliever of the oppressed, a liberator of captives, a healer of the afflicted, restoring sight to the blind, and revealing to the world the light of truth. I could see everyone now in that room as Jesus spoke of the Messiah the people throwing up their hands, loud amens could be heard, a little shouting taking place, maybe even a “praise break”. He then sat down.
B. Worried, stressed out, anxious people have trouble sitting because they feel like they need to do something. As long as there is something to be done, we have trouble sitting. We always feel the urge to “get up” to accomplish something. If we sit to long, we start fidgeting, moving our legs because we feel the need to move, to act, to control!
1. When you look up “sat down” in the original text this is the definition that you get, to sit down, seat one’s self
to sit, be seated, but it’s this sub-definition that I liked; a place occupied; to have a fixed abode (residence), to dwell. Jesus sent a message that He was going to take residence and dwell over all our sins, our shame, our hurt, our pain, etc.… Jesus sent a message that He’s got this! He is sitting down on all your problems because He already overcame them all. Jesus said, I have overcome the world.
2. Jesus proclaimed I am the one you have been waiting for, I am the only one that can fulfill over 300 prophecies.
a. Mathematically speaking, the odds of anyone fulfilling this amount of prophecy are staggering. Mathematicians put it this way: 1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 in 100 Quadrillion,(that’s 15 zeros after that 100) the odds of 1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power which is called a Googolplex number.
b. But 1 person fulfilling 300+ prophecies: Well that goes beyond the last named of numbers which is Graham's number, which by definition cannot be written with conventional notation, it was developed by mathematician R.L. Graham. He states that it is so large that, even if all the matter in the universe was converted to pens and ink, it still wouldn't be enough to write out the number in its entirety. So then 1 person fulfilling over 300+ prophecies can only be summed up with; Only Jesus the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last; the one that All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
II. My text is so obvious; this sermon is so simple; Jesus is the answer; period. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
A. Since the beginning of this year I just kept feeling in my spirit the word “perspective”. Over and over all the way through the stay at home order I just kept feeling that word. One way that God speaks to me is through my interests. On my resume under personal it says, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, travelling, reading, graphic arts, wood working and home renovation, flying drones, star gazing, astrophotography, photography, videography, and cooking. Believe it or I have a lot of them, so you would think I would be hearing from God every day. I am going to preach as Jesus did using the “parable model” which is basically an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
1. Being at home with three children, while still trying to work and assist Briana with the home schooling we had to have outlets to get us out of the house. One of those was the park near our home where we could still go and enjoy the trails and walking paths. It was here that this word perspective really took hold. I felt the need to intentional look for things I would normally over look just because they seemed familiar. I would bring my camera along and capture things that would usually be passed off. I even set up a camera on my Maple tree to record a time lapse video of the growing new foliage since we had started to welcome Spring. I would sit out in the evenings with my telescope and record the moon at different phases.
2. It was during my nights that this word perspective really began to speak to me. As I was watching the moon and wishing that I had a better telescope that I began to research how to take pictures of the stars.
3. In photography there is a technique called long exposure. If you ever wondered how someone took a picture of the stars at night or captured star trials or the Milky Way it was done using long exposure. Which simple means that the shutter or the eye of the camera was open longer allowing the light to pass through to create an image. Even in what seems like total darkness there is light.
a. When you look at the stars you are seeing them as they once were. Light travels rapidly, as far as we know, it’s the fastest thing in the Universe, but it’s not infinitely fast. At 186,000 miles per second, it takes light more than eight minutes to get from the closest star to Earth; you can think of it as seeing the Sun as it was eight minutes ago. The nearest known star to the Sun is the Alpha Centauri triple-star system, and light takes more than four years to get from there to here.
b. There are about 6,000 or so stars that are visible with the naked eye, and the vast majority of them are within about 1,000 light-years of the Sun. Stars dim quickly with distance. So, when you look up at the night you are seeing even the most distant stars in the sky as they were when God first placed them in the sky in Genesis 1.
c. Light has complexity to it since there is visible light which is what we can see and light that we cannot see. Light can be seen in different wavelengths which are radio, infrared, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray. The point of this is to simple say, “light is always present in one form or another”.
4. Jesus said in John 8:12 I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Jesus is called in John 1:9 the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Re 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 for ever and ever.
B. The obvious can be missed. After Jesus read and sat down and dropped the bomb by saying This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. It continues in verse 22; And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? The shouting and amens ceased the moment Jesus said scripture was fulfilled and now the people are looking at Him asking Who is this Jesus? I could hear them whisper this is the one who we go to when we need something fixed, this is the one that made me a table. They were acquainted with His brothers and sisters, and knew His life and labors. They had seen Him develop from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood. Although His life had been spotless, they would not believe that He was the Promised One.
1. And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. It was in that moment they blocked His light and opened the door to doubt, their hearts became so much the harder for having been momentarily softened. Satan blocked them from seeing Jesus for who He was; the enemy was determined that blinded eyes would not be opened, or souls bound in slavery be set at liberty that day.
C. The most difficult part of capturing images of the stars and all the celestial beauty that is above us during a long exposure or just enjoying the wonders of above is what is called “light pollution”.
1. Most of us are familiar with air, water, and land pollution, but light joins that list as well. Light pollution is excessive, misdirected, or obtrusive artificial light. According to a 2016 study, 80 percent of the world’s population lives under skyglow. In the United States and Europe 99 percent of the public can’t experience a natural night uninterrupted.
2. A little more than 100 years ago, you could walk outside at night even in a city and see the Milky Way galaxy arch across the night sky. Being able to see thousands of stars was part of everyday life, inspiring artists like Van Gogh or musical composers like Holst or writers like Shakespeare.
3. There are Three Main Types of Light Pollution; which are glare, light trespass and skyglow. Glare is excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort, such as that blinding light you see along the road at night. Light trespass occurs when unwanted light enters one’s property, for example, your neighbor’s flood lights that come into your bedroom while you are trying to sleep. Skyglow refers to the glow effect that can be seen over populated areas. Skyglow is the combination of all the reflected light and upward-directed (unshielded) light escaping up into the sky which dulls and sometimes blocks natural light.
D. 2Co 11:14… for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. The enemy is a form of spiritual “light pollution”. Satan is using all three forms of “light pollution” on the body of Christ right now. Be careful in not being fooled by artificial light which can try and obscure the natural light. We need to be able to identify that which is natural (God’s Light) and that which is artificial (Satan’s fake stuff). Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
1. Glare is temptations, the positioning of lies, deceit, the sowing of discord which are trying to blind you from your current path these are the snares of the devil. Glare will try to get you to cross over into the other lane. Be careful with those screens you hold in your hand all day and the conversations and people you entertain. Scrolling through those feeds there are glares of light that are shining on you which are not always of God. Just because they say they are Christian and quote scripture doesn’t mean they are. You better check the fruit. Like Satan to Eve; he is mixing a little truth to get you to bite. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Joh 8:44 says Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
a. Matthew7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Difference makers are not on Broad St. they are on Narrow Way Lane.
b. If the text you read, the post you read, the conversation you are having causes you to feel disoriented or confused that is not God. 1Co 14:33 For God is not [the author] of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. The moment the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, which keeps your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus begins to leave you, that’s when you need stop reading that text, that post or walk away from that conversation.
c. Satan will try to tempt you with things and people but you must Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Get away from that artificial unnatural light and get back in to the natural or I should say the super natural awesome presence of the Light of Jesus Christ.
2. Light Trespass is When the enemy shall come in like a flood to disrupt the peace of God. This is when the enemy crosses the line. It’s those moments where you are walking out Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. You are feeling good and out of nowhere you are hit with all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Where glare tries to get you to wreck, light trespass crashes into you. It is the unsettling moments that challenge your faith.
a. Here you are letting God’s word be a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path, and an invading light tries to throw you off. It is those phone calls, those Doctor’s reports, those notices and news that invade your personal walk with Christ. The enemy will challenge the “Light of God’s Word” by seeing if you can still find rest in the midst of a disruption, he wants to see if you will stay in the boat or jump ship.
b. You read and hold on to the scriptures I [am] the LORD that healeth thee, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds, by whose stripes ye were healed. You have quoted those scriptures but now the Doctor is saying cancer, terminal, covid-19, need to run more tests, the levels don’t look good, or any other one of those lines that Doctors use as they talk in their slow monotone pauses… I am…. looking….at…. the…. results….
c. You proclaim over your house Jos 24:15 but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD, you stand by Ac 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Pr 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Yet your children or loved ones have decided to turn their backs on God, the enemy stole their seed, temptation burned it up, and it got choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life.
d. The enemies “flood light” comes in many forms but the mission is still the same to trespass on all the promises of God in him [which are] yea, and in him Amen. Satan wants to cause you to be restless in your faith.
e. When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard (shield) against him; God’s word: it shall not return unto Him void, but it shall accomplish that which He please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto He sent it. There is no expiration date on His word, keep walking in the Light of His word, even when the enemy trespasses on that word Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
f. 1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]. I love to hear a “but God”, but God had mercy, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit, but God hath called us to peace, but God that giveth the increase. But God raised him from the dead, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, My flesh and my heart faileth: [but] God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever, But God [is] the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another, [but God] overthroweth the wicked for [their] wickedness, but God shall be with you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, for the battle [is] not yours, but God’s.
3. Skyglow affects territories, regions, communities and cities. It is the collection of artificial light that attempts to rob others of the Light of Christ. 2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
a. The World now calls evil good, and good evil; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness; they put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Oppression and bondage are all around us. Society is broken and divided. There is unrest. 1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
b. 2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: I believe that the church’s best days are not behind us, but before us. Satan may quote the Word but only we can activate it! This is the moment where we can usher in another great awakening when we can see great moves of God; miracles, signs and wonders, blinded eyes opening, lame walking, deaf hearing, etc…
c. Now is the time to proclaim 2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. From that scripture I can’t help but see that heat map in a different light. As we pray and seek His face; The Light of God starts shining bright here at 5268 North Sharon Amity Rd and this land is healed but then it spreads to the next property and the next; until neighborhoods are healed, towns and cities are healed, counties, states, countries, continents are healed. The Light of Christ starts shining through every dark place. Mt 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
III. Let the light Shine. This world has been up under blinding artificial light straight from hell for too long. During the stay at home order, I just kept feeling God say move your perspective back on Me. Don’t miss me in the moment because you are too busy being distracted by things that I am not a part of; Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. I really believe this was a wake-up call to the church; God was showing us what matters most and what we need the most of.
A. From my opening text those in Nazareth missed what was before them. Satan blinded them from what was before them. It’s still about Jesus. So simple; Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1. In Nazareth He sat down to show He wasn’t stressed about what is going on in this world. Because He already conquered it. That conquest followed Him to Heaven where He is still sitting, not moved or shaken by this world. Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Heb 1:3 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 by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
B. The thing about artificial light is that it never lasts it always burns out and will be replaced with another source. Artificial light only works best in the darkness, during dark and uncertain times the enemy places a lot of lights out to try and get you off track. It is during the dark times you have to rely on the Light that is still shining.
1. Jas 1:17 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. The light that you have received is the one that allows you to see. Only the Light of Christ leads to healing, miracles, peace, etc.… Satan can only give you artificial versions of those things that only Christ can give.
3. You don’t build a house at night you build during the day when it’s the brightest. During the day artificial light doesn’t work as good, it relies on darkness. Ps 30:5 : weeping may endure for a night, but joy [cometh] in the morning. There may be glares now in your midnight hour, there may be light trespass now, you may feel like you are up under all kinds of Satanic Sky Glow, but it will not last cause morning is coming and His light is shining bright!
4. Jesus is the one you need to look too, He is right before you, stop overlooking Him, Satan is trying to blind you to what is before you. Jesus the name which is above every name, the one that would be called in Rev. 1:8 the Almighty, 1 John 2:1 an advocate with the Father, John 6:35 the bread of life, Matt. 28:18 All authority in heaven and on earth, 1 Thess.1:10 Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come, Rev.19:11 Faithful and True, Rev. 17:14 Lord of lords and King of kings, John 1:29 the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, 1 Tim. 2:5 the only mediator between God and men, 1 Tim. 1:1 Christ Jesus our hope, Eph. 2:14 For he himself is our peace, Job 19:25 my Redeemer (that) lives, John 8:36 my liberator So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed, John 14:6 the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 8:12 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:58 Jesus said to them, before Abraham was, I am. He is your healer, provider, etc.…
5. As I was preparing this message, I remembered some lines from a Christmas card that I copied down several years ago that just seemed fitting for this Sermon. It simple said, If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator, if our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist, if our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist, if our greatest need would had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer, but our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
