ARE YOU CONNECTED?
By Pastor Jim May
As I walked into the church this morning before the sun arose, I entered into a very dark building. Just as any of you would have done, the first thing I looked for was a light switch. Flipping that switch made all the difference in being able to walk through the obstacles that lay in my path. As the light flooded the room, my vision was cleared, the way was shone and I began my journey through the building to take care of the business and the purpose for which I had come to this place.
Without the light I would have tripped over chairs, run into the pews, or maybe into the wall. I would have had to grope in darkness trying to make my way, relying only on my memory, and my own understanding of where everything in this building is located. The problem is, everything tends to get moved, especially after last evening when we totally changed the location of everything in the church for a special dinner.
With the lights now on, I went through the building easily, negotiated every turn with ease, dodged every hazard with no problem, and found my way to the church office.
Then I went back into the auditorium and found the places where I could turn on the various decorative lighting that had been installed for celebration of the Christmas season. I plugged those in, turned them on, and then turned off the overhead lights to see how it all looked. That was the way I left it until people began to arrive.
Even in that low light condition, it was easy to negotiate the building and move about. It doesn’t take much light to dispel the darkness. The important thing is – to make sure that we are connected to a power source and then flip the switch to get the light to shine in the darkness.
The point of all this is that all of us once walked in outer darkness without the light of God in our hearts.
Isaiah 9:2, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."
I love the Christmas Season more than any other time of the year. It’s the only time of the year that some people try to act like they should act all of the time. Of course, not everyone gets the “holiday spirit”. Some people just want to be hateful and obnoxious no matter what time of year it is. But many people are transformed just a little at this time of the year. Most of them get a little more courteous, a little more patient and they allow their “better side”, if there is such a thing, to shine forth.
At this time of year the world, at least in our culture, seems to come alive a little more. We see colorful light displays on many homes, and music of the season fills the air, and the hearts of men are lifted with anticipation of celebrating some holidays with family and friends. Parties are everywhere. Special feasts are planned, like we had last night.
In short, there is just a whole different feeling that comes over the land for a while, until the holidays are past and we fall back into our daily routine once more.
As I considered all of this, I was reminded that the only reason that we have this season is because of Jesus. I know that this is often said in a trite little saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season” and that’s true, but let us not just say it and forget it. We need to take this occasion to really celebrate and spread the news of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
I know that I’m speaking to a people who love Jesus, or you wouldn’t be here this morning. But I also know that it’s so easy to get caught up in the celebrating, decorating and visitation and to really forget that it’s all about Jesus and nothing else.
It’s only because God gave His only begotten Son, that we have the desire and the will to give gifts to other people. It’s only because of the Risen Savior who grants us eternal life that we can celebrate that eternal life in the symbol of an evergreen tree. It’s only because of the Light of the gospel, that we can give true meaning to the lights strung everywhere. It’s only because of the beauty of His love, mercy and grace that we can see the real beauty of God’s creation and the world around us.
The lights and the cheerful hearts and the joy of the season are wonderful things, but I want us to remember that, in the midst of all the colored lights, parties and celebrating, the vast majority of those caught up in the festivities do not know the Lord as their Savior and they are still walking in gross darkness of sin.
We can light up the exterior, but only Jesus can illuminate the heart. The wonderful thing is that when Jesus lights up your heart and soul, then everything seems brighter on the outside. The world is brighter, the way is clearer and the understanding is enlightened and you can walk in a whole new awareness of what God is doing in the earth and in the hearts of men. That’s the result of that spiritual light that only Jesus can give.
People can celebrate by eating a feast of turkey and dressing with all the trimmings, but unless they feast upon the Word of God and allow the Holy Spirit to fill their soul, they are still going to die in their sin.
People can drink themselves into an alcoholic stupor so that they can forget their troubles and feel the euphoria of a few moments of peace, but unless they drink of the water of life, and allow the Love of God to flood their souls, they will never truly know peace.
People can laugh at jokes, sing happy songs, enjoy the company of family and friends, but they really can’t know true Joy with the Joy of first knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
There is simply no greater peace, no greater joy and no greater happiness than knowing that all is well with your soul. When your sins are forgiven and you have surrendered your life to Christ, then you can really experience that “great light” that Isaiah spoke of.
Are you here this morning with the switch turned on in your heart and life? Do you know Jesus as the Light of your Soul and the Light of your life? Then thank God that you know the true reason for all the celebrating and the joy of this holiday season.
Isaiah 60:1-3, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."
Arise and shine – that sounds like something that my mom used to say to me when it was time to get up. I didn’t know that she was quoting scripture.
As Christians we should take the opportunity of the season ahead to arise out of lethargy, arise out of spiritual slumber, arise out of our daily routine, and take our witness of Christ to a whole new level. Jesus will give us untold numbers of opportunities to pray, to witness, to show love and to really tell the world about Him. What a great time to allow our “light” to shine, and to show people the “True Light”.
While gross darkness of sin and evil reign over the whole of humanity and the world, we are a blessed people because we have the “Light of the world” and we have become the “light of the world”.
Matthew 5:13-16, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
If Jesus is in you, the whole world should be able to see that light. Even though Jesus is the “Bright and morning star” and “the great light”, the fact is that a lot of Christians just don’t reflect His light very brightly. The amount of light that shines from us is directly relative to the closeness of our relationship with Jesus on a personal level.
The good news is that it doesn’t take much light to dispel the darkness. If you are saved, and if the light of God is shining in you, even if you aren’t where you should be with the Lord, there will be some light in your life.
How do I know that’s true? Have you ever seen a worldly Christian whose light is dim because of the manner of his speech or the way he behaves around other people? That man or woman has a dim light because of their relationship with Jesus is weak. Yet when they get around people who don’t know Jesus at all and who are still in gross darkness of sin, those sinners will know that there’s something different about that weak Christian. Something about him or her, will make them uneasy.
Quite often this uneasiness results in either the sinners shying away from the worldly Christian, or else they will develop an attitude of contempt for him because he is just not a part of their crowd and yet won’t stand up for his own beliefs.
No matter which way it goes, it’s all a result of that dim light of the Lord in his heart that causes it.
The fact it, you may as well let your light shine brightly, and live for the Lord with all your heart, get completely sold out to Jesus, because the world isn’t going to accept you either way and you can really enjoy being a Christian instead of walking the fence.
Salt has the power to flavor whatever it touches. It has the power to preserve food. It has the power to make a difference in the world where it is used. Even salt that is losing its flavor still has some effect. That effect doesn’t just stop on a moment’s notice. It keeps going and going. It may grow weaker over time and eventually become unusable as a seasoning.
That’s the way your walk with the Lord is too. Even when you are on your way backward, allowing the devil to drag you back into that life of sin, your life is still able to touch other people.
I’ve seen Christians who were getting close to a backslidden condition actually influence a lost person to go to church with them and that lost person then would get saved while their Christian witness friend finally backslid. The dim light of that worldly Christian was still bright enough to lead someone to Christ. The sinner who was saved came to the “great light” and God received the glory for his salvation in spite of the weak Christian.
I think of some Christians as “Cell Phone Christians”. How many of you have a cell phone? I know that many of you do because I hear them ring during service, after service, before service, or whenever. Sometimes you have a really crystal clear connection and at other times you can barely understand what’s being said, and then there are times when there’s no connection at all because we are out of range of the tower.
That’s the way that we are too. Sometimes we are so close to God that our light shines really bright. Then there are times when we allow the cares of light to separate us from our prayer life, from studying the Word, from going to church, and from hearing the voice of the Lord and light grows dim. Then, sometimes we just lose contact altogether with the Lord because we have strayed too far into sin, and that’s when the light can go out completely.
All of us here this morning are in one of those three conditions. How bright is your light right now? Are you shining forth in the brightness that Jesus wants you to? Is there something there that is blocking that light from coming forth? Have clouds of sin, disobedience, lethargy and neglect come between you and your source of light? Have those clouds become storm clouds that eclipse the Light of God so that you no longer shine at all? We need to remove the clouds and shine brightly once again.
We need to make sure that we are still plugged into the power source of our light and life. The power is not in us without Jesus. He is the only source of light and power in your life. You can’t generate it yourself. It must come from the Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Secondly, if you are connected to that power source in Jesus Christ, then flip on the switch and let your light shine so the world can know that you belong to Him.
Perhaps there is one here who does not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Maybe you are still groping in the darkness of sin, trying to find your way but stumbling over every obstacle in life and falling flat of your face all of the time. Have you wondered why you can’t find the right answers to your questions? Have you wondered why life seems to knock you down at every turn? Have you tried to find a meaning for your life and there just doesn’t seem to be any? Have you tripped over things in your life that you didn’t see in your path? Have you looked at your life and wondered, “Is there a better way?”
My friend, you need to get connected, turn on the switch and let the light of God shine in your heart. Jesus can give it all meaning. He can show you the path. He can give you peace, joy and happiness like you’ve never known. Most importantly, He will give you eternal life and lift you out of the darkness of sin.
Those who refuse to accept the light that Jesus offers will burn for eternity in the gross darkness of the lake of fire.
Those who accept His light right now will walk in the brightness of His Light for eternity.
