Spiritual Eclipses

Sermon

Lanier Christian Church

August 20, 2017

David Simpson

Spiritual Eclipses

Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:2

1 Thessalonians 5:2 – “…for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

Monday is the day! Rain or shine, the total solar eclipse is coming. The whole process of the moon blocking the light of the sun will take place over three hours. Gainesville will not see a total eclipse, just a 99% eclipse! Be sure to wear your solar glasses, even though you’ll only see 99% of the eclipse! Total eclipse for Gainesville will be at 2:37:04p.m. I hope the weather cooperates. It will be a sight to see! The totality area is about 70 miles wide (starting in Oregon and ending in South Carolina), but the entire country will see at least a partial eclipse. Everyone will see something! And that’s the point!

Everyone will see something. Everyone who goes outside and looks up will see at least some of the eclipse. More than likely, our nation will slow down a bit. Perhaps many will stop their work for a while and look up. I’m sure many cars will pull over and people will get out to look up. Like no other event, the solar eclipse will unite us together for a moment. There is only one sun that provides light and warmth and nourishment to our planet. This eclipse will take place over every person, no matter what political persuasion you may be. It will occur over every race and color represented in our country. It will be seen by every person of every religious belief system imaginable, including atheists. There will be no political debate, no racial divide, no disagreement over whose right and whose wrong about anything.

The sun will have everyone’s attention, at least for a short time.

There are few things that can bring people together, but this will be one event that will. And no matter who you speak with on Monday, you will be able to find common ground in talking about the solar eclipse.

We are all excited about the eclipse and well we should be. These don’t happen very often. Most people will take the opportunity to go outside and see day turn to night for a few minutes. What many will not do is take the time to discover the SON…the son of God…Jesus in their lives. This applies to non-believers, seekers, and believers alike.

An eclipse is when the moon is aligned in such a way that it blocks the sun partially and then completely over a period of three hours. But, we often allow Jesus to be eclipsed in our lives so that his brilliance never reaches our hearts and lives. I thought about this and I’d like to categorize these spiritual eclipses in three ways:

DENIAL

Do you know I had one of our church members to tell me that they had a friend that didn’t believe the solar eclipse was going to happen at all. Their comment was: “I just don’t believe it’s going to happen.”

Well, I can assure you, that based on strong scientific evidence, that this solar eclipse WILL occur, even if it’s cloudy or raining. Darkness will come for a time in the middle of the day. So plan on it and get ready because it will occur. To believe anything different is foolish. No, you may not see the sun due to the clouds, but darkness will occur no matter what, because the sun will be blocked for a short period of time. Deny it if you want to, but you will miss our on a once in lifetime opportunity to witness a solar eclipse in our own backyards AND, you will have some explaining to do on Monday afternoon.

There are many people who deny the reality of the Son of God, Jesus our Lord. They simply believe that he either didn’t exist or if he did, then he was just a mere man – but not Savior and Lord. And yet the evidence of the Bible, the impact of changed lives, the continuing existence and strength of the church, the impact of his life on culture including our very calendars, the validity of archeological evidence, and the commitment of the disciples of Jesus to the truth of his lordship, even to their deaths – their violent deaths…are all just some of the proofs of the reality of Jesus Christ.

Deny Him if you want to, but you will miss out on the blessings of His work in your life. His love, joy, peace, salvation, forgiveness, hope and home that He’s prepared. In addition to that, you’ll have some explaining to do when he actually does return one day.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)