Walk in Light
Notes
Transcript
Call to worship
Welcome everyone!
LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS
Lord,
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS
Lord,
SERMON
Introduction
Turn to Ephesians Chapter 5.
Remember Chapter 5 has this overall theme of “imitating God”. And Paul says that we need to walk in these three specific areas to be imitators of God:
(v 2): “walk in love”. We talked about this 3 Sundays ago. We walk in love by loving one another sacrificially and walking in purity.
(v 8): “walk as children of light”. Paul discusses how to walk in light in verses 8-14.
Then head down to verse 15, “walk not as unwise men, but as wise”.
Today we will be learning how to “walk in light”
Remember walk is a metaphor of how we are to live in this world full of darkness.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” (Matt 5:14-15)
God does not merely want us to know that Jesus is Light, or to recognize what is Light, but to walk in the Light so that we will give light to all who are around us.
And this is the primary point of this entire passage!
THE COMMAND: Walk as children of Light
THE COMMAND: Walk as children of Light
Ephesians 5:7–8 (NASB95)
Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
Explanation
The “therefore” in this verse links back to verse 6 that speaks of “the sons of disobedience”
We are not to be partakers with the “sons of disobedience”
“sons of disobedience” refers to anyone who does follow Jesus.
They do not have to be terrible people to be disobedient to Christ.
In fact there are many people who are good people (in a worldly sense) who are sons of disobedience
Therefore, do not be partakes with them
The word “partaker” means to have a close association with
This does not mean that we should completely separate ourselves from anyone who is not faithful to Jesus.
If that were true, then it would be very difficult to be witnesses to the world
Paul’s primary concern here is that the Ephesians DO NOT DO what lost people do.
Its not so much about association as it is participation
Principle: If you are becoming more like the people in your life who do not follow Jesus, then you need to disassociate yourself from them.
The key to faithfulness here is: who is influencing who. If they are influencing you, then you do harm to them and to you. But if you do not participate with them, but shine light upon them, then you are being the Light.
Paul uses the light and darkness metaphors all throughout this section
We need to think about LIGHT and DARKNESS as spiritual realms or domains.
Light is the realm of God’s domain
1 John 1:7 “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Light is the realm of righteousness
Those who are in the light, follow Jesus, live righteous lives
They have had their eyes opened, and have spiritual understanding and turned from the darkness
Darkness is the realm of Satan’s domain
It is the realm that Satan and his demons have power over
2 Corinthians 4:4 “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Those who walk in the darkness are in bondage to sin
They are under the power of sin and the influence of evil
This is where the “sons of disobedience” live
Those who live in a persistent disobedience to God and obedience to Satan (whether they know it or not)
“formerly you were darkness”
Paul doesn’t say we were “in darkness” BUT THAT, “we WERE darkness”
Our entire existence before we came to Christ was darkness
Darkness implies this inability to see
And an inability to understand
And behavior that is not pleasing to God
Our thoughts
Our deeds
Our intentions
Our very lives were full of darkness
There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains, Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Mankind is born into the darkness
His deeds are dark by nature
He is born in the flesh, and lives in the flesh.
We are natural born sinners, natural born rebels of God
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.””
Truth:
Here is a truth we need to understand
We all know people whom we would consider good or even really people. They may be our friends, they may be family, our spouses, or even people in this church.
If ANYONE (no matter how good they may be) does not faithfully follow Jesus, live in full surrender to Jesus, live in righteousness and truth THEY WALK IN DARKNESS
That is a clear cut line that we must grasp before we move on.
And if they walk in darkness then they are under the power of sin and the power of Satan
And do not think Satan will not get them to influence you, to lure you away from Light. I have seen it over and over again.
We must know the difference between the darkness and the Light
(v 8) “BUT Now you are light in the Lord”
We are not light by nature
We are only light when we are in Christ
When we come to Christ, and Jesus enters into us through the Holy Spirit then we BECOME LIGHT!
John 8:12 “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
The very nature of Jesus is light
So if we are light
Then that implies we have the ability to see
We have the ability to understand
We have the desire and willingness to obey
We have been freed from the prince of darkness
And we become a powerful influence in this dark world that we live in
Application:
What Conversion is, is a movement from darkness to light
AND It is impossible to walk in both. We are either in darkness or in the light
The first step in conversion is recognizing the difference between the two
Knowing what it means to walk in darkness (just like the world lives) and what it means to walk as children of light
But to JUST recognize the difference, THAT IS GRACE!
When God opens our eyes and gives us spiritual sight to see our sin for what it really is, grace has called our name!
Friend when God opened my eyes to the sin in my life, and the Word of God became alive to me and I could see the difference in darkness and light, everything changed. And it was like someone took the scales off of my eyes that had been there for 27 years!
BUT Recognizing alone is not sufficient. WE MUST WALK IN IT!
THE COMMAND: “walk as children of light”
“children of Light”
Here’s the IDEA: Fathers pass on their nature to their children.
By nature I like things clean, tidy, and organized. It drives me crazy to have things in a big mess.
I have been like this since I was a child.
This was passed down to me from my grandfather.
He was very neat and particular.
He kept his house perfect. his yard perfect, his blacktop driveway spotless.
When my Dad would come over to visit, he would put a piece of cardboard under his truck to catch the oil drips so they would not get on his driveway.
The same is true for us when we are born again
We are born first with a nature like Adam, sinful and in darkness
But when we are born again, we receive the nature of Jesus
The nature of light
The nature of God
It is as if the DNA of Jesus begins to flow through our veins
And His new nature produces new fruit
(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
Explanation
1) to walk as children of Light, is to walk in “all goodness”
1) biblical goodness has to do with doing the RIGHT KIND of behavior
There is a difference in good behavior and right behavior
Listen to the contrast Jesus gives:
Matthew 5:43–45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven”
The world says it is good to hate your enemy, BUT God says it is good to love them
What we define as good, must be God’s standards, not the world’s
2) Goodness also includes being generous
The word ‘goodness” is often translated “generous” and may be the thought here when contrasted with the vice list in verse 3
To be generous is to freely give more than is necessary or expected
2) walk in “righteousness”
God is the standard of righteousness
He is perfect in all His ways and we are not
But that does not mean that we do not strive to be perfect
Matthew 5:48 ““Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
To walk as children of Light is to strive to be perfect
In plain English: It means to take the things of God seriously!
Obedience to His commands
Serve Him with our lives
To live in awareness of our accountability to Him
It is a life characterized by godliness
walk in “truth”
This simply means to be honest
Why do we struggle with honesty?
Because we do not believe God will vindicate us if we commit ourselves to speak truth
Most often we lie to get ourselves out of trouble
But Paul says we are to walk in truth ALWAYS!
trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Fruit is produced by the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)
When we walk in the Light, we are able to see what pleases and displease God
It is the Holy Spirit of God that illuminates what pleases the Lord
God through His Spirit will give you a very uneasy impression deep down inside your soul when you are contemplating doing what does not please God
And the Holy Spirit will give you a great sense of peace of when you choose to do what does please God
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
But we also learn what pleases and displeases God from the Scripture
And that means it is our consistent task to study the Bible so that we know what is pleasing to the Lord
Reading and studying the Bible needs to be a regular part of the life of every believer!
And it is not to read it as a task to be completed
BUT a lesson to be learned.
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
You want to walk in the Light, this is one of the best places to start
trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Principle: If we commit to please Jesus, it doesn’t matter whom we displease. We will answer to Jesus and Jesus alone.
Don't live your life to make other people happy
None of that will matter when it’s all been said and done
Live your life to make Jesus happy, and you will never go wrong there.
We are to shine on unbelievers not participate with them
We are to shine on unbelievers not participate with them
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”
Explanation
Do not participate with sinners
That is about as plain as it gets and repeated by Paul over and over
If we are children of Light, we have no business participating in the deeds of darkness
Paul goes as far to say, “for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things they do in secret”
The deeds of darkness should be so removed from our lives that they are not even a thought in our minds
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
I have seen many people pierce themselves through with many sorrows because they put themselves in a close association with sinners and disregard this biblical principle
I am only dating him because I am going to lead him to the Lord
I’m only hanging out with those people because I am going to witness to them
If you make it a regular practice to put yourself in the company of sinners, it wont be long you’ll be sinning with them
I have seen it over and over again!
And do not ever think God is going to bless our disobedience!
What do we do then when we find ourselves in bad company?
RATHER EXPOSE THEM!
The word “expose” means to convict them!
When one walks in righteousness is held up to one who walks in darkness there is a clear difference!
And what it will do is bring conviction on that person, so that they see the disgrace in their deeds!
How does this happen?
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,
God has given all people a moral compass and when you take the righteousness of Christ lived out in someone’s life and hold it up next to the deeds of darkness it makes them visible
(v 13) “But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.”
Application:
It is very likely that all of us have friends or family who are do not walk in the Light
And there are times when we will be around them, or out with them
The best thing you could ever do for that person is to refuse to participate in their deeds
When you do, you will bring conviction upon them BECAUSE YOU WILL REVEAL THE TRUTH ABOUT SIN
When we do what the unconverted do, we just give them more comfort in their sin
Rather than opposing it, we are affirming it
And instead of a faithful witness of Jesus, we have just become a stumbling block preventing people from coming to Jesus
(v 14) “For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”
Notice this reference Paul uses:
The phrase is like a preacher preaching the gospel to one who is spiritually dead
Awake oh sleeper, arise from the dead!
This reminds us of Paul’s description in chapter 2: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world”
This call to those who are dead comes by living as Light in the world and exposing the deeds of darkness!
Why expose them? Because it will illuminate their sin and allow them to see it!
By exposing them, it will awake them from their slumber and open their eyes
And then, “Christ will shine on You”
This pictures the work of Jesus in conversion. The movement from darkness to Light that only Jesus can do.
If we want sinners to be saved, it begins with us walking in the light, no matter who it is in our lives who walk in darknes
Conclusion
Jesus said this, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.””
We live in a world full of darkness.
We are born into the darkness, and many will die in darkness
But Jesus said, follow Him and you will have the Light of life.
Life begins with Jesus.
As a plant cannot live with Light, so we cannot truly live without Jesus.
And to have Jesus is to make that once for all decision to follow Jesus.
~PRAYER~
RESPONSE
PUBLIC INVITATION
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
OFFERING
We will now worship the Lord through our tithes and offering.
BENEDICTION
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His face to you, And give you peace.’”