Friday, April 26, 2024

Weekend Sermon -- God is Light

      I am thankful to the Lord that I am able to post the sermon today. Yesterday, we had a lot of rain and storms, but they were not severe. Today, we are supposed to have tornadoes, and tomorrow we are supposed to have storms and flooding. Please keep praying that the storms will not be bad as predicted. I hope that all of you are doing well. 

     As you know, we have been studying some of the names and titles used to describe God found mostly in the Old Testament but in the New Testament as well. For our message today, I want us to focus on the fact that the Bible refers to God as light. The primary verse for this is I John 3:5 that tells us that God is light, and in Him there is not darkness at all.

     There are several other verses in the Bible that describe God as light. For instance, in James 1:17, God is called the Father of lights. Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation."

     Jesus, who is God come in the flesh used the idea of light to describe Himself. In John 9:5, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." He also said this in John 8:12. 

     I Timothy 6:16 is an interesting verse. It tells us that God lives in unapproachable light. Ezekiel describes the glorious light of God. In Revelation, John describes the Risen Lord as shining like the Sun in all its brilliance.

     As we can see, light is often used to describe God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So, let's look into this. What does it mean that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all? It means that God is completely holy. He is pure and without any sin. He is the perfect being. He is glorious above all that we can ever even comprehend. There is no darkness in Him. He does not do anything that is opposed to His holy nature. 

    Because God is light. Because God is holy, He cannot be in the presence of sinfulness. That is why our sin separated us from God. That is why it is necessary that we have the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed into us. 

     God is light means something more direct to me. What I mean by this is that God is light means to me that He is the one that I can look to in order to know what to do. I have to look to Him in order to light my way through the world since the world is full of darkness that is doing all that it can to overcome the light of God. It will never be able to do it. 

     Now, Jesus said that He is the light of the world. He is the one who came to shine the light of God's love and forgiveness into this evil world filled with darkness and living in opposition and rebellion to the light of God. Jesus shined the message of God's love into this world. The darkness tried to overcome Jesus by killing Him. But God raised Jesus from the dead. He is the victor over all evil. His light shines and it is available to illuminate the heart that is still dead in trespasses and sin. Whosoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Then those who trust in Jesus can be called the children of the light. 

     Jesus is our light in the darkness of this world. He is our perfect example. We can look to Him and know what we are to do. He is with us leading the way. He is illuminating our path as we keep our eyes fixed on Him not looking to the left nor to the right. 

     If you are living in the darkness, you can come to the light. You can know Jesus as Savior and Lord. You will be part of His eternal kingdom that will need no Sun by day because Jesus is the light. Amen.

Prayer Requests

     It could really be bad around my part of the world the next couple of days, so please pray. Also, I am really missing my friend Toby the last few days. Pray that I won't get real depressed. Thank you. 

     We must continue to pray for peace in Israel and Gaza. We need to pray for peace throughout the entire Middle East region. Be in prayer for peace in Ukraine and Sudan. Pray for an end to the unrest in Haiti. 

     Pray for those around the world harmed by natural disasters. Pray that they will get the help that they need to recover. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Kazakhstan and Qatar. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Praise God, I was able to get the final section of the book on the Minor Prophets posted. Please read it if you are interested, and I hope you are. Next week, I will post the verses on Monday, and we will continue with our current sermon series. May God bless you all.  

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