When I first went to Mexico in 1985 we traveled through a small town where there was no Christian Church. As I observed the people doing everyday activities I noticed how empty, void and without purpose they looked.
I thought to myself, If someone doesn’t tell them about Christ they could be destined to spend eternity in hell.
That’s when I felt called of God to be the one to go and share Jesus with them.
This verse expresses the need I felt:
Jude 1:23 (NKJV)
But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
- Save= let the light shine
- pull them out of the fire = They stop sinning and are NOT destined to eternal damnation in hell.
You are the Light of the World:
Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
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In The Beginning:
Genesis 1:
Day 1-
1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
On Day 1 God said, Let there be light
Day 4 –
14-19 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
God Didn’t make the Sun, the moon and the stars until the 4th day. Let the be lights.
Genesis Verse 3 – the word “light” means glorious, fire
Verse 4– God separated the Light from the Darkness
The word “darkness” means destruction, death, judgment, supernatural or demonic darkeness
Verse 5 – God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night
“Day” means a time full of light
So on the 1st day God created time.
God is eternal. But he created time for us.
John 11:9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.
II Peter 3: 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
II Cor 6:2 2 For He says:
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
II Corinthians 4: 3-5, 6
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, (A) who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
(A) Reference to Genesis 1:3 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
God gave us the light of the knowledge, revelation, illumination of the Glory of God
God Gave us the light that brings salvation
Illustration: In Spanish having a baby is referred to as “”Dar La Luz” which means bringing forth the light or giving light. This same term means giving birth, salvation and knowing the light.
I. Obscure, Thick Darkness
example: Exodus 10:21-23
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
A thick darkness that natural light can’t penetrate
When we sin we are fellowshipping with that obscure darkness.
God Has given us the command Be holy as I am holy
I Peter 1: 13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
I John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we walk in darkness we are liars
The reason we don’t have harmony or fellowship with others Christ or others is because we DO Not walk in the light
Answer: The light shines brighter than the darkness
Now back to our original question: How was there light on the first day when the sun wasn’t created until the 4th day?
Where did the light come from?
The question is not what is the light, it is WHO is the light….
II The Light
A. **Jesus Christ is the Light**
In The Beginning:
John 1:
1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Word, The Life, The Light= Jesus Christ
6-9 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
God has sent us like he sent Juan and we should bear witness of the light
10-13 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Everyone that Receives and Believes in Jesus Christ have the right to become children of God
Revelation 21:22-24
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life
Isaiah 60: 19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
20 Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
Jesus said “I am the light, I bear witness”
John 8: 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”
14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
B.**We Are the Light of the World
Acts 13:47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”Also in Isaiah 49:6
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
It’s like you’ve got a light bulb on top of your head when you’re walking through a dark alley.
John 3:16- 21
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
What are the areas in your life that you’re compromising through evil deeds?
Are you ready to be a child of the light?
Jude 1:23
But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Arise and Shine:
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.