WEBVTT 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:17.500 Isaiah chapter 60, verses 1 through 3. We'll 00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:19.600 read through these three verses, then we will 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:25.920 pray and get started. Isaiah chapter 60, verse 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:32.979 1. Arise, shine, for your light has come. and 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:37.000 the glory of the Lord shines over you. For look, 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:40.920 darkness covers the earth, and total darkness 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:44.700 the peoples. But the Lord will shine over you, 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:49.340 and his glory will appear over you. Nations will 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:52.679 come to your light, and kings to the brightness 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:57.920 of your radiance. Let's pray. God, we come to 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:01.539 you, and we thank you for these words. And we 00:01:01.539 --> 00:01:05.379 thank you for the light that has come. Dear Lord, 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:10.599 our lives are full of struggle and stresses and 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.400 pains and temptations and trials, dear Lord, 00:01:13.540 --> 00:01:18.239 that are in fact darkness in our life. And that's 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.640 the worst place to be, dear Lord. Nobody longs 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:24.219 to live in the darkness. And so I pray, God, 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:27.260 that through your word today and through your 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:31.480 Holy Spirit, That Jesus Christ would be a light 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:35.640 in our lives today. God, as we walk through this 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:39.340 world, it is not easy. But you are a lamp unto 00:01:39.340 --> 00:01:42.760 our feet, God. So I pray that your word would 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:45.620 light our way this morning. I pray that your 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:47.480 Holy Spirit would free us of the distractions 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:51.219 and the worries of this world. I pray, God, that 00:01:51.219 --> 00:01:54.280 you meet us where we are. We may not be where 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:57.569 we want to be. Our hearts may be happy today 00:01:57.569 --> 00:02:00.709 or they may be sad today or our struggles may 00:02:00.709 --> 00:02:02.890 be tough today, but wherever we are, dear Lord, 00:02:03.010 --> 00:02:05.150 we just pray that in your grace you'd just meet 00:02:05.150 --> 00:02:08.389 us there and help us to experience your presence. 00:02:08.469 --> 00:02:10.889 God, I pray that you'd take away any pride or 00:02:10.889 --> 00:02:14.469 fear I have today, that I would preach your word 00:02:14.469 --> 00:02:18.389 for your glory. And I ask these things in Jesus' 00:02:18.490 --> 00:02:23.770 name. Amen. The book of Isaiah was written over 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:27.669 a long period of time. It was written, part of 00:02:27.669 --> 00:02:32.789 it at the beginning of or before Israel was going 00:02:32.789 --> 00:02:35.430 to go into the Babylonian captivity and then 00:02:35.430 --> 00:02:37.389 part of it during that time and then part of 00:02:37.389 --> 00:02:40.770 it follows after probably. And that would be 00:02:40.770 --> 00:02:43.069 where this verse takes place. Now God's people, 00:02:43.210 --> 00:02:46.750 they lived in a lot of disobedience. And as a 00:02:46.750 --> 00:02:49.819 result of that, God often would hand them over 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:52.060 to their enemies, and that's exactly what happened. 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:55.360 God handed Israel over, and eventually they were 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:58.419 dispersed, and then sometimes later he handed 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:02.180 Judah over, and they were taken over by the Babylonians, 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:04.960 and that was prophesied. We see by several prophets 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:07.439 in the Old Testament that this was going to occur, 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:10.219 that a foreigner was going to come in and overtake 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:11.680 them, and they were going to be taken from their 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:14.439 land, but that God was going to restore them, 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:17.990 and he did. He did deliver them. that 70 years 00:03:17.990 --> 00:03:21.789 of captivity, Israel was restored to the land. 00:03:22.169 --> 00:03:25.150 But there's also other promises in Isaiah that 00:03:25.150 --> 00:03:28.990 are not just farther than Israel, but pointing 00:03:28.990 --> 00:03:31.370 us forward to something greater than just Israel 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:33.330 being restored to their land. And they were, 00:03:33.449 --> 00:03:35.270 and they rebuilt the walls, and they rebuilt 00:03:35.270 --> 00:03:37.610 the temple, and all of those things we see in 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:39.949 Scripture were fulfilled just as they were said 00:03:39.949 --> 00:03:43.430 they would be. But there was also something pointing 00:03:43.430 --> 00:03:47.659 us forward in Isaiah. pointing us forward to 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:52.360 Jesus Christ. That's the ultimate deliverance 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:54.520 that was going to come for God's people. When 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.780 we read through the Old Testament, if you never 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:00.740 have, you should. You should read through the 00:04:00.740 --> 00:04:04.139 New Testament. You should see who Jesus is and 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:07.139 see that he is the Messiah. And then you should 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:09.919 go back and read the Old Testament. And as we 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:12.699 read the Old Testament, And it takes a lifetime. 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.400 There's always things we're seeing. But over 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:18.660 time, we begin to see verses and we see clearly 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:22.220 that they are pointing us to Jesus. Most everything 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:24.420 in the Old Testament is pointing us to Jesus. 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.500 Most every main story that we see and every main 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:30.240 character that we see, there's something in that 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:33.540 story that's letting us know, okay, this is pointing 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:36.759 forward to the perfect way that God is going 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:40.100 to fulfill this. You've got characters like Moses 00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:42.720 who are going to be the one who delivered God's 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:45.040 people and bring them into the promised land. 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:48.879 And Moses is foreshadowing Jesus who would ultimately 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:52.180 be the one not just to deliver Israel, but deliver 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:55.120 all people. And not to a spot of land on this 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.550 earth, but into heaven, into an eternity. in 00:04:58.550 --> 00:05:00.649 the presence of Jesus Christ, in the presence 00:05:00.649 --> 00:05:03.089 of God. And so we see all of these characters 00:05:03.089 --> 00:05:05.230 and all of these stories and all of these books 00:05:05.230 --> 00:05:07.569 in the Old Testament, and they are pointing us 00:05:07.569 --> 00:05:11.290 forward to Jesus Christ. That's the central theme. 00:05:11.670 --> 00:05:13.870 That's what God wanted his people to know about. 00:05:14.009 --> 00:05:17.230 He wanted them to look forward to a day of deliverance, 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:20.199 eternal deliverance. And he wanted them to look 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:22.199 forward to the day that the Messiah was going 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:24.560 to come. And there were all kind of hints throughout 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:27.000 the Old Testament, all kind of language that 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:30.180 was used by Jesus in the New Testament, I think, 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:32.939 to hopefully catch the ear of the audience to 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:35.079 say, wait a minute, I've heard this language 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:37.899 and these phrases before. And in the Old Testament, 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:40.480 they were talking about the Messiah. And here 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.180 this man has come, and he's doing miracles, and 00:05:43.180 --> 00:05:45.720 he's preaching and teaching in a way unlike anybody 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:49.319 else. And he's saying some of these things, and 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:51.959 some people caught it. Some people recognized 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:55.439 that Jesus was the Messiah, and others totally 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:59.319 missed it. But in the book of Isaiah, throughout 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:02.680 this book, it's pointing to Israel's deliverance 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:05.459 and return to the land, which they were. And 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:09.160 it's also pointing forward to Jesus Christ. And 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:11.839 that's what we see here. We see in these verses, 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:15.060 in verse 1 it says, Arise, shine, for your light 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:18.279 has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:21.199 you. Now in the context, he's talking about his 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:23.199 people Israel that have been delivered, that 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:26.759 he's taken care of. And God does shine upon them. 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:29.800 And it continues on, for look, darkness covers 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.939 the earth and total darkness the peoples, but 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:35.800 the Lord will shine over you and his glory will 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:39.279 appear over you. Now this is good news for us 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:41.980 today. Because we would agree that this is true 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:45.040 today, that darkness covers the earth. Now, we 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:47.459 talk about darkness and light in Scripture, and 00:06:47.459 --> 00:06:50.060 those terms are in some way symbolic. It's not 00:06:50.060 --> 00:06:52.139 talking about physical darkness. It's talking 00:06:52.139 --> 00:06:55.360 about darkness that is sinfulness and evil. And 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:57.379 I think we would all agree that that exists in 00:06:57.379 --> 00:07:00.300 our world today. That there is darkness in our 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:03.480 world today. You turn on the news. You go out 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:05.439 amongst the people that you see just out and 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.879 about town. And sometimes you see some of the 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:10.220 most evil things and you hear some of the most 00:07:10.220 --> 00:07:13.459 evil things. And there is darkness all around 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:16.560 us in this world. And it's quite depressing. 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:19.459 And some people have never heard the gospel of 00:07:19.459 --> 00:07:21.540 Jesus Christ. They've never read God's word. 00:07:21.620 --> 00:07:24.300 Maybe even some of you today. Maybe you just 00:07:24.300 --> 00:07:26.120 sit on the church pew for all your life and you 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:28.899 never heard a thing. Maybe today you just see 00:07:28.899 --> 00:07:31.079 the darkness around you, but I want to tell you 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:34.560 today that God's word promises something better 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:37.199 than the darkness. That God says there's darkness 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:40.079 over the face of the earth. There is evil, and 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:42.500 I've got news for you. There will always be evil 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:44.920 in this world. There will always be darkness 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:48.560 in this world. But God says, I will shine over 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:51.040 you. Who's he talking to? He's talking to his 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:54.800 people. God is saying that if you will seek me, 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:58.240 if you will trust in me, I'm going to take care 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.459 of you. I'm going to deliver you. I'm going to 00:08:01.459 --> 00:08:04.000 be your light in the midst of the darkness. And 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.660 praise the Lord. Because that's what we need. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:09.959 If we only saw the darkness in our life, we would 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:13.180 all give up. And sadly, there are many people 00:08:13.180 --> 00:08:16.689 in our world that have given up. Maybe there 00:08:16.689 --> 00:08:19.029 are some of you today and you're struggling and 00:08:19.029 --> 00:08:22.209 maybe you want to give up. But maybe it's because 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:24.050 you're living in the darkness. But I want to 00:08:24.050 --> 00:08:25.649 tell you today there's something better than 00:08:25.649 --> 00:08:27.970 what this world has to offer. Yeah, there's going 00:08:27.970 --> 00:08:30.410 to be evil people. There's going to be bad things 00:08:30.410 --> 00:08:32.409 that are going to occur. But I want to tell you 00:08:32.409 --> 00:08:35.090 that God loves you today. And I want to tell 00:08:35.090 --> 00:08:36.750 you today that there is light, that there is 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:39.090 goodness, that there are good people in this 00:08:39.090 --> 00:08:41.690 world. That there are people who trust in the 00:08:41.690 --> 00:08:44.149 Lord. That there are people who reflect the goodness 00:08:44.149 --> 00:08:47.629 of God. At least we should as Christians. We 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:50.950 should be a light to the world. And God tells 00:08:50.950 --> 00:08:52.710 His people here in Isaiah, and He's pointing 00:08:52.710 --> 00:08:55.389 forward to Jesus Christ. He said, I'm going to 00:08:55.389 --> 00:08:58.710 shine on you. I'm going to be a light to you. 00:08:58.850 --> 00:09:02.049 The source of light was going to come from God's 00:09:02.049 --> 00:09:05.159 very people. Jesus was going to come from the 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:07.600 people of Israel, and he was going to be a light 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:10.679 not just for the people of Israel, but for all 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:13.620 people in the world. He was going to be a light 00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:15.620 for all to see, a light that could shine through 00:09:15.620 --> 00:09:19.720 whatever darkness there was, and God is telling 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:24.360 his people, look, I am your light. But ultimately, 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:26.399 he's pointing them forward to what that source 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:30.059 of light is going to be. He says in verse 3, 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:35.379 Come to your light and kings to the brightness 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:39.720 of your radiance. He says right before that, 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.320 His glory will appear over you. He's pointing 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:47.440 the people forward to Jesus Christ. What's God's 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:51.320 desire? It's that people would follow Jesus Christ. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:55.740 Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he came to 00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:57.700 this earth and he was nailed to a cross and he 00:09:57.700 --> 00:10:00.559 died so that our sins could be forgiven, so that 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:02.759 we could be freed from the darkness. Had it not 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.379 been for that, we wouldn't be here today. We 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:07.620 would have no reason to rejoice today. Had Jesus 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:10.279 Christ had not have come and died on the cross 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:12.340 and been raised from the dead, we would still 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:15.220 be living in a day of darkness. But praise God, 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:18.620 we are not. And God says, look, I'm going to 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:21.039 shine down upon you. And he did through Jesus 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:23.809 Christ. And what does he say in that last verse? 00:10:24.169 --> 00:10:27.049 Nations will come to your light and kings to 00:10:27.049 --> 00:10:30.149 the brightness of your radiance. He says of God's 00:10:30.149 --> 00:10:32.370 people, okay, I'm going to be a light to you. 00:10:32.450 --> 00:10:35.070 I'm going to change your life. And that light 00:10:35.070 --> 00:10:37.389 that's in you that comes through Jesus Christ 00:10:37.389 --> 00:10:40.190 ultimately is going to be a light that all of 00:10:40.190 --> 00:10:43.690 the nations will see. God says, I don't just 00:10:43.690 --> 00:10:46.429 want to save you, Israel. You are my chosen people. 00:10:46.470 --> 00:10:48.870 I chose you to carry out my plan and so that 00:10:48.870 --> 00:10:50.809 the Messiah could be brought into the world. 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:53.909 But my goal, he says, is that my light would 00:10:53.909 --> 00:10:56.610 be shown upon you that you would experience my 00:10:56.610 --> 00:10:59.389 glory through Jesus Christ and that that light 00:10:59.389 --> 00:11:02.370 that comes through you will be a light that all 00:11:02.370 --> 00:11:05.610 of the nations will flock to. That all the people 00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:08.450 of the world will experience this light that 00:11:08.450 --> 00:11:12.320 I am bringing through you. Praise God. That's 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:14.299 exactly what we see in the world today. That's 00:11:14.299 --> 00:11:17.100 why we sit in this room. Because the light has 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:19.440 come into the world. Because we know that there 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.340 is hope from the darkness. That that hope is 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:25.639 for everybody. And so just as God had said, it 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:29.840 had been fulfilled. And everybody around us should 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.779 see, if we are Christians, if we profess to be 00:11:32.779 --> 00:11:36.440 Christians, people should see some light in us. 00:11:37.289 --> 00:11:39.870 But what is our source of light? Well, it's clear 00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:42.409 who the light is. It's clear in the New Testament 00:11:42.409 --> 00:11:47.929 who the light is. In John 8, verse 12, it says 00:11:47.929 --> 00:11:51.690 this, Then Jesus spoke to them again, I am the 00:11:51.690 --> 00:11:55.110 light of the world. Anyone who follows me will 00:11:55.110 --> 00:11:58.269 never walk in darkness, but will have the light 00:11:58.269 --> 00:12:02.289 of life. Same thing, same idea that we see in 00:12:02.289 --> 00:12:05.799 Isaiah. And Jesus tells us flat out, If there's 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:08.500 any question for you today as to where your light's 00:12:08.500 --> 00:12:10.440 going to come from, it's not going to come from 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:12.159 your wealth. It's not going to come from your 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.879 addictions. It's not going to come from your 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:16.179 fame. It's not going to come from your success. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:19.019 Those are not the things that light your life 00:12:19.019 --> 00:12:21.379 up. Those things will bring more chaos and depression 00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:25.460 and all kind of problems. The light in our life 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:27.840 is only going to come from one source, and that 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:32.700 is Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, I am the light. 00:12:33.450 --> 00:12:35.690 Now if you're walking in darkness today, I want 00:12:35.690 --> 00:12:37.750 to tell you the only hope that you have this 00:12:37.750 --> 00:12:41.090 morning is to trust in Jesus Christ. He says, 00:12:41.149 --> 00:12:47.950 I am the light of the world and whoever is in 00:12:47.950 --> 00:12:51.250 me will not walk in darkness but walk in that 00:12:51.250 --> 00:12:56.950 light. Again, in John chapter 12 verse 46, I 00:12:56.950 --> 00:13:00.370 have come as a light into the world so that everyone 00:13:00.370 --> 00:13:05.080 who believes in me will not remain in darkness. 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:08.600 Again, same type of language. Very simple stuff. 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:11.980 We understand sometimes the darkness is scary. 00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:14.879 It's a beautiful thing to have lights. Most of 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:17.279 us have night lights outside of our house. Why? 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:19.299 We like to look outside. If it's dark, we want 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:22.179 to see what's going on. We got lights on our 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:24.879 cell phones now. We always have a light on us. 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:27.700 And we use those lights all the time. A lot of 00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:31.789 you have night lights in your house. On a bright 00:13:31.789 --> 00:13:34.009 night, the moon shining, there's always some 00:13:34.009 --> 00:13:37.350 source of light that we see. And we like light 00:13:37.350 --> 00:13:41.529 because light cuts through the darkness. And 00:13:41.529 --> 00:13:45.070 so it is spiritually for us. When we're in the 00:13:45.070 --> 00:13:47.809 midst of the darkness of our sin and our struggles 00:13:47.809 --> 00:13:51.610 and our pain in this life, those are dark times. 00:13:52.330 --> 00:13:55.549 Sometimes we have a long, dark night of the soul. 00:13:55.730 --> 00:13:58.470 We understand this language and this symbolism. 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:02.059 We know what it feels like to live in darkness. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.259 I remember it's been, oh, I guess the first of 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:06.879 this year. I don't remember when it was. Michelle 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:08.940 and I, we were in Missouri, and we went into 00:14:08.940 --> 00:14:11.940 a cave. Of course, they had lights in it, and 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:15.559 it was all lit up, and you could see. And we 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:17.559 got down to the bottom of the cave, and Michelle 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:19.299 and I were the only two people on the tour. It 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:21.779 was a private tour. Nobody else showed up. And 00:14:21.779 --> 00:14:25.399 we get to the bottom of the cave, and the guy 00:14:25.399 --> 00:14:27.799 says, hey, you want me to turn off the lights? 00:14:28.350 --> 00:14:31.230 And I said, yeah, that sounds great. So we get 00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:33.610 in there, and he turns off the lights. And guess 00:14:33.610 --> 00:14:37.330 what? It was completely pitch black. That's the 00:14:37.330 --> 00:14:41.169 only time in my life that I have ever been completely 00:14:41.169 --> 00:14:45.490 in the pitch black. I'm talking about zero source 00:14:45.490 --> 00:14:48.570 of light whatsoever. It was complete and utter 00:14:48.570 --> 00:14:52.169 darkness. And you know what? It was kind of scary. 00:14:53.289 --> 00:14:55.210 It's kind of scary when you're sitting there 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:58.470 and you're in a cave and there is complete silence 00:14:58.470 --> 00:15:02.309 and there is complete darkness. It's a scary 00:15:02.309 --> 00:15:06.110 place to be. And sometimes in our lives spiritually 00:15:06.110 --> 00:15:09.950 we get that way. Sometimes because of our sins 00:15:09.950 --> 00:15:13.009 and because of our struggles. We make some bad 00:15:13.009 --> 00:15:15.490 decisions and we do things and we get down roads 00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:18.440 and we just... our life begins to fall apart, 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:21.600 and we are living in complete and total darkness, 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:25.360 and that's a scary place to be. Maybe you've 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:27.279 been there before. Maybe you're there now. It's 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.899 a scary place to be when we're in the midst of 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:34.860 complete and total darkness. And oftentimes, 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.870 it can feel hopeless. If he hadn't turned those 00:15:38.870 --> 00:15:40.529 lights back on in that cave, I would have been 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:42.210 hopeless. There's no way I would have ever gotten 00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:44.009 out of there. I would have never been able to 00:15:44.009 --> 00:15:46.370 find my way back up the steps. I would have died 00:15:46.370 --> 00:15:48.610 in the bottom of that cave. I would have died 00:15:48.610 --> 00:15:51.590 in my darkness had he not provided a source of 00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:55.149 light. That light was only off for 10 seconds. 00:15:55.230 --> 00:15:56.669 But boy, it felt good when he flipped that light 00:15:56.669 --> 00:16:00.190 back on. It felt good instantly. Instantly there 00:16:00.190 --> 00:16:02.009 was relief because I was out of the darkness. 00:16:03.509 --> 00:16:06.759 And that's how it is for us spiritually. Because 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:08.440 there are some times in our life that we are 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:12.039 in the midst of some dark stuff. Some dark sins. 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:16.639 Some dark decisions that we have made. And man, 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:19.980 it's a scary place to be. But I want to tell 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:24.480 you, the best feeling in the world is when you 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.039 see the light. And I want to tell you today, 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:31.100 the light is Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:36.000 5 verse 14 says this. For what makes everything 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:40.919 clear is light. Therefore it is said, Get up, 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:44.820 sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah 00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:49.299 will shine on you. Same language that he used 00:16:49.299 --> 00:16:52.379 in Isaiah, that idea of rising up. The light 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:55.519 is upon you. The source of light, the source 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:59.429 of hope, the source of deliverance is here. We 00:16:59.429 --> 00:17:02.750 see it in the pages of Scripture. We see it in 00:17:02.750 --> 00:17:05.529 Jesus Christ. And so when you hear the words 00:17:05.529 --> 00:17:07.789 of Scripture, when you've heard the gospel of 00:17:07.789 --> 00:17:10.150 Jesus Christ, when you know that there is hope 00:17:10.150 --> 00:17:15.170 and light, God says, rise up. Rise up and go 00:17:15.170 --> 00:17:20.049 to that source of light. The question is, are 00:17:20.049 --> 00:17:23.710 we going to do that? Maybe you know the source 00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:27.089 of light. Are you going to the source of light? 00:17:28.350 --> 00:17:30.869 You know, it'd be foolish. It'd be foolish for 00:17:30.869 --> 00:17:33.490 us to go home tonight. Sun goes down, it gets 00:17:33.490 --> 00:17:36.049 dark, and we don't turn on any lights in our 00:17:36.049 --> 00:17:38.029 house. We all got lights. I think you all got 00:17:38.029 --> 00:17:40.430 lights, probably. You got switches all over your 00:17:40.430 --> 00:17:43.769 house. You flip them, light comes on. It'd be 00:17:43.769 --> 00:17:45.950 pretty foolish for you every night to walk around 00:17:45.950 --> 00:17:49.569 your house in darkness when all you got to do 00:17:49.569 --> 00:17:52.950 is flip the switch. Even in the old days, before 00:17:52.950 --> 00:17:54.250 there were switches, there were still lamps. 00:17:54.369 --> 00:17:57.279 There was still a source of light. It'd be pretty 00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.160 foolish to live in the darkness when you don't 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:03.180 have to. And we don't. Every one of us tonight, 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.700 we're going to turn on our switches. We're going 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:08.460 to turn on our TVs. We're going to have all these 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:12.400 things that's going to light up our houses. How 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:14.880 much more foolish is it in our life and our struggles 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:17.279 and our sin and our pains and our sorrows? How 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:19.279 much more foolish is it to know that the source 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:22.559 of light is right here for you today? Your source 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.559 of hope and deliverance through Jesus Christ. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:28.720 He's available today. Would you rise up from 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:31.299 the dead, the scripture says. In the darkness, 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:34.980 it's death. We are doomed to die in the darkness 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:38.000 if we don't find the source of life that is Jesus 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:43.119 Christ. The source of light is available for 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.940 us today. But it's up to you to decide whether 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:48.380 you're going to seek the light or whether you're 00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:51.140 going to live in the darkness. You know, sometimes 00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:53.220 we may deceive ourselves and we may think we're 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:55.740 living in the light. But if you're not living 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:59.920 for Jesus Christ, you're not. And Jesus says, 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:01.740 if the light within you is darkness, then how 00:19:01.740 --> 00:19:06.559 deep is that darkness? Sometimes we think we're 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:09.140 living in the light, but really we're deeper 00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:11.660 in the darkness than we've ever imagined because 00:19:11.660 --> 00:19:14.279 we're still living for ourselves and we're not 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:19.069 trusting in Jesus Christ. So the call today to 00:19:19.069 --> 00:19:23.509 each one of us is to rise up. Flee from the darkness. 00:19:23.589 --> 00:19:27.230 It will flee from you. All it takes is, I'm talking 00:19:27.230 --> 00:19:29.730 about the smallest amount of light and darkness 00:19:29.730 --> 00:19:34.349 flees. The smallest amount of light. And here 00:19:34.349 --> 00:19:37.670 is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And the scripture 00:19:37.670 --> 00:19:41.690 says the Son, Jesus Christ, is the radiance of 00:19:41.690 --> 00:19:45.089 God's glory. That's the same language we see 00:19:45.089 --> 00:19:48.329 in Isaiah chapter 60. That God's light is going 00:19:48.329 --> 00:19:50.430 to shine upon his people and that the nations 00:19:50.430 --> 00:19:53.170 are going to radiate among the other people and 00:19:53.170 --> 00:19:56.450 the people will see that light. What is the source 00:19:56.450 --> 00:19:58.170 of that light that's going to radiate in our 00:19:58.170 --> 00:20:00.529 lives and radiate in the lives of those around 00:20:00.529 --> 00:20:03.509 us? It is Jesus Christ who is the radiance of 00:20:03.509 --> 00:20:08.150 God's glory. Will you walk in the light today? 00:20:08.930 --> 00:20:14.450 I don't know the answer to that. John chapter 00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:20.000 3 verse 19 says this. This then is the judgment. 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:24.339 The light has come into the world and people 00:20:24.339 --> 00:20:27.940 love darkness rather than the light because their 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:35.400 deeds were evil. That's pretty scary. That the 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:39.779 light has come into the world, our source of 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:42.279 hope and deliverance and forgiveness and joy 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:46.069 and peace. The things that we want, the source 00:20:46.069 --> 00:20:49.130 of that is Jesus Christ and it has come into 00:20:49.130 --> 00:20:52.890 the world. But the scripture says that some people 00:20:52.890 --> 00:20:56.990 love the darkness so much that they chose to 00:20:56.990 --> 00:20:59.789 continue to live in the darkness rather than 00:20:59.789 --> 00:21:06.809 the light. Is that any of us today? I'm not just 00:21:06.809 --> 00:21:08.329 talking about lost people. I'm talking about 00:21:08.329 --> 00:21:11.180 God's people sometimes. I'm talking about people 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:12.819 that know the Scripture and have read the Scripture 00:21:12.819 --> 00:21:14.839 and people that sit on the church and people 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:18.019 that are God's people and we get into the temptation 00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:21.220 of sin and living for ourself and living for 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.920 the world and we start living in darkness so 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.400 much that we begin to choose the darkness over 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:31.559 the light. That's not a good place for us to 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:35.519 be. Maybe there are some of you in this room 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:39.210 today. You've been choosing the darkness over 00:21:39.210 --> 00:21:41.190 the light. I pray that today that you would choose 00:21:41.190 --> 00:21:46.210 the light. Matthew chapter 5 verses 15 and 16 00:21:46.210 --> 00:21:51.309 says this. No one lights a lamp and puts it under 00:21:51.309 --> 00:21:55.569 a basket but rather on a lamp stand. And it gives 00:21:55.569 --> 00:21:59.609 light to all who are in the house. In the same 00:21:59.609 --> 00:22:04.029 way, let your light shine before men so that 00:22:04.029 --> 00:22:07.259 they may see your good works. and give glory 00:22:07.259 --> 00:22:15.220 to your Father in heaven. We are called to choose 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:19.059 the light in Jesus Christ. And when we choose 00:22:19.059 --> 00:22:22.640 the light, and the light shines in the darkness 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:27.140 of our heart, it will change our heart. If you 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:30.079 come to Jesus Christ and your life is not changed, 00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:32.789 then you have not come to Jesus Christ. Now, 00:22:32.809 --> 00:22:34.150 I'm not telling you your life's not going to 00:22:34.150 --> 00:22:36.069 be tough. I'm not telling you you're not going 00:22:36.069 --> 00:22:38.250 to have temptations. I'm not telling you that 00:22:38.250 --> 00:22:40.410 you're never going to sin again. But when we 00:22:40.410 --> 00:22:42.930 come to Jesus Christ, there should be some change 00:22:42.930 --> 00:22:46.470 in our heart. It should change our desires. It 00:22:46.470 --> 00:22:48.769 should change how we treat people. It should 00:22:48.769 --> 00:22:51.509 bring a sense of joy and a sense of peace to 00:22:51.509 --> 00:22:55.279 us. Once we've experienced forgiveness that comes 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:58.539 through Jesus Christ and the grace of God, there 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:01.420 should be some change that comes to us once the 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:05.259 light of Jesus shines in our hearts and in our 00:23:05.259 --> 00:23:08.880 lives. And praise God, I hope that's the case. 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:12.299 If you've come to Jesus Christ, I hope you feel 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:14.599 that peace and that grace and that love of Jesus 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:18.279 today. If you don't know Jesus Christ, I pray 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:21.059 that you'd come to the light today. That it would 00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:23.960 draw you in. That you would find that there's 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:25.559 hope and that there's peace and that there's 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:30.980 deliverance in Jesus Christ. And once we've experienced 00:23:30.980 --> 00:23:34.960 that, what does this scripture say? Let your 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:39.640 light shine before men. Now if Jesus Christ has 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:42.640 touched our life, then that should be evident 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:47.960 to those who are around us. Are you a light to 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.410 the people that you encounter? in the world today. 00:23:52.670 --> 00:23:54.589 Think about the people that you were around last 00:23:54.589 --> 00:23:59.569 week. Were you a light to them? Did they leave 00:23:59.569 --> 00:24:01.789 with more joy after getting to visit with you 00:24:01.789 --> 00:24:05.869 or did they leave angry? Do people love to see 00:24:05.869 --> 00:24:07.910 you coming or do they dread to see you coming? 00:24:09.769 --> 00:24:13.589 Do you bring joy and peace and love when you 00:24:13.589 --> 00:24:15.789 enter into a room, when you enter into your workplace, 00:24:15.990 --> 00:24:17.970 when you enter into your church, when you enter 00:24:17.970 --> 00:24:22.440 into your house? Are you a source of light or 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:26.859 are you a source of darkness? If Jesus Christ 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:32.019 has become the light of our life, then that should 00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:35.839 reflect from us in some way that we are a light 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:40.750 to the world that we go out into every day. We 00:24:40.750 --> 00:24:42.609 don't care if people come to us and say, oh, 00:24:42.630 --> 00:24:45.789 we just love you so much. You just have joy and 00:24:45.789 --> 00:24:47.690 peace, and we love to see you coming. No, that's 00:24:47.690 --> 00:24:49.809 not what the Scripture says. It doesn't say let 00:24:49.809 --> 00:24:51.569 your light shine so people will give you praise. 00:24:51.769 --> 00:24:54.589 It says let your light shine so people will see 00:24:54.589 --> 00:24:57.430 that light that comes from Jesus Christ and give 00:24:57.430 --> 00:25:01.349 glory to God. Now, we have light in us, but we 00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:03.670 are not the source of light. We reflect that 00:25:03.670 --> 00:25:07.769 light, or we should. But the question is, do 00:25:07.769 --> 00:25:12.490 you? What kind of impact are you having in the 00:25:12.490 --> 00:25:16.430 world? Are you shining in the world that you 00:25:16.430 --> 00:25:19.670 go out into today? Philippians chapter 2 verses 00:25:19.670 --> 00:25:24.049 14 and 15 says this, Do everything without grumbling 00:25:24.049 --> 00:25:27.369 and complaining, so that you may be blameless 00:25:27.369 --> 00:25:31.029 and pure, children of God who are faultless in 00:25:31.029 --> 00:25:34.849 a crooked and perverted generation, among whom 00:25:34.849 --> 00:25:41.140 you shine like stars in the world. Anybody think 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:43.359 we're living among a crooked and perverted generation 00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:48.519 today? Yep. Guess what? People hadn't changed. 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:50.799 There's nothing new under the sun. People didn't 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:54.319 just become perverted. It's been that way through 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:57.660 the history of the world. But there's still hope. 00:25:57.819 --> 00:26:01.140 Praise God, there's still hope. Darkness is all 00:26:01.140 --> 00:26:04.640 around us, but there's still hope. Because we 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:08.119 serve a Lord in Jesus Christ who is the light 00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:12.910 of the world. A light that will never go out. 00:26:13.910 --> 00:26:16.329 You know, light travels forever in a vacuum. 00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:18.329 It travels forever, not here on this earth, but 00:26:18.329 --> 00:26:21.109 you look out into space, light will travel forever. 00:26:21.109 --> 00:26:25.210 It will never stop. There are stars in our solar 00:26:25.210 --> 00:26:28.410 system that are so far away that it takes years 00:26:28.410 --> 00:26:31.329 and years and years and years for their light 00:26:31.329 --> 00:26:33.890 to reach us. Sirius, one of the brightest stars 00:26:33.890 --> 00:26:36.569 that there is that we know of. You know how long 00:26:36.569 --> 00:26:40.079 it takes the light of Sirius to reach us? Eight 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:43.200 and a half years. So the light that we see when 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:45.640 we look up, if we can find Sirius in the sky, 00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:48.339 the light that we see from it, it left there 00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:53.000 eight and a half years ago. And guess what? If 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:55.579 the source of that light goes out, in eight and 00:26:55.579 --> 00:26:57.259 a half years, we won't be able to see it again. 00:26:57.319 --> 00:26:58.640 We won't know that it went out for eight and 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:02.019 a half years. The sun in our sky. Praise the 00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:03.819 Lord. Isn't it beautiful, the sun shining today? 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:07.319 The sun could be gone out right now for all we 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:09.920 know. It takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:12.579 sunlight to reach us. By the time we get out 00:27:12.579 --> 00:27:14.460 of this place, the sun could be out and we wouldn't 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:19.880 even know it. But we serve a source of light 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:23.920 that will never go out. Jesus Christ will never 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:28.000 go out. Jesus Christ will shine forever. It is 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.660 a light that will reach for eternity. It will 00:27:30.660 --> 00:27:34.599 never stop. He is the light. Of the world. And 00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:36.839 he can change our lives. And he can forgive our 00:27:36.839 --> 00:27:39.420 sins. And he will show us love. And give us grace. 00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:42.859 And give us hope in the midst of our darkness. 00:27:43.859 --> 00:27:46.240 He is a light that outshines every other light. 00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:50.880 If you would just call on him today. And God 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:53.099 says. If your life has been changed by Jesus 00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:58.299 Christ. Then you are to shine. Like stars. In 00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:02.099 the world. How long is it taking your light. 00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:05.759 to reach people that you encounter. If it's taken 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:07.420 eight and a half years for the light that comes 00:28:07.420 --> 00:28:09.539 from you to reach people, then you're way too 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:12.299 far off from these people. You're way too far 00:28:12.299 --> 00:28:16.819 off from God. The light that's in our life that 00:28:16.819 --> 00:28:20.119 comes through Jesus Christ should be evident 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:23.900 to people that we encounter. And it's a light 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:28.259 that can change the world. It's the only thing 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:30.740 that can change the world. It's the light of 00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:35.259 Jesus Christ. I know sometimes, maybe you're 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:36.859 like me, maybe you think, man, I wish I could 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:39.660 change the world. You think, man, I wish I could 00:28:39.660 --> 00:28:45.460 do this, I wish I could do that. Realistically, 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:48.039 probably nobody sitting in this room is ever 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:50.180 going to do any amazing thing that changes the 00:28:50.180 --> 00:28:52.819 world. I could be wrong, I hope I am. But there 00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:54.720 are very few people who out the history of the 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:58.339 world have really done extraordinary things that 00:28:58.339 --> 00:29:01.680 have really changed the world in some way or 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:06.109 another. But through the light of Jesus Christ, 00:29:06.190 --> 00:29:09.470 you can change the world, maybe in ways that 00:29:09.470 --> 00:29:13.009 you haven't expected. You might not can change 00:29:13.009 --> 00:29:16.589 the world for 7 billion people, but there are 00:29:16.589 --> 00:29:18.450 people that you encounter in your life every 00:29:18.450 --> 00:29:22.390 day, every week, and you can change their world. 00:29:25.250 --> 00:29:30.230 People struggling with sickness and sin and just 00:29:30.230 --> 00:29:32.690 the difficulties of life and pain that comes 00:29:32.690 --> 00:29:36.059 along. When we're in the middle of those things, 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:40.000 the rest of the world kind of fades out. That 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:43.180 becomes our world. Our worries for family, our 00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:46.259 worries for ourselves, our worries for work, 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:49.000 our sin that we struggle against, our sickness 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:51.920 that we struggle against, that becomes our world. 00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:56.339 And you encounter people that experience those 00:29:56.339 --> 00:30:00.539 things every day. But you can be a light to them 00:30:00.539 --> 00:30:03.839 and you can change their world. You might not 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:05.660 can change everybody's world, but you can change 00:30:05.660 --> 00:30:10.319 somebody's. Are you being a light to the world 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:16.619 when you leave this room today? It doesn't always 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:20.859 require us to do some extraordinary thing. Sometimes 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:24.339 it's just something as simple as loving somebody. 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:29.920 Just sitting with them, listening to them. Love 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:32.380 listens. Do you know that? You know, so many 00:30:32.380 --> 00:30:34.339 times we want to be so quick to speak. Oh, we 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:36.099 know all the answers to all the problems, right? 00:30:36.380 --> 00:30:38.839 We can solve everybody's problems. People tell 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:40.599 us their problems and we are quick to give them 00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:42.400 advice on how to fix their problems and what 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:46.660 they need to do. Sometimes we don't need to speak. 00:30:47.900 --> 00:30:51.680 We just need to listen. We just need to love 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:55.099 people. We just need to be gracious to people. 00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:58.660 We need to help people when they're struggling. 00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:03.250 We need to pray with them. We need to help meet 00:31:03.250 --> 00:31:06.990 their need if we can help meet their need. You 00:31:06.990 --> 00:31:11.970 just need to love people. And it will change 00:31:11.970 --> 00:31:16.690 their life. There are so many people that if 00:31:16.690 --> 00:31:20.109 you just go and visit them, it will change their 00:31:20.109 --> 00:31:23.450 life. They're in the darkness of depression and 00:31:23.450 --> 00:31:27.690 old age and poor health and never see a soul 00:31:27.690 --> 00:31:30.329 and never hear from anybody. And that's their 00:31:30.329 --> 00:31:35.500 world. But if you just go love them, you change 00:31:35.500 --> 00:31:38.740 the world. You change the world they live in. 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:42.099 And there's people like that all around, of all 00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:48.720 ages. And the light of Jesus Christ and the love 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:52.740 of Jesus Christ should transform us in such a 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:56.839 way that it can transform others through us. 00:31:58.579 --> 00:32:02.269 So think about that this week. Think about the 00:32:02.269 --> 00:32:05.930 words that you say, the way that you treat people, 00:32:06.049 --> 00:32:10.089 the things that you do or the things that you 00:32:10.089 --> 00:32:15.250 don't do. Are you being a light to the world 00:32:15.250 --> 00:32:20.309 today? Jesus Christ is that light. I hope he's 00:32:20.309 --> 00:32:24.789 the light in your life. And I hope that we as 00:32:24.789 --> 00:32:26.730 brothers and sisters in Christ are faithful. 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:30.400 to let that light shine through us in the lives 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:34.240 of those we encounter. Let's pray. God, we come 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:37.420 to you. We thank you for your good word. We thank 00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:39.759 you that through your people you have brought 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:43.380 about the Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank you 00:32:43.380 --> 00:32:46.579 for the light that has come. It shines upon us 00:32:46.579 --> 00:32:50.079 today. And God, just as your word says in Isaiah, 00:32:50.380 --> 00:32:54.460 God, that that light is to shine upon the nations 00:32:54.460 --> 00:32:58.039 through us. I believe that's still true today 00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:00.759 dear Lord. Not just of your people Israel. When 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:03.799 Isaiah wrote those words. But God true to us 00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:08.839 today in 2025. So God I pray that if there are 00:33:08.839 --> 00:33:11.140 any in this room today. That are living in darkness. 00:33:13.819 --> 00:33:17.299 That even now you'd give them some peace. That 00:33:17.299 --> 00:33:19.079 they'd feel your spirit. That they'd feel your 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:22.400 presence God. That they would know that there 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:25.059 is hope. That they would know that there is light. 00:33:26.320 --> 00:33:28.519 God, that their sin doesn't have to get the better 00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:30.319 of them, that their temptation doesn't have to 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:34.160 get the better of them, dear Lord. But I pray 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:36.420 today that through your words they have heard 00:33:36.420 --> 00:33:40.700 Jesus, that he would call out to their hearts 00:33:40.700 --> 00:33:44.700 now and tell them that he is the light that they 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:47.940 need, God, that they would know that, that they 00:33:47.940 --> 00:33:50.299 would repent of their sins, that they would turn 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:52.180 from the things that they're doing and they would 00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:56.740 seek Jesus Christ with all of their heart. God, 00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:58.920 I pray that today that that light would flood 00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:03.579 into their soul and give them peace and strength 00:34:03.579 --> 00:34:08.079 and grace, dear Lord. Give them hope to carry 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:12.860 on. God, I pray that maybe there are some in 00:34:12.860 --> 00:34:16.059 this room today and they're yours and maybe they 00:34:16.059 --> 00:34:20.079 know the light, but they have not been living 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:24.409 in it, dear Lord. I pray that you would help 00:34:24.409 --> 00:34:26.670 us, God, to see the light and to walk in the 00:34:26.670 --> 00:34:33.170 light. God, the light is before us today in Jesus 00:34:33.170 --> 00:34:36.789 Christ. I pray that we would not be those who 00:34:36.789 --> 00:34:44.070 would choose the darkness over the light. I pray 00:34:44.070 --> 00:34:46.130 that we would experience your joy and your peace 00:34:46.130 --> 00:34:49.050 and your grace and it would bring about a change 00:34:49.050 --> 00:34:51.510 in our life that... that is evident to those 00:34:51.510 --> 00:34:54.610 that we encounter, dear Lord. God, I'm ashamed 00:34:54.610 --> 00:34:57.590 to say that I and maybe others have just not 00:34:57.590 --> 00:35:00.090 always been a good light to you in the world. 00:35:01.250 --> 00:35:03.630 If we profess to be yours, dear Lord, we need 00:35:03.630 --> 00:35:07.630 to live like it. We should be one, God, that 00:35:07.630 --> 00:35:10.429 brings your love to those that we encounter, 00:35:10.630 --> 00:35:15.829 not a sense of dread, dear Lord. So let us be 00:35:15.829 --> 00:35:18.829 a light to the world. Whoever it may be, dear 00:35:18.829 --> 00:35:21.030 Lord, let us see those opportunities to serve 00:35:21.030 --> 00:35:24.409 today. Let us see those opportunities where we 00:35:24.409 --> 00:35:30.389 can be light each and every day. I pray that 00:35:30.389 --> 00:35:32.250 you bless these next few moments, dear Lord, 00:35:32.329 --> 00:35:34.929 that we would just take time to reflect on your 00:35:34.929 --> 00:35:40.849 word and listen to you. If there's any that don't 00:35:40.849 --> 00:35:42.690 know you, dear Lord, I pray that they would today. 00:35:43.690 --> 00:35:46.869 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.