Isaiah chapter 60, verses 1 through 3. We'll
read through these three verses, then we will
pray and get started. Isaiah chapter 60, verse
1. Arise, shine, for your light has come. and
the glory of the Lord shines over you. For look,
darkness covers the earth, and total darkness
the peoples. But the Lord will shine over you,
and his glory will appear over you. Nations will
come to your light, and kings to the brightness
of your radiance. Let's pray. God, we come to
you, and we thank you for these words. And we
thank you for the light that has come. Dear Lord,
our lives are full of struggle and stresses and
pains and temptations and trials, dear Lord,
that are in fact darkness in our life. And that's
the worst place to be, dear Lord. Nobody longs
to live in the darkness. And so I pray, God,
that through your word today and through your
Holy Spirit, That Jesus Christ would be a light
in our lives today. God, as we walk through this
world, it is not easy. But you are a lamp unto
our feet, God. So I pray that your word would
light our way this morning. I pray that your
Holy Spirit would free us of the distractions
and the worries of this world. I pray, God, that
you meet us where we are. We may not be where
we want to be. Our hearts may be happy today
or they may be sad today or our struggles may
be tough today, but wherever we are, dear Lord,
we just pray that in your grace you'd just meet
us there and help us to experience your presence.
God, I pray that you'd take away any pride or
fear I have today, that I would preach your word
for your glory. And I ask these things in Jesus'
name. Amen. The book of Isaiah was written over
a long period of time. It was written, part of
it at the beginning of or before Israel was going
to go into the Babylonian captivity and then
part of it during that time and then part of
it follows after probably. And that would be
where this verse takes place. Now God's people,
they lived in a lot of disobedience. And as a
result of that, God often would hand them over
to their enemies, and that's exactly what happened.
God handed Israel over, and eventually they were
dispersed, and then sometimes later he handed
Judah over, and they were taken over by the Babylonians,
and that was prophesied. We see by several prophets
in the Old Testament that this was going to occur,
that a foreigner was going to come in and overtake
them, and they were going to be taken from their
land, but that God was going to restore them,
and he did. He did deliver them. that 70 years
of captivity, Israel was restored to the land.
But there's also other promises in Isaiah that
are not just farther than Israel, but pointing
us forward to something greater than just Israel
being restored to their land. And they were,
and they rebuilt the walls, and they rebuilt
the temple, and all of those things we see in
Scripture were fulfilled just as they were said
they would be. But there was also something pointing
us forward in Isaiah. pointing us forward to
Jesus Christ. That's the ultimate deliverance
that was going to come for God's people. When
we read through the Old Testament, if you never
have, you should. You should read through the
New Testament. You should see who Jesus is and
see that he is the Messiah. And then you should
go back and read the Old Testament. And as we
read the Old Testament, And it takes a lifetime.
There's always things we're seeing. But over
time, we begin to see verses and we see clearly
that they are pointing us to Jesus. Most everything
in the Old Testament is pointing us to Jesus.
Most every main story that we see and every main
character that we see, there's something in that
story that's letting us know, okay, this is pointing
forward to the perfect way that God is going
to fulfill this. You've got characters like Moses
who are going to be the one who delivered God's
people and bring them into the promised land.
And Moses is foreshadowing Jesus who would ultimately
be the one not just to deliver Israel, but deliver
all people. And not to a spot of land on this
earth, but into heaven, into an eternity. in
the presence of Jesus Christ, in the presence
of God. And so we see all of these characters
and all of these stories and all of these books
in the Old Testament, and they are pointing us
forward to Jesus Christ. That's the central theme.
That's what God wanted his people to know about.
He wanted them to look forward to a day of deliverance,
eternal deliverance. And he wanted them to look
forward to the day that the Messiah was going
to come. And there were all kind of hints throughout
the Old Testament, all kind of language that
was used by Jesus in the New Testament, I think,
to hopefully catch the ear of the audience to
say, wait a minute, I've heard this language
and these phrases before. And in the Old Testament,
they were talking about the Messiah. And here
this man has come, and he's doing miracles, and
he's preaching and teaching in a way unlike anybody
else. And he's saying some of these things, and
some people caught it. Some people recognized
that Jesus was the Messiah, and others totally
missed it. But in the book of Isaiah, throughout
this book, it's pointing to Israel's deliverance
and return to the land, which they were. And
it's also pointing forward to Jesus Christ. And
that's what we see here. We see in these verses,
in verse 1 it says, Arise, shine, for your light
has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over
you. Now in the context, he's talking about his
people Israel that have been delivered, that
he's taken care of. And God does shine upon them.
And it continues on, for look, darkness covers
the earth and total darkness the peoples, but
the Lord will shine over you and his glory will
appear over you. Now this is good news for us
today. Because we would agree that this is true
today, that darkness covers the earth. Now, we
talk about darkness and light in Scripture, and
those terms are in some way symbolic. It's not
talking about physical darkness. It's talking
about darkness that is sinfulness and evil. And
I think we would all agree that that exists in
our world today. That there is darkness in our
world today. You turn on the news. You go out
amongst the people that you see just out and
about town. And sometimes you see some of the
most evil things and you hear some of the most
evil things. And there is darkness all around
us in this world. And it's quite depressing.
And some people have never heard the gospel of
Jesus Christ. They've never read God's word.
Maybe even some of you today. Maybe you just
sit on the church pew for all your life and you
never heard a thing. Maybe today you just see
the darkness around you, but I want to tell you
today that God's word promises something better
than the darkness. That God says there's darkness
over the face of the earth. There is evil, and
I've got news for you. There will always be evil
in this world. There will always be darkness
in this world. But God says, I will shine over
you. Who's he talking to? He's talking to his
people. God is saying that if you will seek me,
if you will trust in me, I'm going to take care
of you. I'm going to deliver you. I'm going to
be your light in the midst of the darkness. And
praise the Lord. Because that's what we need.
If we only saw the darkness in our life, we would
all give up. And sadly, there are many people
in our world that have given up. Maybe there
are some of you today and you're struggling and
maybe you want to give up. But maybe it's because
you're living in the darkness. But I want to
tell you today there's something better than
what this world has to offer. Yeah, there's going
to be evil people. There's going to be bad things
that are going to occur. But I want to tell you
that God loves you today. And I want to tell
you today that there is light, that there is
goodness, that there are good people in this
world. That there are people who trust in the
Lord. That there are people who reflect the goodness
of God. At least we should as Christians. We
should be a light to the world. And God tells
His people here in Isaiah, and He's pointing
forward to Jesus Christ. He said, I'm going to
shine on you. I'm going to be a light to you.
The source of light was going to come from God's
very people. Jesus was going to come from the
people of Israel, and he was going to be a light
not just for the people of Israel, but for all
people in the world. He was going to be a light
for all to see, a light that could shine through
whatever darkness there was, and God is telling
his people, look, I am your light. But ultimately,
he's pointing them forward to what that source
of light is going to be. He says in verse 3,
Come to your light and kings to the brightness
of your radiance. He says right before that,
His glory will appear over you. He's pointing
the people forward to Jesus Christ. What's God's
desire? It's that people would follow Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he came to
this earth and he was nailed to a cross and he
died so that our sins could be forgiven, so that
we could be freed from the darkness. Had it not
been for that, we wouldn't be here today. We
would have no reason to rejoice today. Had Jesus
Christ had not have come and died on the cross
and been raised from the dead, we would still
be living in a day of darkness. But praise God,
we are not. And God says, look, I'm going to
shine down upon you. And he did through Jesus
Christ. And what does he say in that last verse?
Nations will come to your light and kings to
the brightness of your radiance. He says of God's
people, okay, I'm going to be a light to you.
I'm going to change your life. And that light
that's in you that comes through Jesus Christ
ultimately is going to be a light that all of
the nations will see. God says, I don't just
want to save you, Israel. You are my chosen people.
I chose you to carry out my plan and so that
the Messiah could be brought into the world.
But my goal, he says, is that my light would
be shown upon you that you would experience my
glory through Jesus Christ and that that light
that comes through you will be a light that all
of the nations will flock to. That all the people
of the world will experience this light that
I am bringing through you. Praise God. That's
exactly what we see in the world today. That's
why we sit in this room. Because the light has
come into the world. Because we know that there
is hope from the darkness. That that hope is
for everybody. And so just as God had said, it
had been fulfilled. And everybody around us should
see, if we are Christians, if we profess to be
Christians, people should see some light in us.
But what is our source of light? Well, it's clear
who the light is. It's clear in the New Testament
who the light is. In John 8, verse 12, it says
this, Then Jesus spoke to them again, I am the
light of the world. Anyone who follows me will
never walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life. Same thing, same idea that we see in
Isaiah. And Jesus tells us flat out, If there's
any question for you today as to where your light's
going to come from, it's not going to come from
your wealth. It's not going to come from your
addictions. It's not going to come from your
fame. It's not going to come from your success.
Those are not the things that light your life
up. Those things will bring more chaos and depression
and all kind of problems. The light in our life
is only going to come from one source, and that
is Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, I am the light.
Now if you're walking in darkness today, I want
to tell you the only hope that you have this
morning is to trust in Jesus Christ. He says,
I am the light of the world and whoever is in
me will not walk in darkness but walk in that
light. Again, in John chapter 12 verse 46, I
have come as a light into the world so that everyone
who believes in me will not remain in darkness.
Again, same type of language. Very simple stuff.
We understand sometimes the darkness is scary.
It's a beautiful thing to have lights. Most of
us have night lights outside of our house. Why?
We like to look outside. If it's dark, we want
to see what's going on. We got lights on our
cell phones now. We always have a light on us.
And we use those lights all the time. A lot of
you have night lights in your house. On a bright
night, the moon shining, there's always some
source of light that we see. And we like light
because light cuts through the darkness. And
so it is spiritually for us. When we're in the
midst of the darkness of our sin and our struggles
and our pain in this life, those are dark times.
Sometimes we have a long, dark night of the soul.
We understand this language and this symbolism.
We know what it feels like to live in darkness.
I remember it's been, oh, I guess the first of
this year. I don't remember when it was. Michelle
and I, we were in Missouri, and we went into
a cave. Of course, they had lights in it, and
it was all lit up, and you could see. And we
got down to the bottom of the cave, and Michelle
and I were the only two people on the tour. It
was a private tour. Nobody else showed up. And
we get to the bottom of the cave, and the guy
says, hey, you want me to turn off the lights?
And I said, yeah, that sounds great. So we get
in there, and he turns off the lights. And guess
what? It was completely pitch black. That's the
only time in my life that I have ever been completely
in the pitch black. I'm talking about zero source
of light whatsoever. It was complete and utter
darkness. And you know what? It was kind of scary.
It's kind of scary when you're sitting there
and you're in a cave and there is complete silence
and there is complete darkness. It's a scary
place to be. And sometimes in our lives spiritually
we get that way. Sometimes because of our sins
and because of our struggles. We make some bad
decisions and we do things and we get down roads
and we just... our life begins to fall apart,
and we are living in complete and total darkness,
and that's a scary place to be. Maybe you've
been there before. Maybe you're there now. It's
a scary place to be when we're in the midst of
complete and total darkness. And oftentimes,
it can feel hopeless. If he hadn't turned those
lights back on in that cave, I would have been
hopeless. There's no way I would have ever gotten
out of there. I would have never been able to
find my way back up the steps. I would have died
in the bottom of that cave. I would have died
in my darkness had he not provided a source of
light. That light was only off for 10 seconds.
But boy, it felt good when he flipped that light
back on. It felt good instantly. Instantly there
was relief because I was out of the darkness.
And that's how it is for us spiritually. Because
there are some times in our life that we are
in the midst of some dark stuff. Some dark sins.
Some dark decisions that we have made. And man,
it's a scary place to be. But I want to tell
you, the best feeling in the world is when you
see the light. And I want to tell you today,
the light is Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter
5 verse 14 says this. For what makes everything
clear is light. Therefore it is said, Get up,
sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah
will shine on you. Same language that he used
in Isaiah, that idea of rising up. The light
is upon you. The source of light, the source
of hope, the source of deliverance is here. We
see it in the pages of Scripture. We see it in
Jesus Christ. And so when you hear the words
of Scripture, when you've heard the gospel of
Jesus Christ, when you know that there is hope
and light, God says, rise up. Rise up and go
to that source of light. The question is, are
we going to do that? Maybe you know the source
of light. Are you going to the source of light?
You know, it'd be foolish. It'd be foolish for
us to go home tonight. Sun goes down, it gets
dark, and we don't turn on any lights in our
house. We all got lights. I think you all got
lights, probably. You got switches all over your
house. You flip them, light comes on. It'd be
pretty foolish for you every night to walk around
your house in darkness when all you got to do
is flip the switch. Even in the old days, before
there were switches, there were still lamps.
There was still a source of light. It'd be pretty
foolish to live in the darkness when you don't
have to. And we don't. Every one of us tonight,
we're going to turn on our switches. We're going
to turn on our TVs. We're going to have all these
things that's going to light up our houses. How
much more foolish is it in our life and our struggles
and our sin and our pains and our sorrows? How
much more foolish is it to know that the source
of light is right here for you today? Your source
of hope and deliverance through Jesus Christ.
He's available today. Would you rise up from
the dead, the scripture says. In the darkness,
it's death. We are doomed to die in the darkness
if we don't find the source of life that is Jesus
Christ. The source of light is available for
us today. But it's up to you to decide whether
you're going to seek the light or whether you're
going to live in the darkness. You know, sometimes
we may deceive ourselves and we may think we're
living in the light. But if you're not living
for Jesus Christ, you're not. And Jesus says,
if the light within you is darkness, then how
deep is that darkness? Sometimes we think we're
living in the light, but really we're deeper
in the darkness than we've ever imagined because
we're still living for ourselves and we're not
trusting in Jesus Christ. So the call today to
each one of us is to rise up. Flee from the darkness.
It will flee from you. All it takes is, I'm talking
about the smallest amount of light and darkness
flees. The smallest amount of light. And here
is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And the scripture
says the Son, Jesus Christ, is the radiance of
God's glory. That's the same language we see
in Isaiah chapter 60. That God's light is going
to shine upon his people and that the nations
are going to radiate among the other people and
the people will see that light. What is the source
of that light that's going to radiate in our
lives and radiate in the lives of those around
us? It is Jesus Christ who is the radiance of
God's glory. Will you walk in the light today?
I don't know the answer to that. John chapter
3 verse 19 says this. This then is the judgment.
The light has come into the world and people
love darkness rather than the light because their
deeds were evil. That's pretty scary. That the
light has come into the world, our source of
hope and deliverance and forgiveness and joy
and peace. The things that we want, the source
of that is Jesus Christ and it has come into
the world. But the scripture says that some people
love the darkness so much that they chose to
continue to live in the darkness rather than
the light. Is that any of us today? I'm not just
talking about lost people. I'm talking about
God's people sometimes. I'm talking about people
that know the Scripture and have read the Scripture
and people that sit on the church and people
that are God's people and we get into the temptation
of sin and living for ourself and living for
the world and we start living in darkness so
much that we begin to choose the darkness over
the light. That's not a good place for us to
be. Maybe there are some of you in this room
today. You've been choosing the darkness over
the light. I pray that today that you would choose
the light. Matthew chapter 5 verses 15 and 16
says this. No one lights a lamp and puts it under
a basket but rather on a lamp stand. And it gives
light to all who are in the house. In the same
way, let your light shine before men so that
they may see your good works. and give glory
to your Father in heaven. We are called to choose
the light in Jesus Christ. And when we choose
the light, and the light shines in the darkness
of our heart, it will change our heart. If you
come to Jesus Christ and your life is not changed,
then you have not come to Jesus Christ. Now,
I'm not telling you your life's not going to
be tough. I'm not telling you you're not going
to have temptations. I'm not telling you that
you're never going to sin again. But when we
come to Jesus Christ, there should be some change
in our heart. It should change our desires. It
should change how we treat people. It should
bring a sense of joy and a sense of peace to
us. Once we've experienced forgiveness that comes
through Jesus Christ and the grace of God, there
should be some change that comes to us once the
light of Jesus shines in our hearts and in our
lives. And praise God, I hope that's the case.
If you've come to Jesus Christ, I hope you feel
that peace and that grace and that love of Jesus
today. If you don't know Jesus Christ, I pray
that you'd come to the light today. That it would
draw you in. That you would find that there's
hope and that there's peace and that there's
deliverance in Jesus Christ. And once we've experienced
that, what does this scripture say? Let your
light shine before men. Now if Jesus Christ has
touched our life, then that should be evident
to those who are around us. Are you a light to
the people that you encounter? in the world today.
Think about the people that you were around last
week. Were you a light to them? Did they leave
with more joy after getting to visit with you
or did they leave angry? Do people love to see
you coming or do they dread to see you coming?
Do you bring joy and peace and love when you
enter into a room, when you enter into your workplace,
when you enter into your church, when you enter
into your house? Are you a source of light or
are you a source of darkness? If Jesus Christ
has become the light of our life, then that should
reflect from us in some way that we are a light
to the world that we go out into every day. We
don't care if people come to us and say, oh,
we just love you so much. You just have joy and
peace, and we love to see you coming. No, that's
not what the Scripture says. It doesn't say let
your light shine so people will give you praise.
It says let your light shine so people will see
that light that comes from Jesus Christ and give
glory to God. Now, we have light in us, but we
are not the source of light. We reflect that
light, or we should. But the question is, do
you? What kind of impact are you having in the
world? Are you shining in the world that you
go out into today? Philippians chapter 2 verses
14 and 15 says this, Do everything without grumbling
and complaining, so that you may be blameless
and pure, children of God who are faultless in
a crooked and perverted generation, among whom
you shine like stars in the world. Anybody think
we're living among a crooked and perverted generation
today? Yep. Guess what? People hadn't changed.
There's nothing new under the sun. People didn't
just become perverted. It's been that way through
the history of the world. But there's still hope.
Praise God, there's still hope. Darkness is all
around us, but there's still hope. Because we
serve a Lord in Jesus Christ who is the light
of the world. A light that will never go out.
You know, light travels forever in a vacuum.
It travels forever, not here on this earth, but
you look out into space, light will travel forever.
It will never stop. There are stars in our solar
system that are so far away that it takes years
and years and years and years for their light
to reach us. Sirius, one of the brightest stars
that there is that we know of. You know how long
it takes the light of Sirius to reach us? Eight
and a half years. So the light that we see when
we look up, if we can find Sirius in the sky,
the light that we see from it, it left there
eight and a half years ago. And guess what? If
the source of that light goes out, in eight and
a half years, we won't be able to see it again.
We won't know that it went out for eight and
a half years. The sun in our sky. Praise the
Lord. Isn't it beautiful, the sun shining today?
The sun could be gone out right now for all we
know. It takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the
sunlight to reach us. By the time we get out
of this place, the sun could be out and we wouldn't
even know it. But we serve a source of light
that will never go out. Jesus Christ will never
go out. Jesus Christ will shine forever. It is
a light that will reach for eternity. It will
never stop. He is the light. Of the world. And
he can change our lives. And he can forgive our
sins. And he will show us love. And give us grace.
And give us hope in the midst of our darkness.
He is a light that outshines every other light.
If you would just call on him today. And God
says. If your life has been changed by Jesus
Christ. Then you are to shine. Like stars. In
the world. How long is it taking your light.
to reach people that you encounter. If it's taken
eight and a half years for the light that comes
from you to reach people, then you're way too
far off from these people. You're way too far
off from God. The light that's in our life that
comes through Jesus Christ should be evident
to people that we encounter. And it's a light
that can change the world. It's the only thing
that can change the world. It's the light of
Jesus Christ. I know sometimes, maybe you're
like me, maybe you think, man, I wish I could
change the world. You think, man, I wish I could
do this, I wish I could do that. Realistically,
probably nobody sitting in this room is ever
going to do any amazing thing that changes the
world. I could be wrong, I hope I am. But there
are very few people who out the history of the
world have really done extraordinary things that
have really changed the world in some way or
another. But through the light of Jesus Christ,
you can change the world, maybe in ways that
you haven't expected. You might not can change
the world for 7 billion people, but there are
people that you encounter in your life every
day, every week, and you can change their world.
People struggling with sickness and sin and just
the difficulties of life and pain that comes
along. When we're in the middle of those things,
the rest of the world kind of fades out. That
becomes our world. Our worries for family, our
worries for ourselves, our worries for work,
our sin that we struggle against, our sickness
that we struggle against, that becomes our world.
And you encounter people that experience those
things every day. But you can be a light to them
and you can change their world. You might not
can change everybody's world, but you can change
somebody's. Are you being a light to the world
when you leave this room today? It doesn't always
require us to do some extraordinary thing. Sometimes
it's just something as simple as loving somebody.
Just sitting with them, listening to them. Love
listens. Do you know that? You know, so many
times we want to be so quick to speak. Oh, we
know all the answers to all the problems, right?
We can solve everybody's problems. People tell
us their problems and we are quick to give them
advice on how to fix their problems and what
they need to do. Sometimes we don't need to speak.
We just need to listen. We just need to love
people. We just need to be gracious to people.
We need to help people when they're struggling.
We need to pray with them. We need to help meet
their need if we can help meet their need. You
just need to love people. And it will change
their life. There are so many people that if
you just go and visit them, it will change their
life. They're in the darkness of depression and
old age and poor health and never see a soul
and never hear from anybody. And that's their
world. But if you just go love them, you change
the world. You change the world they live in.
And there's people like that all around, of all
ages. And the light of Jesus Christ and the love
of Jesus Christ should transform us in such a
way that it can transform others through us.
So think about that this week. Think about the
words that you say, the way that you treat people,
the things that you do or the things that you
don't do. Are you being a light to the world
today? Jesus Christ is that light. I hope he's
the light in your life. And I hope that we as
brothers and sisters in Christ are faithful.
to let that light shine through us in the lives
of those we encounter. Let's pray. God, we come
to you. We thank you for your good word. We thank
you that through your people you have brought
about the Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank you
for the light that has come. It shines upon us
today. And God, just as your word says in Isaiah,
God, that that light is to shine upon the nations
through us. I believe that's still true today
dear Lord. Not just of your people Israel. When
Isaiah wrote those words. But God true to us
today in 2025. So God I pray that if there are
any in this room today. That are living in darkness.
That even now you'd give them some peace. That
they'd feel your spirit. That they'd feel your
presence God. That they would know that there
is hope. That they would know that there is light.
God, that their sin doesn't have to get the better
of them, that their temptation doesn't have to
get the better of them, dear Lord. But I pray
today that through your words they have heard
Jesus, that he would call out to their hearts
now and tell them that he is the light that they
need, God, that they would know that, that they
would repent of their sins, that they would turn
from the things that they're doing and they would
seek Jesus Christ with all of their heart. God,
I pray that today that that light would flood
into their soul and give them peace and strength
and grace, dear Lord. Give them hope to carry
on. God, I pray that maybe there are some in
this room today and they're yours and maybe they
know the light, but they have not been living
in it, dear Lord. I pray that you would help
us, God, to see the light and to walk in the
light. God, the light is before us today in Jesus
Christ. I pray that we would not be those who
would choose the darkness over the light. I pray
that we would experience your joy and your peace
and your grace and it would bring about a change
in our life that... that is evident to those
that we encounter, dear Lord. God, I'm ashamed
to say that I and maybe others have just not
always been a good light to you in the world.
If we profess to be yours, dear Lord, we need
to live like it. We should be one, God, that
brings your love to those that we encounter,
not a sense of dread, dear Lord. So let us be
a light to the world. Whoever it may be, dear
Lord, let us see those opportunities to serve
today. Let us see those opportunities where we
can be light each and every day. I pray that
you bless these next few moments, dear Lord,
that we would just take time to reflect on your
word and listen to you. If there's any that don't
know you, dear Lord, I pray that they would today.
And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.