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As we come to look in the word, you know there is one principle of Bible study beyond all others. Others are helpful, but this one is indispensable, and it’s total reliance on the Holy Spirit. Only God can reveal God, and He’s promised He would do it if we would come as little children. He even has to work that attitude in us, that childlike attitude.
Let me just share Psalm 18:28 before we pray together. It says, “For You light my lamp. The Lord My God illumines my darkness.” You light my lamp. The Lord My God illumines my darkness. Let’s pray together.
Our heavenly Father we thank You that we can trust You to light our lamp. You are the light, and we pray that if there is any darkness, that light would dispel that darkness and we just want You, and we want to see You. So, Lord, we commit this session unto You, and just ask Your Holy Spirit to do what He so delights to do and turn our hearts and our eyes in a living way unto the Lord Jesus. We thank You in advance that You’ll over answer our request, because we come in the all-prevailing name of Jesus. Amen.
Alright, we all know, and I hope are anticipating and praying that the Lord has arranged another gathering for Labor Day weekend. We are very much excited about that. I want to share this verse, Amos 8:11, “’The days are coming,’ Declares the Lord God, ‘when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread, or a thirst for water, rather for hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea, from north to east. They will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and they’ll not find it.’” I want to begin by saying, “Praise God that famine, the fulness of that famine has not yet come.” There is still God revealing His word. I think it’s getting closer, but it hasn’t come.
I do have a message on my heart. I’m thankful for the privilege. I always express that. In my deep heart I mean that, especially with the history we have since the late seventies, and the families mingling in and such. It’s a privilege to stand before you and give you something from our Lord Jesus.
I’m going to state what the theme is for the weekend. This is sort of a teaser. It’s an introduction, so that you’ll know exactly where we are and where we are going. It’s about an expression that is several times mentioned in the Bible, and the expression is, “the light of the world.” Clearly, it refers to Jesus. John 8:12, “Jesus again spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’” Then again in John 9, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” that expression “the light of the world”.
But Jesus not only applied it to Himself, but He used it in another way. Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.” He’s the light of the world, you’re the light of the world. Now, you’ve known me too long, and I think you know me too well for me to think I can impress you by quoting Greek or Hebrew or one of those languages. You know better than that. But in the Greek language of the New Testament, in my research I discovered that there are several words for the same things, and there are different words for “light” in the New Testament. One of those words primarily has the nuance of the “source of light”. “I am the light of the world,” foss, that’s the Greek. He said, “I’m the source of the light of the world.” There are other Greek words for light, and it talks about “light holder”, like a lamp stand or like a torch or like a candle. The candle is not the light. It carries the light; manifests the light. There are words that are used to describe the manifestation of the light.
I can understand when Jesus said, “I am the light source.” That makes sense to me. Who else is the light? Jesus is the light. I expected when I saw, “You are the light of the world,” for Him to use one of the weaker Greek words that would say, “You are the lamp, and I am the light, and you are the torch. I’m the light and you are the candle. I’m the light and you are not the source. You manifest light. You put it forth. You reflect it, but you’re not the light. I was surprised to learn that He said, “I am the source of the light of the world,” and He used the same word, “You are the source of the light of the world.” I’m not only the light of the world. He used the strong Greek word, and that arrested my attention, and I came before the Lord, and that’s how it all started, and I said, “Lord, in what sense? I can see that I can manifest Your life. In what sense am I the source?” That study led to what we’re going to look at, Lord willing, at…. What are we going to call it? Hashawha? When we get together Labor Day weekend, praise God that He has allowed us to flock together again.
It’s a very simple truth, once we see what He meant. It’s very simple, and it’s not new to you. You’ve heard it and heard it over and over. I’ve heard it expressed, heard it sung, heard it prayed. We already know, but that answer so thrilled my heart again. So, this morning as I give it to you, you aren’t going to get anything new. I’ll yell at different places to make it sound more exciting, but it’s the same truth you already know. I hope God does for you what He’s begun to do for me. He’s quickened my heart to the reality that I’m privileged to be the source of the light of the world. In what sense? We’ll look at that.
So, the burden on my heart today, this morning it’s all the eggs in one basket—it’s everything. I’ll use a different illustration. I won’t mention this illustration again when we gather Labor Day weekend. This is one illustration that illustrates this before illustrations I’ll use Labor Day weekend, which illustrate the same thing. So, all you are getting today is a different illustration of the same truth.
Since we’re talking about the light of the world, we’re talking about light, we’re talking about shining, I thought it would be good if we got a little historical background, but then as I studied, I thought, “No, that won’t help, historical background. They need a little pre-historical background.” What I mean by that is the history before God created man, pre-historical background. I’m talking, then, what predates Genesis 1. So, you say, “Well, what’s your verse on that?” It’s before Genesis 1. There’s not a lot of scripture, and because at that time Satan fell, I’m not qualified to go into that and talk about the fall of Satan, but in that record there’s an illustration. So, I’m just going to touch the record and leave it to you theologians to figure all that happened and I’m just going to reach into the story and say, “See, light. Let’s talk about that.” That’s the picture that I want you to see. In fact, there’s a couple of figures of speech.
Basically, there are two passages in the Bible, this is just for interest, that will give a little light on the pre-history, and that is Ezekiel 28:11-19 and then Isaiah 14:12-17. I’m not quoting that. Both passages are talking about the wicked king of Tyre. God is saying, “Here is a wicked king,” and it describes how wicked he is, but some of the description can’t apply to him. “You were in Eden.” King of Tyre says, “I was never in Eden.,” because He’s describing the wicked king and the influence behind him, and He begins to describe Satan, and the fall of Satan, and so on. So, those are your two passages. You can study those at your leisure.
I want to begin with Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, oh star of the morning, son of the dawn.” Another translation says, “Lucifer.” “You’ve been cut down to the earth, you who weakened the nations.” The figure of speech is, “Star, son of the morning.” Satan, Lucifer, is called “light”, “son of the morning”. I’m told by those who are supposed to know, that it’s the same expression as our Lord Jesus used, morning star. Lucifer, the devil, imagine was called a “star”, a “morning star”, “son of the morning”, brightness. So, I’m studying light and that’s what got me there. So, you know how I got there.
When you read Ezekiel 28 you see some of the descriptions before he fell. He’s called, “the anointed cherub,” and “full of wisdom,” and “perfect in beauty,” and “blameless in all his ways.” There was a day in pre-history, before God created man when Satan was all light, and Satan was the morning star. That’s a figure of speech, but figures of speech mean something. So, I just want you to hold that.
In light of that, in the same pre-history, angels… Satan was called “morning star” and angels were called “stars”. Job 38, before man was created, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who set it’s measurements, since you know, or who stretched the line on it? What were its bases sunk? Who laid it’s cornerstone when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” The morning stars sang together. Those are angels. They’re called “morning stars” and they sang. By the way, that’s the only time in the Bible you ever read about angels singing. All through, even in revelation, they don’t sing. It says, “And then the angels said.” This is the only time. But my point is that in pre-history Satan is called “morning star”, “dawn of the morning”, and all the angels are called stars. That’s a figure of speech.
Then one sad day, Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, oh star of the morning, son of the dawn. You’ve been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations.” The morning star, the light, the brightness, the day star fell. Ezekiel 28:15, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.” I’m not qualified. I don’t know the exact time and all the details of that. Godly men and women differ in understanding those things, but there’s a description in Revelation 12:3, and I’m not going to try to put it in the chronology because like I said, I’ve read the different views, but I think it’s pretty clear that it’s referring to Satan. It says, “Another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. His tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.”
I know the difference in time and all that, and I don’t want to get into all of that, but I think the dragon is Satan and his tail swept a third of the stars, and I don’t think they are literal stars, I think they are the angels that fell. How many angels did God create? All I know for sure is there is a verse that says, “An unnumbered host.” There are many verses that describe how many, but one third of however many fell, and the stars fell to earth, and Lucifer fell to earth. Sometimes literal stars in heaven – sun, moon, stars – they are called “the host of heaven”. For example, Deuteronomy 4:19, “Beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the hosts of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them.” The hosts of the Lord are the stars. But sometimes it’s angels. Remember when our Lord Jesus was born? Luke 2:13, “Suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God saying, ‘Glory to God on the highest.’” Those are angels, the host of God.
Hold that a moment. Satan was the bright star, the morning star. Angels are stars, only a figure of speech. Angels are messengers, that’s what the word means. Let me comment on the same history, not to explain all the details, as I don’t know them, but I’m going after this figure of speech. The morning star sinned; pride and wanted to be like God. He sinned and he fell. In the New Testament when the Lord Jesus was talking to His disciples, I’m paraphrasing one part of it, He said, “Brothers, I was there that day. I saw that.” Luke 10:18, “He said to them, ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightening.’” Our Lord Jesus saw the day that happened, and when Satan, the light, and the angels, the stars, fell, the light went out. Satan became darkness and king over a kingdom called “kingdom of darkness”. And the angels, the stars, became demons and they fell. Where did they fall in this great universe of possibilities? They fell to the earth.
That’s not new to you. You know that, but what a picture that is! Satan fell, and now darkness, angry that he’s not light. He’s going to masquerade as a messenger of light, because he’s going to want you to think he’s light. He’s not light. He’s dark, darkness. He set up a kingdom and he hated God. He hated God because of God casting him out, and that’s his great standing as light, and all the angels as stars, messengers suddenly became demons and Satan, darkness. And in his mind he said, “I hate you, God.” God then in the record creates man in His own image. And Satan says, “You’re not going to have that.” You know that in the garden Eve was tempted and Adam was tempted, and Eve was deceived, and they conspired with Satan and they agreed together, and they were confederate together.
Satan said, “If I’m darkness, you are going to be in darkness, and I’m going to be the king over you. If I’m judged and cursed because of darkness, I’m going to take that which is His handiwork, His beautiful creation, and now you are going to be in darkness and you can share my curse. That’s just pre-history.
When you read the New Testament, again the Greek (not my scholarship. Thank God for my books), there are several words for the word “world”. Satan was cast down to this world, and the one word that is used to describe the world into which Satan fell, and the world over which he became king is the word “cosmos”. You’ve heard of cosmos. That’s the word. As you go through your New Testament, 187 times God says “cosmos”. That’s what is so precious. When you read, “God so loved the cosmos, that He sent His only begotten Son,” and God so loved the world of darkness, the world over which Satan was now king, and reigning, and when you read of Satan’s power and control over this kingdom, this world, it’s terrifying on the level of earth. He’s the accuser. He’s the devil. He’s the serpent. He’s a dragon. Terrible words used of him.
Ephesians 2:2, He’s called the Prince of the Power of the Air. 2 Corinthians 4:3&4, “Even if our gospel is veiled, it’s veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world,” that’s Satan, “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.” There is not one drop of light in Satan, not a drop. There is no light in Satan, no light in his demons. 1 John 5:19, “We know we are of God and the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.” The whole world is in darkness, under His delusion, and you don’t have to open your eyes too wide to see it; the government, education, culture, all of society, religion, mankind, the lusts of the heart, the principles, the methods of this world. This is Satan’s world. You know the full record.
I was born. You sing Happy Birthday. You only have one birthday. That was his anniversary. So, happy anniversary. I was born into this kingdom of darkness, Satan’s world: so were you. We were born into this kingdom, and we’ve been blinded right from birth. We don’t know we’re being blinded because he wants us to think that he’s still light. We don’t even know that it’s his world. We just come in, but we’re blind. John 3:19, “This is the judgment. Light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.”
Jesus told the religious world, John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil. You want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning. He does not stand in the truth. There’s no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature. He’s a liar and the father of lies.” There’s no truth in him and he’s a deceiver. Like I say, he fakes light. 2 Corinthians 11:14, “No wonder Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” I don’t want to take any more time telling you how dark the world is. All you’ve got to do is turn on the TV. All you’ve got to do is open your eyes and you see it all around; the moral decline is everywhere, corruption in the schools, in the courts, in government, in Hollywood, in my neighborhood, your neighborhood, my house, your house, my heart, your heart. Unbelievable! But thank God that the story does not end with bad news. The word “gospel” is good news, and this whole story is so beautiful.
I’ll begin with the verse I’ve already quoted, John 3:16, “God so loved the cosmos,” the kingdom of darkness, “that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him wouldn’t perish,” with Satan and His fallen demons, “but would have everlasting life.” God loved the cosmos, and Lucifer and his fallen stars. They’re condemned to darkness forever. 2 Peter 2:4, “God did not spare the angels when they sinned, and cast them into hell, committed them to pitch of darkness reserved forever.” Jude 13, “Wandering stars to whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” That’s who they are. But God didn’t want His subjects, man created in the image of God, those in the kingdom that Satan wanted to control, God had mercy on them. He didn’t want that, to be in the kingdom of darkness and end up that way, so He sent His Son to redeem us out of one kingdom into another, out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom called light.
John 1:9&10, “That was the true light, which coming into the world enlightens every man. He was in the world and the world was made by Him, but the cosmos didn’t know Him.” The world didn’t know Him. It’s good news that Christ came into a pitch-black world, into this cosmos, to bring light. And He said that light was life. There is no life apart from that. John 1:3&4, “All things came into being through Him. Apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” Light and darkness is all we’re talking about so far.
Do you remember when He was born in Bethlehem and the proclamation Simeon made in Luke 2? He looked into the face of Christ and said, “My eyes have seen God’s salvation.” And then he says, “The light, the revelation of light to the gentiles, and glory for Thy people Israel.” He was in the world, and He came into this dark world to save sinners, to save you, to save me. I was born in darkness. I didn’t plan on that. That’s how it was. John 12:36, “Jesus said, ‘While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you might become sons of light.’” John 12:46, “I’ve come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” There’s a cure. There’s a redemption from this darkness. Jesus was pleading with His people to receive Him, but as we said, John 3:19, “This is the judgment. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” John 1:11, “He came unto His own and His own received Him not.” When He came in love to the cosmos in darkness to redeem, to save, to lift them out of darkness, they rejected Him. The world He made, they tried to extinguish the light.
We had our brother singing about the road of suffering to the cross. When Jesus was on the way to the cross here’s one thing He said. Luke 22:53, “This hour and power of darkness are yours.” This is your shot. Put out the light, if you think you can. You know the gospel story. Colossians 2:13, “When you were dead in your transgressions, the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, cancelling out the certificate of death, consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He’s taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. And when He had,” and this is the part I want you to see, “disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through the cross.” The demons were around the cross cheering as Jesus died. They said, “That’s it! We put out the light.” They were rejoicing, these denizens of darkness, and the very cross, and you know how God turns things around, and it was their destruction.
All the good news, not all rejected the light. John 1:12, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the privilege and the power to become the children of God.” 1 Peter 2:9, you’ll hear this Labor Day weekend, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, holy nation, people of God’s own possession, so you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” God had mercy on some and called them out of darkness. They repented. 2 Peter 1:4, “By these He’s granted to us precious, magnificent promises. By them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the cosmos.” It’s a world of darkness. He’s the prince of the power of the air. He’s the god of this world. It’s a world of darkness. He wants to hold you in darkness. He’s holding the whole of humanity. Galatians 1:4, “He gave Himself for our sins, that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to our God and Father.” Colossians 1:13, “He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption.” He took us out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son.
A great day for us, 2 Corinthians 4:6, “When God who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Glorious day! We became at that time, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, “You are sons of light, sons of day. We’re not of the night, not of the darkness.” It’s so clear, the picture. What happened? Satan’s light fell, darkness, Christ, light came into the world of darkness to redeem those, and those who received Him became sons of light and children of the day.
You’ve heard my testimony. For me it was 1958. I came as a sinner before God. The Holy Spirit through human instruments gave me the gospel and I saw that I was doomed, and I was in this kingdom, and I needed to be delivered. For me I happen to know January 29, 1958. I’ve got a date. I don’t know when I was conceived. I only know when I was born, because we can’t keep track of that. I don’t know your day. Maybe you don’t know the day, but you know the reality of it. There has to be for every person ever born in this world there has to be a day and there has to be a time and there has to be an hour and there has to be a moment when they open up to receive the light of the world. When the light of the world comes in, suddenly you become light. You are in a new kingdom. It’s not darkness anymore. We were born in darkness, born under Satan, and Christ is redeeming those who receive Him. It’s a marvelous truth.
You can’t judge me, and I can’t judge you. I pray that everyone in this room has had that day or hour, and everybody that’s going to listen in a mechanical way to this lesson, don’t die in darkness, don’t die in your sin. You don’t have to. The light of the world has come and it’s a light of life, a glorious day. Once again, 2 Corinthians 4:7, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.” We’re still with our feet on the ground. We’re stuck here in this stupid cosmos, this wicked world, but Christ has come into our life.
Now, getting back to the big thing. Does that make me the source of light because Christ has come into my life and I’m now a child of the day? Not yet. Let me take you to the next step. This is such a glorious thing. Satan is no longer the day star. Revelations 22:16, from the lips of our Lord Jesus, “I am the root, the descendant of David. I’m the bright morning star.” He’s given us this, and calls this, that’s one of the other words, a lamp. This is a lamp. He says to pay attention to the lamp, 2 Peter 1:19, “We have the prophetic word made more sure to which you pay attention as a lamp.” Pay attention to the lamp until, until what? Until the day star rises in your heart. You don’t study the lamp to know the lamp. You study the lamp to see the day star, until He rises in your heart. It’s a marvelous, marvelous truth.
Let me apply it a little bit because the Lord has, I was going to say “led”, graciously dragged me through some experiences, and one of them was that when I saw those verses as the lamp as a new Christian, I thought He was telling me to quit sinning and shine for Jesus, both of which can’t happen. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to quit sin. You can’t stop sinning, I can’t stop being proud, can’t stop being jealous, can’t stop being unforgiving, you can’t stop being impatient, you can’t stop sinning. That’s why the light came, because the purpose of light is to dispel darkness. If you’ve got darkness in your life there’s only one way to get rid of it; bring in the light. Light dispels darkness. That’s the whole glory of it.
I think for a while there I was taught I was supposed to shine for Jesus, was many years before the Holy Spirit told me, “Please let me shine for Myself. Stop shining for Me. You’re doing a terrible job. Don’t shine for Me. I come into your heart as light. I am the light of the world, and to the degree that I live in your life, you are the source of the light.” Because I have the source in my heart, that’s the light, and if I get out of the way, and reckon myself dead, the one who is the source will live in me and I become the source of the light for this world. Colossians 1:12&13, “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
Now, as I wrap this up, I want to go back, I skipped a few verses there, if you are confused on the page, and go back and complete the circle. I want to go back to where we began when I said that Satan was pictured as the morning star and angels were pictured as stars and then the angels were swept away, and he fell and it’s all darkness. Genesis 1, this is the new creation, well this is when He created and He is now redeeming, that’s theology… Genesis 1:3, “God said, ‘Let there be light.’” That was day one. When did He create the light bulbs? Day four. There was light before there were light bulbs. There was light before there were stars. Day four, Genesis 1:14, “God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. He did and let them be for signs and seasons and days and years. Let the light be the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to govern the day, the lesser light to govern the night. He made the stars, also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth to govern the day and the night, and separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”
That’s literal. He did that. It’s also a picture. I say, Lord willing, Labor Day weekend I’m going to give you four pictures, not this one. This is for this morning to show you the great truth. Because in the first creation there was light before there were instruments to carry the light, in the new creation there is light, and then God comes to me and says, “How would you like to be a star?” And the light comes in, and now I’m a child of light, and I have an inheritance of light, and I’m a son of light, and I’m a child of the day. Later, after He created light, He created luminaries to manifest that light. That’s also true in the new creation. The God who said, “Let there be light,” has shone into our hearts. It’s a new creation. The same thing: He came first, and then all of a sudden He shone into our hearts, and the purpose according to what we read, of the stars, there’s a couple.
Our brother, Jeff, shared last week the quote from Austin Sparks on everything that takes place must take place in the heavenlies, not heavenly places. I listened. In the heavenlies. Where are the stars? The purpose of the stars is to give some kind of hope to the darker. That’s the purpose of the stars, to be able to show them the difference between light and dark, to give energy, to give light, to give sight, to give life, to give direction. They need to navigate, and they need a star to get to God’s desired haven. So, in God’s book in this wonderful Bible, because the earth can’t find its way, and doesn’t know how to be governed, and is in darkness, God says, “I’m going to have some stars. Put them in the heavelies because earth needs help. They are in terrible darkness.”
When God said, “Let there be light, shone in their hearts,” I’m not making this up. Matthew 13:43, “The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Daniel 12:3, Daniel describes the privilege of soul winning, “Those who have insight will shine brightly, like the brightness of the expanse in the heavens. Those who lead many to righteousness will be like the stars, forever and forever.” Describing believers as stars is not my bright idea. Revelation 1:16, “In the right hand He held seven stars and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in its strength.” I’m not going to go into the revelation of Christ in chapter one, but one of the mysteries He had in His right hand; seven stars, and there were seven churches. People go everywhere on that, so I’m not going to get there.
But let me say a word about the number seven, because I think that’s pretty much agreed upon, that often, not always, in the Bible, more than eight hundred times, for example, in the Bible when the number seven is used it’s a number of fullness and the number of completeness, and so on. So, when you read about seven churches, you know there were other churches at that time. Those are representative churches, and they refer to all the churches. What God said to those churches He’s saying to me, and He’s saying to this church. The warnings He gave He’s giving to us. The promises He made are for us. It’s for all the churches, seven churches. Just picture all of the churches, seven stars.
Some people say that because it says seven angels, and stars are the messengers, the angels of the church, some people think they are literal angels. I was going to say the kind with wings, but I guess they all don’t have wings. But you know what I mean by angels. Some people say that every church has an angel. I have a problem with that because they’re called upon to repent, and I’m not sure that could apply. So, some say that it’s the messengers, the human messengers, like the pastor or the elder or the leaders or something like that. When God gives qualifications for elders or bishops or deacons, He’s not a respecter of persons. They don’t have special qualifications. They are qualifications He gives to all Christians. Every qualification belongs to all Christians. He’s just saying, “Make sure you’ve at least arrived that far before you take on responsibility.” God has given it to everybody, so the stars are not some pastor or some elder. If seven churches are all the churches, seven stars are the messengers. You’re a star. Everybody in this room that is saved, that knows Christ, is a star. It’s such a wonderful reality, that the only way we can be a source of light is in the sense that He’s the source of light, and He lives in us and through us.
I think we miss out on a great blessing because we get wrapped up in pictures and we don’t see the reality. A lot of people just get stuck in the picture. So, I say, “You’re a star.” That’s a picture. I have to smile if Brother Donald were here. He could tell us a little bit about physical stars, and how many galaxies and how many stars. I have to smile when I realize God pictures Christians as stars because some are pretty far out there. I’ve had the privilege this week of having a brother I haven’t seen in fifty years, and we spent some time together this week. We’re going through some theologies, and I won’t say everything our brother said, but I think in some things he thought, “Are you a star or a black hole?” We had wonderful fellowship back together.
When Job was told that even the stars are not pure, that was an accusation against Job. That’s when He was talking about Job. In Isaiah 40 and in Psalm 147 when He says, “I heal the brokenhearted and I call every star by name,” I’m not sure when He said, “I call every star by name,” He was talking about Sirius and Centaurus and Cannabis and some White Dwarf. I don’t think He was talking about those. He holds you in His hand. He knows you by name. He knows those who are His, and stars have a ministry, and the ministry, the light was created first and then came to live in them, and that’s what Jesus did. He’s the light and He came to live in here, and He now calls me the “hope of the world”, the source of the light for this dark world. He wants to shine through.
When you go through the book of Revelation there’s a lot of word pictures, and I’ll be glad to give it to others to say what is literal and what is figurative and all of that, but when I read about a lamb with seven eyes and seven horns and locust that look like a horse and have a teeth of lions, I say, “I’m pretty sure that’s figurative,” but then you’ve got to figure out what it means. Dragons and beasts that have many heads and coming out of the mouth of the false prophet there are frogs, I don’t know. Some things are literal, and some things are not literal, but when it says that a star falls to earth, I don’t know a lot about stars but it’s over for the earth, but in Revelation it gets going. I don’t think the star that fell to the earth was a physical star. The point is, God has given us a great picture, and in the book of Revelation it says, “One third of the stars will lose their light.” In Revelation I know in the tribulation God’s people are going through a hard time. They are killing them and cutting their heads off and they are being slaughtered. Maybe one third of the stars being darkness in this dark earth has wiped out one third of the testimony that they could have had when they kill the Christians, when they kill God’s people. It’s not always literal when it says stars.
John 17:14, “I’ve given them Your word and the world hated them because they are not of the world. I’m not of the world. I don’t ask You to take them out of the world. Keep them from the evil one. They are not of the cosmos, just like I’m not of the cosmos.” 1 Peter 2:11, “I urge you as aliens and strangers…” We don’t live here. We’ve been delivered out of that kingdom, and we’ve been brought to the heavenlies. We’ve been given the privilege to let the light, who is the source of light for the world, shine on darkness. They have no other hope; only you and only me and only us and only Christians who know what it means to live in the heavenlies, and they are going to be the testimony. Philippians 3:20, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” 2 Corinthians 5:20, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” That’s our calling, our ministry. Ephesians 5:8, “You were formerly darkness, and now you are light in the world. Walk as children of light.” Philippians 2:15, “Prove yourself blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked, perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.”
So, as I wrap it up, I said a lot, but I really didn’t say a lot. I only said a little, and the little I said is, in what sense, then, am I the source of the light of the world? The answer is simple, and I said before we start, you know, to the degree Christ is allowed to be in my life, He’s the source of light. To that degree and only that degree am I given the privilege to have a ministry in this crooked and perverse world, in this dark, dark world. They need the light, but they don’t need me. They need the light, but they don’t need you. They need the light and need to see Jesus, and Jesus said, “By your permission I will shine through you, and I will shine on the world.”
Because I was so burned by this, I want to just state it again. Don’t try to shine for Jesus. Somebody said, “The Bible says, ‘Don’t hide your light under a bushel.’” Well, you’ll not be able to find that verse. It’s not in the Bible. It never says to not hide your light under a bushel. It says you can’t hide your light under a bushel. Do you know why you can’t? It’s because their lights were candles, and their bushels were straw. I have a suggestion, if you want to test it. Try to hide your light under a bushel. And the very next verse said, “A city on a hill can’t be hid.” It can’t be. You don’t shine for Christ; He shines for Himself. He lives in your life to become the light, and light dispels darkness. As you know Him the darkness goes out and the light gets brighter and brighter. That’s the testimony. Did you ever apply this verse to your own heart? Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament shows His handiwork.” I know that’s true of literal stars. That surely shows the power and glory of the Lord, but it’s also you. The heavens; we are the language, we are the hope for this world. You’re a star and I’m a star. He holds me in His hand, and He holds you in His hand.
Here is the outline we’ll follow. I told you I had four pictures. I would like to use the lampstands that are in the Bible; lampstands/light. These illustrations, in Exodus 25 there’s a picture of the lampstand in the tabernacle. We move along and Zachariah 4 there’s a lampstand in the temple. We move along in Revelation and the lampstand is the church. Moving from the tabernacle to the temple to the church, these pictures are progressive. What I’d like to show you in these pictures is how Christ is the source of light in me, the instrument. So, those are the pictures, the lampstand. What’s the last picture? The only other time Jesus said He was the light of the world, He went up to the man born blind, and the first thing that man heard Jesus say, “I am the light of the world,” and then He took clay. That is the last illustration, John 9, because it is the manifestation, if indeed the light of the world lives in me, what will it look like? The answer is that I will have a tremendous ministry with those born blind. Let’s pray.
Father, thank You for Your precious word, not what we think it means but everything You’ve inspired it to mean. Will you please help us understand that by Your Holy Spirit? Prepare our hearts, Lord. We think of this great privilege that the One that said, “Let there be light,” has now come to shine in our hearts, lifting us from the kingdom of darkness, transferring us to the kingdom of light and the kingdom of your dear Son. Lord, teach us what it means to be instruments of the light of the world. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.