At the beginning of a new year most people resolve to
do better, stronger, slimmer, healthier…or some kind of positive change. To do that requires looking back over what
didn’t go so well, or examining the pain of what has been in order to plan what
must be done to change.
For these first few weeks of 2018 I would like us to think some positive
new thoughts for a new year.
Let’s begin with Isaiah’s word: Arise
& Shine!
Arise,
Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all
to see. For the glory of the Lord rises
to shine on you. Darkness as black as
night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of
the Lord rises and appears over you.
All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your
radiance. Isaiah 60:1-3(NLT)
Isaiah spoke/wrote those words roughly 800 years before the birth
of Jesus. But every bit of his ministry
proclaimed the Lord’s arrival would be the dawn of a new day. If you break his prophecy up into two 33
chapter novels they both follow roughly the same three-part story line:
· Sin (darkness) of the leaders and people destroyed Israel’s
greatness
· Conquest by invaders brought captivity and despair
· God gave them a glorious, new light-filled day of release and
homecoming
To say that Isaiah’s prophecy relates well to our time is to
understate how much like broken Israel we have become. We are hardly one nation under God
in the 21st century!
But I would like to get past the darkness this morning and think
some positive new thoughts for 2018; today is a new day; time to arise and
shine!
Isaiah said the night was over
Obviously darkness represents sin and
wandering away from God our Creator. In
the Genesis record Moses tells of God making a very definite statement that
light is in contrast to the darkness...the light was very good, and God
separated it from the darkness.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and
empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was
light. And
God saw that the light was good. Then he
separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Genesis 1:1-4(NLT)
Isaiah picked up on Moses’ theme of darkness and light and
announced that the Lord’s rising was like the sun rising on a new day; darkness
had to slink away.
Isaiah’s vision and characterization of the people of Israel in
darkness is that of a woman shackled in chains.
Her head is bowed-down in shame and despair; it’s the picture of grief,
like someone wallowing in the dust of mourning.
Isaiah says that God is calling this woman, God’s treasured Israel, to
come out of the darkness, to put away the dust and ashes; He wants her to begin
the celebration.
Both New Testament apostles, Peter and Paul picked up on Isaiah’s
theme:
For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from
the Lord. So live as people of light!
for the light makes everything visible.
This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and
Christ will give you light.” Ephesians
5:8, 14(NLT)
God told Isaiah to paint this picture of the night past because
Jesus, the child of promise would be the light…and that light would be very
good!
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to
you: God is light, and there is no
darkness in him at all. So
we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in
spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in
the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and
the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only
fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins
to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all wickedness. 1 John 1:5-9(NLT)
Jesus says our morning is here
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t
have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that
leads to life.” John 8:12(NLT)
This word Jesus spoke to the crowds that day in Galilee were the
fulfillment of everything Isaiah came to say about God’s light and life rising
for all people.
And now we need to understand the rest of the story. Isaiah said that God said: Arise (out of your darkness)…but God
also said: Shine!
The light came and was a blessing to save everyone who would
receive that light. But it wasn’t just a
light turned-on so we can be saved and blessed.
This light was shined on us so we can also shine…so the light can
radiate to all people around the world.
And this begs our last point:
Jesus
wants to shine through us
Do you recall what happened when Moses went up on the mountain to
speak with God and receive the 10 Commandments?
Spending time with that intense light of God made Moses’ face shine; he
got such a dose of God’s light the people couldn’t stand to look at him. Moses’ face had to be covered.
This is the key for what God wants in Mt Zion and Pleasant Hill
churches this year; this day – He wants all of our faces shining His marvelous
light so that the world’s darkness has a difficult time with us. The problem most of us experience with being that
is we’re not like Moses; we spend so little time with God we don’t have the
light of Jesus – we settle for this little light of mine! Beloved, it isn’t your light the
world needs; they need the reflection of Jesus’ light radiating from you.
But you are not like [the darkness], for you are a
chosen people. You are royal
priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness
of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9(NLT)
Do you remember the hymn “Let Others See Jesus in You”? It can happen if we spend time with Him and
allow Him to have control of our lives.
What to do about what we’ve
heard
In light of Isaiah’s prophecy I believe God wants us all to do two
things:
1. Say
goodbye to the darkness
What “night” have you faced this year, or this week, or has been
dogging you for all your life? What sin,
oppression, sadness, disappointment, disability, disease, pain, sickness…what
shackles you to the dust of mourning?
Hear the words of Jesus about all that:
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making
everything new!” And then
he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and
true.” Revelation 21:5(NLT)
Say goodbye to the darkness
2. Embrace
the light…and shine
How do you embrace the light?
Simply open your heart right now to everything God wants for you. Tell him that in the simplest of prayers:
God…I want everything
you want for me.
Have you heard the song, Shine, Jesus, Shine?
Lord,
the light of Your love is shining
In
the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus,
Light of the World, shine upon us,
Set
us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine
on me, shine on me.
Shine,
Jesus, shine – fill this land with the Father’s glory;
Blaze
Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.
Flow,
river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light.
If you can sing that…and you really mean it, Jesus
will sing it back to you. He will
sing: Shine, child, shine, let me shine
through you; together we’ll fill this land with the Father’s glory!
Beloved you shine this
week, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!
