With each stroke of my arms I grew more and more tired. I became utterly exhausted. As I was reaching half way across the river, my freestyle quickly changed to a pathetic doggy paddle. My head dipping in and out of the water, trying desperately to stay afloat. I was in serious trouble. At this point, I was under the water more than I was above. I took one last gulp of air before I looked down under the water to what I thought would be the last thing I might see… darkness, just pure black. But in that moment, I recalled all my past memories. It really was like my life flashed before my eyes. Somehow, I felt so content! I remember feeling warm and ready just to go right there and then...
Then I felt a whisper in my mind telling me, “No. I’m not done with you yet.” It made my head turn and I looked up into the light. A hand reached down and pulled me up...
Light and Darkness
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
What is darkness and light? Obviously they are opposites to each other. In the Bible, light seems to correlate with life while darkness correlates with death and sin.
LIGHT = LIFE
DARKNESS = DEATH
Let’s go right to the very origins of light and darkness all the way back to Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:1-5
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Now there’s one thing I want to point out. Throughout Genesis 1, after almost each day it says, “and God saw that it was good.” But here in verse 4 after the first day, it says, “God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” He didn’t say it was all good, no, he specifically pointed out that the light was good and not the darkness and so he separated the light from the darkness.
Ok, moving on right to the very end in Revelation 21 where it talks about the new Jerusalem and you see that light here isn’t a what, but a who.
Revelation 21:23-27
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Ok look at this! “...there will be no night there.” if there is no night, there is no darkness. Why? Because on the very first day of creation, God separated the light from the darkness, to create day and night, but there is no need to do that here in the new Jerusalem because there is no night so there is no darkness. There is only light. And when I think about it, that is so hard for me to comprehend!
So here we can see that both God and the Lamb, or Jesus are light, or the light.
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Here we see that if we walk with Christ we have that light… the light of life. So we are given life and are taken from death and darkness. So how are we to utilise this light? …
Ephesians 5:14
… “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
To begin with, I struggled and struggled and struggled to get this message together. But I felt it was too important not to share this because it deeply relates with the core of my personal calling out of darkness and into His wonderful light.
I’m certainly not perfect. I mean that’s pretty obvious, I am a human being just like all of you, I have sinned. But sin really took a hold of me… or more accurately I really took a hold of sin. I got to the point where I absolutely could not get out of it in my own strength. Just like how I couldn’t swim any further with my own strength in that river, I was drowning in my own sin.
So one night about 3 years ago now, I was listening to a song, ironically called Johnny Boy. People used to call me Jonny back in college. One part of the song says,
"Get up Johnny boy because we all need you now."
The moment I heard that, I started balling my eyes out. I realised my sin was holding me back from sharing with others the opportunity of life. I felt God was giving me a choice. If I was going to continue living in this sin, I would continue walking in death, ultimately making me as useful as someone who is dead. Useless. But if I chose to leave that path and seek God deeper than I had ever done so before, I would have life. And then I could be open for God to use me in powerful ways!
John 3:19-21
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Romans 8:13
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 13:11-14
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Ephesians 5:8-14
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
In the end this is what lead me into ultimately doing that discipleship training last year where God really and truly changed my life. As I was drowning in my sin, He called me, I looked up, He reached down and pulled me out. He brought me out of the depths of my sin and into His light.
2 Samuel 22:5-6, 17-20 | (Psalm 18:4-5, 16-19)
5 The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. 20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
God changed my heart and gave me a desire to live for Him. So again I ask, now that we have been saved and given this light, what are we supposed to do with this light?
Matthew 5:14-16
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
So this is why I must go. That I may get to see God bring those who are lost, brought out of darkness and into His wonderful light!
In closing, let me leave you with something I found during my time researching on this sermon...
