Your Light Has Come!

Arise and Shine

Dr. J. Mike Minnix, Editor, www.pastorlife.com

Introduction

Isaiah 60:1-5; 19-20

1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.

19 The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
20 Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.

On that first Christmas long ago the Light of the World was placed before the eyes of mankind. Certainly this is why we light our yards, our windowsills, and our Christmas trees, for these are reminders that the Light of World has come. I am going to speak to you just now on a prophesy from long ago regarding God’s call for us to know the Light – to rise and shine in that Light.

Light is spoken of in the Bible in symbolic ways many times. It is most often used to refer to the life of God in a believer or the way of God for a believer. You can see this in Ephesians 5:8 ...

^"8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light..."

Also note Ephesians 5:14 ...

¹⁴ Therefore He says:

Darkness is also a symbolic word in the scriptures, and it illustrates the many negative and terrible things in this world and the unseen spiritual world as well. You will recall that the recounting of Creation in Genesis records the chaos that was present in the darkness. God’s very first word over the disarray and turmoil was "Let there be light" (Genesis l:3).

Darkness is viewed as hostile to the light as seen in John l:5, which states ...

^"5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

You can see that the darkness suggests the dominion of the devil as recorded in Colossians l:l3-14, which reads ...

^"13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."

Darkness is shown to be an evil empire from which humanity needs deliverance.

In John 3:18-21 we note that darkness stands for the place of all who hate good. It reads ...

^"18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Men love darkness because they imagine that it hides their evil ways from the eyes of men. But, be assured, there is no darkness that can hide our deeds from the eyes of God. And one day the sinful deeds of those who reject Christ will be revealed for all to see.

Also, Darkness represents ignorance of the truth. John 8:12 tells us that people without Christ walk in darkness.

In the end, darkness represents death, hell and judgment. In fact, Hell is referred in the Bible as “outer darkness.”

In Isaiah 60, which we are considering, the earth is viewed as being shrouded in darkness and the people are seen in an even greater darkness. This darkness symbolizes the seemingly hopeless condition of the world and its people. In this passage, Isaiah shares a word of hope for the people who are in darkness.

One cannot look at the world today and avoid observing that Satan is ruling in the daily lives of so many people. Moral corruption and biblical ignorance are everywhere in our world and its affairs. As we hurdle on toward death and judgment, the darkness of the human soul is evident to all who know the Lord. This is burdening to us and we desire to call every soul to the light which only God can supply to the soul.

The Light is an especially important subject in God’s Word. We can easily recount several ways that the light is mentioned in different Bible texts.

• l. We are to WORK while it is light. (John 9:4 ^"4 ... must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."
• 2. We are to WAR against evil while there is light (Romans l3:l2 ^"12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."
• 3. We are to WALK in the light (Ephesians 5:8 ^"8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." ).
• 4. We are to give WITNESS in and to the light (Philippians 2:14-16 ^"14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.).
• 5. We are to WATCH in the light (l Thessalonians 5:5‑6 ^"5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.").

In our text we note that the Lord speaks of light in the darkness, in fact He promises light to all who will open their hearts and eyes to see and receive it. Note several things about the light of God's presence and path for all who will "arise."

I. The Personal Nature of the Light of God

The light of God is not some secret code or hidden mystery, but rather he light of God is given to reveal that which humans in every generation need most of all. Note that …

A. The Light of God is from a Person

In John 8:12 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." The light that has come to this old, sick, troubled world is not simply information but is rahter an Individual. Jesus came to be the light for the entire world. Isaiah spoke of this prophetically in the passage under consideration. We are told to “arise" and receive this light.”

The word “arise” is generally connected to another action word. Nehemiah used the word to stir the people to “arise and build.” God used the word to call Jonah to “arise and go.” Isaiah used it to stir the people from their unbelief to “arise and shine.” We are to arise, receive and reflect this Light.

Now, understand something at this point. To come to God one must come to the Light – to Jesus. To be saved is to “see” – it is to come to an awareness of the truth of God’s salvation in Jesus alone. The country singer years ago penned the words, “I saw the light.” Indeed, that is what happens, and very true believer knows exactly what that means. For those without Christ, it means you must open the eyes of your heart to see the Lord Jesus Christ and to turn from sin to receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Note also that …

B. The Light of God is for Possession

We are told to "shine". That cannot be done unless the light is received. We have no light of our own. We are like the moon to the sun, for the moon has no light and can only reflect the light from the sun. Likewise, when a person comes to Christ, the light in us is His light. To every unbeliever let me make this as clear as possible – Christians claim no greatness in ourselves – we claim no righteousness of our own – we are only saved because we received the Light of God in Christ. We must have the light in us if we are to shine.

So, we see the Personal Nature of the Light of God, now note …

II. The Penetrating Nature of the Light of God

God’s Light is not some vague, shadowy, bland idea of what it means to know the Lord, but rather it is the brilliant, bright, blistering light that reveals the truth of God's Son in all His glory. All other light pales in the face of God’s true Light.

We see …

A. The Darkness is Great

Sometimes we are prone to become discouraged when we see how dark it has gotten in our world. It is true that things look very bleak at times and the darkness is very great. Powerful forces are at work to see that this world remains in darkness and does not come to the light. Sometimes those of us who know the Lord seem to be shrouded in darkness ourselves. Be sure of this, Satan cannot keep the believer in darkness, because the Light in us is greater than the darkness.

That leads us to reaffirm that …

B. The Light is Greater

We must understand that darkness must flee when the Light comes. Darkness can only abide when light is absent. Walk into a dark room and flip on the light switch. When the light comes on, the darkness cannot overcome it. In the face of the Light, the darkness has no power at all.

In John 1:5 we read that the darkness cannot comprehend the light. That means that the darkness cannot take, apprehend, or overpower the light. It is true that men love the darkness more than the light, but when the light comes the darkness must submit to the light. You do not have to live in the darkness. Someone listening to me now is dealing with some habit – some sin – that seems to have power over you. You think that you cannot overcome, but you are wrong. The darkness is lying to you! Turn to the Light of God – to Jesus – He has the power to overcome the darkness and the desire to deliver you out of that bondage.

I am reminded this moment of the great number of young people who are committing suicide. Why? What in heaven’s name can cause a person with all of life ahead to end that life at the very dawn of it? Satan is a liar. He tells you that things are bad and cannot be better. He causes people to believe that there is no hope. Listen to me, Jesus is the Hope of the world. He is the Light. He has a powerful purpose for you. He has joys for you that you cannot imagine. Turn to the light and away from the darkness.

Let me hasten. Note also …

III. the Powerful Nature of the Light

Isaiah prophesied that many nations would come to the Light of God. If you travel around the world, you will find Christians in every corner of it. Just think, 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah was moved by God to prophesy that the world would come to the Light – and Jesus is that Light. God never lied and when He said that the nations would come to the Light – He meant it.

Now, it is easy for us on this side of history to look at this and shrug our shoulders, but this prophecy is amazing. Jesus would be born in an obscure village called Bethlehem. He would never travelled more than 100 miles from His home in his lifetime. Yet, today people from around the globe have trusted Him as the Light of the World. Let me tell you something that you need to remember – God’s Word never lies. God’s Word will always be true. God kept His Word and people all over the world are coming to Him even today – and so can you.

Conclusion

Some time ago I was stopped by a patrolman for speeding. He asked where I was going so fast and I told him I had just left church and that everybody always leaves church in a hurry. He didn’t think that was too funny. I told him that I was on my way to see my grandchildren following church services and was in a bit of a hurry to see them. Since I am a pastor, I told him, we don’t get to see them as often as we would like. He looked at my wife in the passenger seat and asked, "If I let him off with a warning, will you see that he drives more slowly?” She said, “Yes, I will!” Well, he let me off with a warning, however, if I could have found that patrolman 20 minutes later I would have gladly just paid the price for the ticket. Why? Let me tell you, every time I even got close to 56 miles per hour on a 55 miles per hour highway Jayne corrected me. “Watch it!” she would say. Mercy, that was a terrible trip. I was corrected again and again to watch my speed limit. A ticket would have been a lot less painful. However, I never got stopped again. I had no problem doing what was right while I was driving. Why? Because I had the light right in the car with me. Jayne was my light and see helped me stay on point – to do what was right.

Listen, my friend, we must walk in the Light – in the Light of Jesus. When we walk with Him, He will keep us on path. He will make life meaningful. He will keep us from doing things that cost us greatly and ruin our lives

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? You can come to Him right now. He is the Light of the world. That is why He came. That is really what Christmas is all about.

Someone here knows the Lord, but you have let the darkness of this world put you on the backside of the moon. You need to turn again to Jesus and rededicate your life to Him.

Always remember that faith in Christ is not a leap into the dark, but a walk into the Light.