Church Requel
When it’s dusk in Richland County, you drive with your headlamps on “bright” watching out for deer! In the same way we need to keep the headlamps of our souls on and bright according to Jesus in Luke 11:33-36. Let’s learn all we can about being a bright light to everyone we know and love.
Luke 11:33-36 NIV
Headlights For My Life / Luke 11:33-36 NIV
Intro - The Bible tells us that this is a dark world spiritually. Today’s passage from Luke reminds us that we need God’s powerful light in our lives to see where we’re going.
#1 - Do ______________________________.
“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.” Luke 11:33 NIV
Jesus tells us that there are actually two parts to this “lighting the light.” 1st - there’s making sure that the light is lit. 2nd - there’s making sure that nothing is covering the light. If you are a Christian, you have the light of Jesus in your life. You don’t want to cover it up.
“I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.” John 8:12 MSG
#2 - Do _____________________.
“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34 NIV
This boils down to a simple question: Are you looking at what you’re aiming for? Is it your aim that the light of Jesus would permeate your life so much that you and everyone you interact with could be powerfully changed for the better? Rather we often fill our minds with what titillates and fascinates for a brief moment in time, but often fills our brains with thoughts and images that hurt our closeness to God in the long term.
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 NLT
God gives you His Word to light your path via His Holy Spirit and through the Bible. That’s why I tell you all the time to make your Quiet Times / Prayer Times / Devotion Times / Bible Study Times a priority - because you need God’s Word to keep the lights on inside! If you’re NOT into His Word, you’ll find junk to fill your soul. You’ll crave God’s intimacy in some very unhealthy ways!
#3 - Don’t _______________________.
“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” Luke 11:35 NIV
Anything that satisfies temporarily but starves your soul in the long term. You literally have to feed yourself healthy spiritual food to keep your light shining. How do we do this? 4 ways / 2 verses…
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 1:6 ESV
A. ____________________ -“We lie.”
The worst lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves. It’s one thing to lie to yourself. It’s another to believe your own lies! Every so often you need to stop and evaluate honestly. We have another word for this - CONFESSION. A time to stop and ask God to help us to see the truth about ourselves.
B. ________________ -“do not practice the truth.”
What does it mean to “practice the truth?” It means doing the good things you know to do to get you back on track to knowing the light within you. The church historically has had a word for this practicing righteousness - it’s call Penance. Too often, though, we get this all messed up in our minds - regardless of what we call it. This “making things right” in the practice of our Christianity has NOTHING TO DO with our salvation. Only Christ’s sacrifice on the cross accomplishes that. But to get over the lying to ourselves, we deliberately practice righteousness.
“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.” 1 John 1:7 NLT
C. ______________ -“we have fellowship with each other.”
If we are in the light like God is in the light, then we also have fellowship with each other as God has relationship within the Trinity and with us through the Holy Spirit.
That’s a whole lot more than just showing up for an hour once a week, right? This is talking about doing life together. Knowing one another really well. Being involved in one another’s lives. No Lone Ranger Christians here!
D. ________________ -“his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
If I have done the other 3 things and still am “feeling guilty,” then I must work at practicing grace. You don’t need to practice something you’re already perfect at, right? … unless you practice so much that you become perfect.
How do we practice grace? On one another. Giving grace, forgiveness, love and mercy to someone else helps me to see how I should do the same for myself!
#4 - Do ____________________.
“Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” Luke 11:36 NIV
This is another way of Jesus saying that He wants the same for you as He has experienced Himself with the Godhead in the Trinity. An experience full of light. With no darkness! This is an amazing gift He offers to you. So open the shades in your life. Accept the light in. Jesus has given you the light and the means to lift the shades in your life.
And in the same way that he gives you light for your life, he wants you to share that same light with others. Open the shades and let the light OUT!
“In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 GNT
This light you enjoy is not just for your own private use. Just as you have freely received the light, you should freely share the light with other people. Do you have a plan for letting out the light? For telling other people about this great gift of light God has given you?