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“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). When I was a child in Sunday School I was taught the chorus, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine; this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” We were then told to let our light shine by doing the things that pleased Jesus. We were taught to forgive, to share, and to help others. Few things are more precious than to see children forgive a wrong done to them, or to see them voluntarily share with another something they have that the other lacks, or to help another who is struggling. The innocence of childhood forgives whether they themselves are forgiven, shares when another withholds, or helps when the kindness is not returned. This is grace; a word that means, “freely giving what is needed and expecting nothing in return”. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 18:1-4). The word “converted” used here is the Greek strepho and it means “to twist or turn, to face in a different direction”. The first time this word is used is in Matthew 5:39 when Jesus says, “But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.” The most natural response in the world when someone strikes you, and that does not necessarily mean a physical blow for some of the most damaging assaults are words, is to strike back. If someone slaps me on the side of the face my instinct is to slap back, only harder. If someone attempts to defame me by spreading lies my instinct is to dig up as much dirt as I can and make my adversary sorry he ever knew my name. However, if I responded in such a way I would prove myself to live in the same darkness as the person who wronged me. The evil that rules in the life of the aggressor would be the same evil he would see living inside of me. Far from encouraging this person to change his ways of anger and retribution I would be the cause of justifying his evil. By retaliating in the same manner I was assaulted, far from being the light I have been commanded to be, I have become the blind leading the blind. I have indeed taught my adversary a lesson, but it is a lesson of reinforcement. It is only when I turn from my pride that my light shines. It is significant that the first element the Lord created when He began fashioning the world so that life could exist was light and that the first step toward spiritual life is also light. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving 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; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:1-5). Compare this to the opening verses of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-5). The words “formless and void” used to describe the earth in Genesis are tohuw which means “to lie waste, a desolation, such as a desert”; figuratively it means “a worthless thing”, and bohuw which means “emptiness”. The earth was of no value and was completely devoid of all life. It was truly a dark, empty place – not even microbes inhabited it. It was sterile. There was no sun, no moon, and no stars to light the sky. Had there been creatures with eyes to see they would have been of no use for even 20/20 vision is blind when surrounded by total darkness. It was into this setting that the Lord said, “Let there be light”, the very first recorded words of God. This light, however, is not the light of the sun. It was not created until day four. Rather, the light that bathed the infant earth was the very life and presence of God Himself. “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5-6). The beginning of the transformation of the earth from a dead, sterile planet to a Paradise teaming with life and beauty was the presence of the Lord. It is interesting to note that the six days of creation are always described as, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5), “And there was evening and there was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), etc. The darkness always comes first and the light second. If you ask someone to describe the creation process many times, if not most of the time, they will speak of the days as occurring in the sequence of morning and evening. This is backwards. The darkness comes first and then the light. This is a picture of the salvation process of mankind. Fallen mankind has the incorrect notion that he is basically born good. They believe if you give a child an education, a means of supporting himself to remain free of poverty, access to quality medical care, and a clean environment he will in turn reward society with kindness, compassion, generosity, and a love for others that looks out for the benefit of his neighbor. How wrong this is! The evil, the darkness that lives within man can be revealed by something as simple as road rage. Regardless of the education received, the level of prosperity attained, the health enjoyed, or the cleanliness of their surroundings, rage can spew forth in an instant, sometimes with tragic results. The goodness that mankind claims is an innate part of his being is shallow indeed. Claiming to be a race of enlightened and civilized people the Lord need only use the anonymity of an automobile to shine His light upon our spirits to expose the darkness within. When the eyes of others are on us we behave one way. When we think they do not see we behave in another way. We forget that the Lord never looks away and never blinks. Just as the light of the presence of God at the beginning of creation revealed a desolate, inhospitable, and lifeless world, the light of the presence of Jesus Christ when He entered the world revealed this was the exact condition of mankind. Yet, just as God did not shine His light upon the dead and desolate earth to condemn its condition, but rather to bring it to life, so Jesus came also for the same purpose. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him” (John 3:17-18). Indeed, Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10). The word “abundantly” means a super, overflowing, excessive amount. Mankind had a taste of this in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve enjoyed a quality of life that is difficult to imagine. They had unbroken fellowship with the Lord and lived in a world that had never experienced death. Mankind was the crowning achievement in God’s creation. What began with the Lord shining upon a dark and empty world finished with a creature made in the image of God Himself. Man is distinct from the animals in that he has a spirit that enables him to commune with God. It is the spirit that makes him “God” conscience. Animals have no concept of God. No animal has ever built an altar to worship a Being greater than themselves. It is because they do not possess a spirit. They possess life, but not abundant life. Abundant life comes from a personal relationship with the Lord through Jesus Christ. It was this life that was lost when Adam and Eve rebelled against God. The Lord had told Adam and Eve that in the day they ate of the forbidden fruit they would die. Yet we know that they did eat the forbidden fruit after the Serpent had deceived Eve and that in that day they did not die. So, did God lie? No. It must be understood that man is comprised of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. It was the spirit that died that day. The soul in turn usurped the proper place of the spirit and the body began to die. The light, the life, that mankind enjoyed before the rebellion in the Garden was replaced with a darkness that allowed death to reign in creation. Before the Fall the soul reflected the light from the spirit much like the moon reflects the light of the sun, but with the spirit’s separation from the Holy Spirit, the soul turned dark. As noted above the spirit allows man to be “God” conscience. It is through the spirit that the Lord communes with man and fellowships with Him. Jesus confirmed this truth when He said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24-25). The next part of man is the soul. It is the soul that makes us “self” conscience. It is what makes us, us. It gives us our individuality. The soul is comprised of our will, intellect, and emotions. Whereas the spirit corresponds to that which is masculine, the head if you will of the person, the soul corresponds to that which is feminine, the helpmate that submits to the direction of the spirit. Man was created to receive through his spirit guidance, direction, and communion with the Holy Spirit. Our human spirit in turn was to instruct our soul to fulfill the will of God. This is accomplished when our soul submits to the authority of the spirit. When the relationship between the spirit and soul are in the proper order the body fulfills its proper role. As Paul said, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1). We present our bodies as living, holy sacrifices when our will (function of the soul) is one with God’s will as communicated through our spirit. The death of the spirit in the Garden of Eden allowed the soul to take control. The result was the corruption of the soul and the eventual death of the body. It was into this darkness that Jesus came. However, He did not come ranting and raving about the darkness. Rather He came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Jesus opened the eyes of those around Him to the Kingdom of Heaven. He spoke of it in parables, explaining what it was like. And for those who lived in darkness, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the drunkards, the immoral, His light drew them in a way the condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees could not. The sinners knew they lived in darkness. They made no pretense of holiness. When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven they hung their heads realizing that they were unfit to be a citizen there. Did you ever wonder why humans have to be taught good manners, taught to consider the feelings of others, taught to share, or taught to put others first? It is because we possess a sinful nature. Our soul lives in darkness, not having the benefit of the light that comes only through a spirit that is alive to the Holy Spirit. Fallen man lives in a world of artificial light, light that echoes the true light of the Lord. Deep within us we know that murder is wrong, but do we know that to hate a brother is also murder? “The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now” (1 John 2:9). “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). We know that adultery is wrong (at least we used to), but do we know that looking lustfully upon someone other than our spouse is adultery? “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-29). The word “look” here means “a voluntary observation” and the word “lust” means “a strong passion, a heavy breathing, a panting”. The next time someone tells you pornography is a legitimate outlet for sexual tensions remember these words of Jesus. Adultery, like murder, is much more than a physical act. Each physical act of sin begins in the mind by seeds planted by the darkened soul of man. Without the light of the spirit man easily deceives himself into thinking he is an enlightened creature. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? What man calls light, the Lord calls darkness. The religious man that is dominated by his soul rather than being truly born-again attempts to imitate the light of the spirit-filled believer. This is illustrated with the story of the seven sons of Sceva. They had seen Paul exorcising demons by using the name of Jesus and thought they would do the same thing. “Then some of the traveling Jewish exorcists [men who adjure evil spirits] also undertook to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I solemnly implore and charge you by the Jesus Whom Paul preaches!’ Seven sons of a certain Jewish chief priest named Sceva were doing this. But [one] evil spirit retorted, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man in whom the evil spirit dwelt, leaped upon them, mastering two of them, and was so violent against them that they dashed out of that house [in fear], stripped naked and wounded” (Acts 19:13-16 AMP). These men, attempting to mimic spiritual power through the power of the soul, learned in an unforgettable way that the power of true light cannot be forged by the soul of fallen man. Man may be fooled by these attempts at spirituality, but the demons, the evil spirits have no such delusions. They recognize true spiritual power at once. The demons mentioned here knew Jesus. They knew Him to be the Son of God and feared Him. They were also acquainted with Paul. Though Paul was not God as Jesus is, he nonetheless operated from the power of Jesus. What it must be like to have the demons fear you and tremble at the sound of your name! May we walk so closely with the Lord in the power of the spirit that His light shines brightly through us. Doing so will allow us to live in this world among the filth of sin and remain pure, for one of the most incredible characteristics of light is its ability to expose what it touches without becoming polluted itself. Sometimes something looks white until something that truly is white is placed next to it. When that happens we realize just how off-white or dirty the first object really is. In a sense that is what we experience when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. Suddenly, we see that all of our good works are not white. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6). With the light of the Holy Spirit shining within us repentance becomes not only acceptable, but also desirable. We recognize our need for a closer, intimate relationship with the Lord. The question becomes, “How do I achieve this relationship?” When Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to see Jesus, he confessed that He must be a teacher from God because no one could do the works that He did. In response to this confession Jesus said, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again”’” (John 3:3-8). What Nicodemus could not understand was it was not the body Jesus spoke of being born again. Rather, it was the spirit. The death of the spirit that occurred in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve rebelled against God had to be given new life in order for the fellowship that man once enjoyed with the Lord be restored. With the spirit once again alive to receive light from the Holy Spirit it could take its rightful place in the makeup of man. Man’s conscience (a part of the spirit) could once again take the headship role it was created for. With the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior the darkness the soul operated within would be displaced by light. The struggle we experience within as Christians to follow the commandments of the Lord as He reveals His will to our spirits comes about because our souls covet the position of headship it once had before we were saved. The soul is reluctant to relinquish its position of power and authority over our lives. It finds submission to the spirit repulsive. It fights against the spirit in ways that may surprise many. Whereas the Lord works through man’s spirit, Satan works through man’s soul. (Remember, the soul corresponds to the feminine. The Serpent in the Garden approached Eve, not Adam) Fallen man is a soulish creature, and in order for the soul to retain its position of headship it will attempt to imitate the light that only the spirit truly possesses. The Bible tells us “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Satan does not care if we do good deeds if doing so will keep us from realizing our need for salvation. Just as Eve was deceived in the Garden of Eden Satan continues to deceive by causing us to reason from a purely human point of view. We may rant and rave against demons and evil with loud voices and elaborate rituals thinking that is letting our light shine, but remember the sun (Son) says nothing when it rises, but all know that it has. Unless otherwise noted: Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Article Source: http://christian-topics.info
In January 2000 Terry began a writing ministry called "Whispers of the Spirit" (www.whispersofthespirit.com). In 2003 he graduated from Yellowstone Valley Bible Institute with high academic honors. Today, he continues to teach, preach, and write. Terry is the author of "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (ISBN 9781420820546) which can be reviewed and ordered from www.authorhouse.com/bookstore. You may reach Terry at Terry_L_Brown@whispersofthespirit.com.
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