1/6/08 - Epiphany - Isaiah 60:1-6

RISE AND SHINE!
- The nations live in darkness
- The nations will come to your Light

Rise and shine! It’s a new day of a new week of a new month of a new year! All of 2008 sits in front of us ready to be lived. And it looks good because the Lord has equipped us with his blessings and keeps us confident with his promises. The future looks bright because we have the Light. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.” Jesus Christ, the Light of the world has come. And his glory rises over us in our lives as we begin this new year. We have just celebrated the coming of the Light, we have thanked him for what he has given us in the past year, and now we look ahead to the future with our Light leading the way. So rise and shine! Not only because our future looks bright, but because the rest of the nations live in darkness.
We are the ones who have the Light. We are at peace and are filled with joy because we know the Light. The Lord has worked in our hearts to believe in him and has given us the sure hope of heaven. But most of the people in this world still live in darkness. And when Scripture says people live in darkness, it means unbelief and spiritual ignorance. There are far too many people even in this so-called “Christian” country who do not believe that Jesus is their Savior. There are about 2 ½ million deaths in the United States every year. How many of them do you think knew their Savior? How many didn’t know until it was too late? There are about 4 ½ million births in this county each year. How many of those children do you think were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins? How many are still not? The crime rate, the divorce rate, the abortion rate keep climbing higher and higher as church attendance falls. How many people do you really think know the Light that we have been blessed with? How many of this country’s 300,000,000 people will you meet in heaven? And we haven’t even mentioned those countries of this world that outlaw Christianity or those countries that have no Bibles or those that have lost Christ long ago.
That’s why Isaiah says, “Darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people.” Of course, he doesn’t stop there, he continues, “but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” You’ve got it. You have what everyone needs. You have been given the Light - Jesus Christ! So rise and shine! Reflect that salvation that God has freely shown to you in his Son! Let this Light shine to the world so that the thick darkness of unbelief can be broken! That is the only way they can be saved! The Light of Christ through the Word is the only way unbelievers will be brought to faith and join us in heaven!
Of course, my sinful self doesn’t want to do it. The sin that is in me and is attached to me and that influences me far too often convinces me that I don’t want to do it. It’s more comfortable in here. We have 50+ members, a good group of Christians, an adequate place to worship for the time being, and we get a few members here and there every so often… If somebody walks in our door that’s great! We’ll gladly serve them. But to go out and get them? That’s hard work! That will take a lot of effort and frustration and time! It’s safer in here. It’s easier to preach and teach to you who already know the Light, who can already see clearly through faith, who already appreciate what’s being said. The hard thing is letting that Light shine to those living in darkness. Even though they are the ones that need the Light the most.
I regretfully take the blame for keeping the Light to myself more often than sharing it. By nature I’m shy, timid, and quiet. But that is no excuse. That is no reason to keep the Light away from those living in darkness. And I also hold myself responsible for the lack of evangelism within this congregation. We do some very good things to spread the Light to others, but we do not do enough. We are not putting our best efforts into reaching out to those around us. And that is all on me. A problem that will be addressed shortly because we cannot afford to put it off any longer. But I also want you to look at your own efforts with those around you. You have the Light. Do you let it shine? And I don’t mean just with your actions. I expect you to live as Christians because I know that you are Christians. Your actions will automatically reflect your faith. But that’s just part of it. Have you been sharing that Light through your words, your invitations, your encouragements, your corrections, your concern for their souls? Why have you stopped making the offer to that person to come to church with you? Why have you stopped attempting to talk to that other person about Jesus? Why haven’t you even started? We selfishly and stubbornly are content to keep this Light to ourselves. We are fine with leaving the nations to live in darkness! We are hoarding for ourselves the gift that is for all people, and all the while we are the ones the Lord has called on to share it with them!
I hate letting the Lord down. And the Lord hates it too. I hate letting the nations down. And the Lord hates that too. I hate this rotting sin that lives in me. And the Lord hates it too. But he doesn’t hold me accountable for those sins any longer. He holds himself accountable! Even though I am the one who has broken his commands, even though I am the one who doesn’t share the Light when I am supposed to, the Lord acts as though he is the guilty one. He stands on trial for me. He accepts the accusations for me. He bears the punishment for me. He receives the death penalty for me. And he does the same for you. Our Light, whose entrance into this world we have just celebrated, is more than just the light that shows us the way we have to go. He is our Way! He is our sacrifice and our salvation and our life. Jesus our Light is what we see and why we see him. Because before he brought us to faith we were living in darkness. We were part of the nations who are spiritually blind and lost in sin. We did not find our own way out. We did not get lucky and stumble into the daylight. The Lord lit up our hearts through the Word. He pulled us from that dark hole we were in and filled us with his Light. And now he has asked us out of love and care for all people, “Share this Light with others.” Does it affect our salvation whether we follow that command or not? No. We already have salvation secure in Christ. But if we don’t share that Light it most certainly affects the salvation of many others.
How do you think the people around you will come to know Jesus as their Savior if you don’t tell them or invite them or at least make the effort? The Lord will not magically zap somebody with faith without the Word of God. He will not make exceptions on Judgment Day, even if a person is outwardly good and kind. He has made it clear in his Word: he has given us the Light to save. He has given us the Light to share. If we do not, then those living in darkness will die in darkness and will suffer in the darkness of hell for all eternity. This is not the end the Lord wants for people. And this is not the end we as Christians want for anyone either! We have the Light! And we must - for the sake of souls throughout the world - we must rise and shine so that the nations will come!
How are you going to do that? With all of those people living in darkness around you, how are you going to rise and shine? Invite, invite, invite, invite. Offer, offer, offer, offer. Encourage, encourage, encourage, encourage. You don’t have to rattle off an exposition on the entire Scriptures to share the Light. You can bring them in here and let them hear it just as well. You can share your thoughts, your basic knowledge of Jesus, your genuine concern for their souls. There are many different ways to share that Light, but all of them have to do with opening your mouth at some point. It’s worth a try. And there’s never any reason to stop trying.
Almost a year ago we had a “Do-it-yourself Evangelism” course here, which was well-attended by many of you. It was very beneficial and I want to offer it again in the next month or so. Not only did we leave half of the course unfinished, but that material is always good to review again. It gives excellent advice on what to do, how do it, and why. Please make time for this when we offer it again so that you can grow in your faith and come to a better understanding of how to share the Light that has brightened your life. I want to help you in this ever-important endeavor in any way I can. If you have questions on sharing the Light with those around you, if you need help or encouragement doing so, please ask. I am here for you.
How else are we going to do this work in the congregation as a whole? As we begin a new year, take on a couple new council members, and discuss how we are going to use our gifts to reach out to the community, I want to reinvigorate the evangelism committee. I would like to meet once a month with those interested to throw out ideas, brainstorm, and come up with new ways we can share the gospel with all people. I want everyone here to seriously consider helping with that. I’m not going to send you out door to door. I’m not going to make you talk to strangers about religion. I know that is not the strong suit of many of you. But whether you are in your teens or in your 90’s, I could always use your ideas and input. I can always find little things that you can do and help out with. And what more important work could we be doing together as a congregation than spreading the Light to people in this area? It is necessary for us to do whatever we can to share this Light so that the nations living in darkness will come.
In fact, the nations are already coming. We will accept three new members into our congregation today. The Lord’s Light has shined on them. He has worked in their hearts and has moved them to want to publicly confess their faith and join together with this group of Christians. What a wonderful blessing the Lord has given us today and has given to these three young souls for eternity. But please realize, this is not our goal as a congregation. I praise the Lord whenever there are individuals who want to join together in fellowship with us, but our ultimate goal is not to extend the membership roster. Our goal is not to build up our numbers on a sheet of paper. Our goal as a congregation and our goal as individual Christians is to share the Light. You may share this Light to many people who never set foot in this church. This congregation may spread the gospel to countless people without ever growing numerically. That’s fine. “Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn,” in a number of ways through the Word. Many times membership is a natural result of that Word being spread, but that’s not our goal. And it never should be. Rise and shine to spread that Light for the sake of their souls, and for the Lord’s glory
And the nations will come. God promises that wherever his Word is read, taught, or spoken, the Holy Spirit will work on hearts and bring them to faith. The Lord will draw nations out of darkness and into his brilliant Light. Just like he has done with us. That’s a great confidence booster when we go out and try to carry out our responsibilities of sharing the gospel, isn’t it? The Lord will work through our words. The Lord will bless our efforts. Whether we see them or not in this life. Because eventually and eternally we will see those saints in heaven. And what a great celebration that will be! But to see those people in Paradise, standing with you praising the Lord, it is essential for you to rise and shine right now. Give them the opportunity to hear the Word. Show them the Light that is the only way of salvation. This is, without a doubt, a challenging task for us to carry out. But God is with us. And the rewards of that work will bring us and the Lord unparalleled joy in end.
Amen.

“May the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” - 2 Thess. 1:12