1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,080 Hi, welcome to the Via Zion sermon podcast. 2 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,240 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,560 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,880 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,720 We have started the Advent season and are thrilled that we 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,160 get to celebrate Jesus for all that he is, has been, and all 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,000 that he will do. We look at Jesus, the living 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,640 Word today, the one who left heaven and walked the earth to 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,160 be one of us. As you listen in our prayer is 10 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:40,040 that you will experience the power and fulfillment that only 11 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,080 Jesus gives. Hi Church, what a joy it is to 12 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,320 bring God's word to you today. We have been looking at the book 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:50,480 of John for the Advent series and we have been looking at how 14 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,800 Jesus is the Word. He's the life, Zoe, life. 15 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,000 And today we're going to be looking at how Jesus is the 16 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,640 light, right? John chapter 1 verses 4 to 5 17 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,960 says in Him was life and that life was the light of all 18 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:08,960 mankind. The light shines in the darkness 19 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,480 and the darkness has not overcome it. 20 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,320 Even before I get into the word, I wanted to show you a quick 21 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:19,800 YouTube shot, a small snippet video of what actually happens. 22 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,840 This was captured under an electron microscope of what 23 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,400 happens at the moment of conception when a sperm and 24 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,040 meets the egg. There's a very interesting 25 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,520 phenomenon that scientists have discovered and I want you to see 26 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:33,360 it just for a second before we progress. 27 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:34,640 Can we just have a look at the video? 28 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:57,440 So if you noticed in this video, there was a a brilliant light. 29 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,000 It's microscopic, but nevertheless it's a light that 30 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,560 shines when fertilization happens. 31 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,840 Basically the minute life begins in the womb of an animal or a 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,280 bird, any kind of creature. Even in humans, what happens at 33 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,120 a molecular level is that zinc sparks fly and that is what is 34 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,040 visible as a light. And it cannot be disputed 35 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,160 anymore that light and life belong together, that when Jesus 36 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,120 came into the world as the light, he brought life with him. 37 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,080 And that's what John is trying to say. 38 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,960 And so light and life are inextricably linked. 39 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,160 They are linked to each other. They cannot do without the 40 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:35,720 other. And it's interesting because 41 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,600 when the Zoe life Christ, you know, gets sparked, when it gets 42 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,120 sparked, it starts to envelope us and we start to live out in 43 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,280 the light of Jesus. Not just is he the light of the 44 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,560 world, but he says we are the light of the world because we 45 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,280 become light bearers ourselves, right? 46 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,960 And if you look at the world that we live in today without 47 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,200 light, life will as we know it will not thrive. 48 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,920 Everything that we see around us that thrives is because in part 49 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,000 of the fact that we have the sunlight all around us shining 50 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,360 on us through the day which is responsible for sustaining and 51 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:12,720 and creating life at the level that we know. 52 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,440 Spiritually speaking. When you look at the world you 53 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,400 will find that there is darkness everywhere. 54 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,520 We live in a corrupt culture. There is such things happening 55 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,520 that cannot be mentioned about many times things that are 56 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,320 happening in pockets of the world, trafficking, strife, 57 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,520 corruption, crime at an all time high. 58 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,960 So not just physically are there places which are in darkness 59 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,240 spiritually, there are places which are in deep darkness. 60 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,680 And Jesus came to save the world so that all of the earth, the 61 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,320 entire world, every bit of darkness will be consumed and 62 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,560 enveloped by His light. That is the desire that Jesus 63 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:57,480 had when he came to earth. Maybe you're saying, you know 64 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,200 what? The spiritual darkness does feel 65 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,360 a lot. It's too much for me to even 66 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:03,360 understand. But today, what we're going to 67 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,160 be tapping into is actually understanding what the 68 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,960 implications are when we have Jesus as the light of our lives. 69 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,720 What does that do in me and what does that do around me? 70 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,480 Because it changes everything. The thing about light is this 71 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,839 John 8 verse 12 Jesus says. When Jesus spoke again to the 72 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,360 people, he said I am the light of the world. 73 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,200 Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have 74 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,840 the light of life. All around us there is a 75 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,800 darkness which is very pervading. 76 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,880 We have social ills, we have dark spiritual beliefs, we have 77 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:39,440 witchcraft and and voodoo and all kinds of practices that are 78 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:41,960 very active. We also have the very subtle 79 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,000 ones, the New Age movement, and we have social and cultural 80 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,800 norms which are actually very dark in nature. 81 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,000 These are things that sometimes are not so glaring, but they are 82 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,000 very real. And the interesting thing is 83 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,360 that many times we are blinded to just how much of darkness we 84 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,320 have allowed into our world, into our specific areas. 85 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,840 But Jesus says that whoever walks in me will never walk in 86 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:05,120 darkness. So what is he saying? 87 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:09,520 That there is a requirement for us to consciously keep walking 88 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,160 with Jesus, to keep following where he leads because he's the 89 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,360 light of life. And if you look at the light, if 90 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,760 you look at generally any light, the light has a way of justice 91 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,480 being present. The light doesn't have to do 92 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,760 anything per SE, it just has to shine for it to achieve what its 93 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,200 purpose is. You switch on a light and a room 94 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,600 in immediately it it you have light, you're able to see every 95 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,680 element of the room. Suppose you have a movable 96 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,360 light, you can move it to where there is pockets of darkness and 97 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,080 light it up. I'm always intrigued when my 98 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,360 husband produces a a video when he puts together a video, the 99 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,640 lighting, the time he and his people spend on lighting a place 100 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,680 up. And it makes all the difference 101 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,360 to create the right shadows to give the, you know, depth. 102 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:57,800 But the interesting thing is that Jesus, the light of the 103 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,040 world, is the most versatile light source ever. 104 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:08,000 He is all sufficient. He is the most extensive, and he 105 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,240 is so life sustaining it's beyond our imagination. 106 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,800 So while we think the sunlight is responsible for everything 107 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:16,160 that lives on the earth, it's true. 108 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:21,400 But Jesus, the light preserves our Zoe life, gives us Zoe life 109 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,680 leading into eternal life. And it's amazing because the 110 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:29,520 light changes everything. I was recently reading this 111 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,520 article about how one of the actors from Star Trek The Next 112 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,960 Generation, the earliest movies made on Star Trek, one of the 113 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:42,400 actors from the original show actually was taken into space. 114 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,880 They actually took him in an orbit around the Earth, and he 115 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,200 said it blew his mind. The minute they went into orbit, 116 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,040 they exited the Earth's atmosphere and they went into 117 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:53,920 orbit. He said on one side it was 118 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,000 complete darkness. And then when he looked back, he 119 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,560 saw the blue rim of the Earth. And he said, that's when I 120 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,120 understood what it's like to see light and darkness at the same 121 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,040 time. And we have to understand that 122 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,320 the God we are talking about was the one who said let there be 123 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,640 light in a dark universe, expanse of the universe and 124 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,560 spoke into being light. And then he sends his Son Jesus, 125 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,440 who is the light, who actually brings the light into the 126 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:25,960 darkest places of our life, who actually brings hope IN the most 127 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:28,400 hopeless of situations all around the globe. 128 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,280 I was recently reading this. It was a report that had come 129 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:38,240 from a country that experiences a lot of persecution and a bunch 130 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,360 of believers there have a secret church where people come and 131 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,480 visit them on Sundays just to worship God together. 132 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,280 They we meet underground. And the amazing thing was the 133 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,440 stories of hope that they were talking about. 134 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,000 And these are people who risk their lives to make it into 135 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:55,520 church. And these were some of the 136 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,680 things that some of these believers said. 137 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,560 This one person says we remember the gift God is to us. 138 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,680 Jesus is the true light, the genuine, perfect, steadfast 139 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,560 light. Another believer said his birth 140 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,920 was a light in the darkness for guiding the people. 141 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:15,320 Another person said my people are living in darkness and I 142 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:20,080 pray God would use me to reach my people to live in the light. 143 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,880 These are messages from those living in some of the most scary 144 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,800 regions of the world. Scary for believers. 145 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,400 And yet they are so committed to shining a light in the darkness. 146 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:35,280 They are so committed to leading others into the light. 147 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:37,880 And today I want to leave two things with you. 148 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,440 Why we need Jesus, the light of the world. 149 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:44,720 Why do I need Him as the light in my life? 150 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,080 2 reasons. Whatever you get out of today, I 151 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,320 pray you will receive these two things because these are 152 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:55,200 essential to understand what Jesus brings and why we need Him 153 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:56,840 so desperately. The first thing is that the 154 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:02,560 light brings clarity of vision. If you ever have played dark 155 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:05,400 room with friends, the minute you switch off all the lights, 156 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,120 there's a catcher who's outside in the light, but he enters a 157 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,960 dark room. So first it'll take you about 5 158 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:12,920 minutes for your eyes to get acclimatized to the darkness. 159 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,120 But then eventually you'll find that you will be able to make 160 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,320 out shapes even in the darkest of rooms. 161 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:20,720 You'll be able to discern. And sometimes you'll miss your 162 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,640 friend hiding in a closet or under the bed because you think 163 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:25,320 they're one of the other darkened shapes. 164 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,080 But the more you your eyes start adjusting to the dark, you'll 165 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,240 start to clearly see things even in the darkness. 166 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,600 And the reason for that is because a dark room, you know, 167 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,440 in our homes is really not fully dark. 168 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,560 There's always light creeping in from a crevice, from a door 169 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:44,920 crack, from a, a window, from behind a curtain. 170 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,480 There's always light creeping in. 171 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,800 And light has this beautiful capacity of justice penetrating 172 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,000 any space that has that is left open. 173 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:57,760 And I believe that the light brings clarity of vision. 174 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,800 Maybe 2024 just went by in a blur, blur for you. 175 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,040 Or maybe it was just filled with low moments. 176 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,320 Or maybe you had your highs, you had your low. 177 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:08,440 But when you're trying to take stock of the year, you're 178 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,520 thinking, I don't know where I was heading. 179 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,560 I don't know where I came. Or maybe you have a direction, 180 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,320 but you're wondering 2025 what is it going to look like? 181 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:21,120 And I want to encourage you that the Spirit of God, the Spirit of 182 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:25,840 Jesus reveals things that were otherwise hidden to us. 183 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,720 The beautiful is beautiful thing is that the Bible says where 184 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:31,840 there is no vision, people cast off restraint. 185 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,880 It is with the Spirit of God, with the Spirit of Jesus 186 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,760 himself, the light that we have vision, we have clarity of 187 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,480 vision so that so that the things that we are looking at, 188 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,560 we can see deeper. The things that are unseen we 189 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:45,360 begin to see. That's the beautiful thing. 190 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,040 Luke Chapter 11 verses 33 onwards. 191 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,280 This is what it says. No one lights a lamp and puts it 192 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,200 in a place where it will be hidden or under a bowl. 193 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,280 Instead, they put it on its stand so that those who come in 194 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,360 may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your 195 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,960 body. When your eyes are healthy, your 196 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,400 whole body also is full of light. 197 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:09,520 But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of 198 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,240 darkness. See to it then, that the light 199 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,520 within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is 200 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:19,320 full of light and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of 201 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,680 light as when a lamp shines its light on you. 202 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:24,520 I want you to look at this verse specifically. 203 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,960 It says your eye is the lamp of your body. 204 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:32,400 When your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body also is full of 205 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,640 darkness. When your eyes are healthy, your 206 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,040 whole body is filled with light. When we're talking about eyes, 207 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,000 we're talking about things that we see, the things that we 208 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,840 perceive, the things that we discern, the things that we view 209 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,040 through our physical eyes and yet have a spiritual lens to it. 210 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,800 So when I look at an obstacle, if it was just the flesh, I 211 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:52,840 would be looking at it and saying, Oh God, one more 212 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:54,360 obstacle. I can't do this anymore. 213 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:57,840 But when I start looking at it with vision, with discernment, 214 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,800 I'm going, God, there's something that you're doing just 215 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,080 beyond this obstacle. I'm going to push through. 216 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:03,840 I'm going to look for opportunities. 217 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,720 I'm going to ask you for solutions. 218 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,320 You see how vision changes when the Spirit of God is involved in 219 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,280 it. So often, because our eyes are 220 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,400 unhealthy, our vision is so clogged. 221 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:16,520 It's like we have spiritual cataracts. 222 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,080 We cannot see the vision that God has for you. 223 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:20,600 You don't know what you were created for. 224 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:22,280 You don't know what you were saved for. 225 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,080 You don't know what you're doing on earth when you start looking 226 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,680 at everything in Gray. You think, you know what, maybe 227 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:30,360 my life doesn't have meaning. You think everyone's out to get 228 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:31,640 you. You think there is no way 229 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,840 forward. But God is saying, I want to 230 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,120 give you eyes that are healthy. I want to clear your vision. 231 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,640 And that is what the light of the world does. 232 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,360 He gives you clarity. So even if your eyes have been 233 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,880 darkened the whole of 2024, you've looked at it through the 234 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:48,840 lens of this was a hopeless year, this was a failure of a 235 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,040 year. I want to encourage you, ask God 236 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,240 to give you fresh vision to see the year that has gone by 237 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,320 through His lens, because it's incredible. 238 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:00,480 When you start looking at things that seemed blurry or confusing 239 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,320 or haphazard, when you invite Jesus to shine a light on it, He 240 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,440 begins to show the dots that He joined. 241 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,160 He begins to show you the solutions that came about. 242 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,520 He begins to show you the people He had to move out in order for 243 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,880 you to reach your destiny. He shows you those situations 244 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,280 where you were made more strong, more enduring. 245 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,920 It felt like crushing, but you came out stronger. 246 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:25,280 So it's incredible. It's incredible what happens 247 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,000 when the light of the world shines into the dark places of 248 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:32,080 our heart, dark places of our mind, clears our vision so that 249 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:36,240 we can see better. It's so important because truly, 250 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,160 when you end a year, sometimes you come to the end of the year 251 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,800 still with, you know, huge remnant, leftover dreams, 252 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,480 leftover ambitions. You have disappointments, you 253 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:49,240 have anxieties, but when you invite Jesus into your vision, 254 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,160 the light of the world clears your vision. 255 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:54,440 He gives you a blueprint for the next year. 256 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,080 He tells you, you know what, No matter what happened last year, 257 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,000 this year, this is what I want you to do. 258 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,600 Two Corinthians chapter 4 verses four to six says the God of this 259 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,840 age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot 260 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,360 see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ who 261 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,240 is the image of God. For what we preach is not 262 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,680 ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your 263 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:21,600 servants for Jesus sake. For God who said let light shine 264 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:25,560 out of darkness, made His light shine in our hearts to give us 265 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:29,240 the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the 266 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:34,480 face of Christ. God has made His light shine in 267 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:38,280 your hearts so that you have the light or the knowledge of God's 268 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,360 glory displayed in the face of Christ. 269 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:44,800 It is unimaginable what God does when He actually fills you with 270 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:48,280 His light. No longer is God a distant 271 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,680 reality, No longer is here removed deity. 272 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,960 He is God in flesh. He is with you, He is Emmanuel. 273 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:55,760 You are looking at him and saying God. 274 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:57,760 As I walk through his trial, I know you're with me. 275 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,440 I know you're in me. As you come out of that 276 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,960 hospital, His glory is shining through you. 277 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,280 As you walk out of that grief, people are able to see Christ in 278 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,600 you, the hope of glory. It changes everything when the 279 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,640 light has entered and the the truth is, this is the truth. 280 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,520 The first line says that it displays it in all its honesty. 281 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,960 The God of his age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. 282 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:24,360 So people who don't know Jesus are so blinded to the reality 283 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,560 and the power of the gospel. But those of us who have said 284 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:31,640 yes to Jesus and keep saying yes to him, every day we walk in the 285 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:37,200 light of that gospel. And it's incredible because when 286 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,280 our spiritual vision has God's light shined on it, we begin to 287 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,600 see God as he really is, not as others proclaim him to be. 288 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:48,800 Other movements, other religions, assume God to be 289 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:50,920 something else. But when you start having 290 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,800 clarity of vision, God shows you who he is. 291 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,920 The Spirit of God reveals, reveals to you the mind of 292 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:58,400 Christ. The Spirit of God tells you 293 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,800 what's on God's heart for you. He tells you what's on God's 294 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,200 heart for humanity and you find is very different from what 295 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:10,680 others are professing of God. When your spiritual vision is 296 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,040 cleared, you start to view people differently. 297 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,040 Up until then you think of people in a certain way. 298 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,080 But when the Spirit of God gives you clarity, you begin to look 299 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,200 at people for who they are. You look at them as image 300 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:23,360 bearers. You honour them. 301 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:25,760 You, you show love, you show compassion. 302 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,280 But he also gives you discernment about certain 303 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,320 people. He allows certain things to 304 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:32,280 happen. He allows certain bridges to be 305 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,160 broken so that you see the person in entirety. 306 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,960 You have discernment about who to allow and who should sit at 307 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:42,760 your table and who shouldn't. It's incredible because 308 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:48,120 spiritual vision that is cleared sets you on another plane 309 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,000 spiritually. You start to understand who God 310 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,960 wants in your life, who He doesn't, and you're so submitted 311 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:59,800 to Him. You allow Him to lead the Spirit 312 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:02,560 of God when He gives you clarity, when the light of the 313 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:06,880 world brings light into your activities, the things that you 314 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,680 love to do, the things that you are called to do, your work, 315 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:14,280 your business, your career, the pursuits that you know thrill 316 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,240 you. When you invite Him in, He 317 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,640 shines a light on that. He shows you how to take the 318 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:20,760 next step. He teaches you when to restrain 319 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:22,520 yourself. He teaches you who to include. 320 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:28,319 He teaches you when to step out. It's powerful when the light of 321 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:32,000 the world enters my life and clears my vision. 322 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:34,840 Up until then, it's like we're groping in the dark. 323 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,080 Oh, I started this business, but I don't know how to do it. 324 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,640 I've gotten married, but I don't know how to navigate marriage. 325 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:41,320 I haven't seen a healthy 1 in the past. 326 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,600 Oh my goodness, I've had this baby but I don't know what to do 327 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,400 with this child. I have a teenager who's this is 328 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,040 my first teenager ever. I don't know how to navigate it, 329 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,120 but when I invite the light of the world in, everything somehow 330 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:56,600 changes. He starts to show me how to pray 331 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,520 for my children. He teaches me how to love my 332 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,400 spouse. He's teaching me how to run my 333 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,320 business. He teaches me how to promote the 334 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,080 things that I'm passionate about. 335 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,560 He teaches me how to love him deeper and to love people 336 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,640 better. And I would encourage you that 337 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,560 you will start to navigate your life with the light of your 338 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:19,800 world as the source. It is important that Jesus be 339 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,800 the one that gives you vision. It's great to put up your art 340 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,200 board with your vision, you know, statement for the year. 341 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,280 It's great to do all of that, but let the word of God be your 342 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:31,800 compass. Let it be the Mac. 343 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,760 Let the Spirit of God be your guide so that he gives you 344 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,320 vision beyond your physical eyes, beyond your senses. 345 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:41,440 You may think you know how the markets are going to turn out. 346 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,040 You may think you you sense how things are going to be in the 347 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:45,480 new year. But let me tell you something. 348 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,680 You need the Spirit of God to enlighten you about what's 349 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:51,880 coming. You need Him to teach you how to 350 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,000 prepare for the future. So the first thing that the 351 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,840 light of the world does is he gives you clarity of vision. 352 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:02,240 The second thing is that the light exposes darkness. 353 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:08,240 The light exposes darkness. It's so important to understand 354 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,480 that the light of the world, Christ himself, the 355 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,640 transformation he brings, nothing or no one else can 356 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:17,000 bring. Those of us who have been 357 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,440 ministry in ministry for a while, even though we've worked 358 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,840 with people who've seen lives turned around, honestly, there 359 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,680 is nothing about those moments of transformation that we can 360 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:27,760 take credit for. It has nothing to do with us. 361 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,120 Maybe it just takes a little bit of faithfulness on our part to 362 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,040 show up. But there's so many times we 363 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,320 have dropped the ball. And the reason these people 364 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,600 actually get transformed is because of Jesus himself. 365 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:44,840 Because Jesus is the light that exposes darkness and transforms 366 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,920 it completely. The darkness does not stand a 367 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,360 chance in the presence of the light of the world. 368 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,760 I'm reminded of that demoniac in the region of Gadarenes who 369 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:59,000 comes completely laden with the demonic. 370 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,800 He is in oppression. But the demons are so afraid 371 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,240 when they say Jesus, the light of the world, standing before 372 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,000 them, and they beg him not to send them into an abyss. 373 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:10,800 They themselves are scared of the darkness. 374 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,240 And here they're standing before the light of the world. 375 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,800 Bargaining. Send us into something else. 376 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:17,960 Don't just send us into the abyss. 377 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:24,000 And I love that our God Jesus exposes darkness so beautifully 378 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:29,240 and he doesn't leave us groping. He envelops it with his light. 379 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,600 John chapter 3 verses 1921. This is what it says. 380 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,520 This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, 381 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,000 but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds 382 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,080 were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the 383 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,280 light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds 384 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,080 will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth 385 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:52,160 comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what 386 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:56,680 they have done has been done in the sight of God. 387 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,800 Light has come into the world. People love darkness instead 388 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,720 because their deeds were evil. And a lot of times when we read 389 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:07,800 this verse, we're thinking of somebody immediately or that 390 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,800 person, or they do this corrupt thing, or they cut corners, or I 391 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:13,480 know about that person's marriage. 392 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,680 But what if we were to turn this and look at ourselves through 393 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,760 the light of this verse? Jesus, the light has come into 394 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,960 the world. But do I love the darkness more 395 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,160 than I love the light? Everyone who does evil hates the 396 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:32,280 light. That one light, that one text, 397 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:38,480 that one cut corner shows that I hate the light and prefer the 398 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:42,160 darkness. But whoever lives by the truth 399 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:46,800 comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what 400 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:48,520 they have done, they have done in the sight of God. 401 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:53,480 What if we were to start living in such a way where we give God 402 00:21:53,720 --> 00:22:00,200 complete access, complete access to every part of our lives. 403 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,480 We say this often in our sermons. 404 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,360 There's sometimes there's some parts of our life that are not 405 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:08,120 given access to God. Well, like you know what Lord? 406 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:10,920 Little bit of light here is OK, but I'm sorted. 407 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,920 The rest of it I can manage. I have this new lamp at home 408 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:19,880 which has a small regulator. So when I want more light, I 409 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:21,720 just increase it and brightness increases. 410 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,840 And when I want a very dim feel, I can completely reduce it down. 411 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,040 And sometimes we operate with God like that. 412 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,720 Lord, you know what my business a little bit of your light is 413 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,000 enough because you don't know what the the current regulations 414 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:33,800 are. You don't know what the 415 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,880 stringent laws are. You don't know what it's like to 416 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:41,480 run it all completely white and so a little bit less light. 417 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,360 Oh, but in church I put my light on full because I need to look a 418 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:49,240 certain way, act a certain way. Oh, but when I'm alone at home, 419 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:54,440 left to my own devices, I switched the light off because I 420 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,760 don't need that. I prefer darkness. 421 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,360 God is calling us into a place of being so self aware of where 422 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:05,120 our darkness lies. You know, we are a self obsessed 423 00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:07,240 generation, self obsessed people. 424 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,520 We talk about self love, self-care and selfies and the 425 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,920 like. But we are the least self aware. 426 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,200 The minute we read verses like this, we're like, oh, that 427 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,360 person, that person needs their light, you know, needs more 428 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:22,200 light in their life. There's a lot of darkness. 429 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,640 But I believe God is asking us to search our hearts like David 430 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,720 writes, search me O God and know my heart. 431 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,760 Try me and see if there's any wickedness in me and then lead 432 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,320 me in the way everlasting he's talking about. 433 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,680 He's revealing, he's breaking open his heart and saying, Lord, 434 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,080 shine your light on me. It's like a Searchlight and 435 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,080 searchlights are bright. They are harsh. 436 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,240 If you've ever been in a in a makeup trailer at a, you know, 437 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,840 film shoot, the makeup trailer has a mirror with lights all 438 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:57,080 around it. And these lights are quite harsh 439 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,080 and bright. The reason being when they 440 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:01,680 switch that on, the person seated in front ready for their 441 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:06,200 makeup to be done needs every flaw and line and wrinkle 442 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,160 exposed so that the makeup artist can cover it up. 443 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,520 And here we're coming to Jesus and we're saying, Lord Jesus, 444 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:15,400 put your shorts Searchlight on me. 445 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:18,760 I don't need to know what someone else is doing wrong. 446 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,120 I need to know what I'm doing wrong. 447 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:24,440 God and the light of the world is so magnanimous that even when 448 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:29,520 his light searchlights are on us, it is on us in order to 449 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:33,520 bring us to a place of deep repentance, confession, and 450 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:36,920 release. It is not to diminish us. 451 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,920 It's not to cover it up like makeup would, but instead to 452 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,040 say, hey, I exposed the darkness, but I'll bring life 453 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,000 where I bring light. It's amazing. 454 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:50,440 Ephesians chapter 5 verses 8 to 14 says, For you were once 455 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,160 darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 456 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,520 Live as children of light. For the fruit of the light 457 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,520 consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. 458 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,320 And find out what pleases the Lord. 459 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,600 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but 460 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:06,960 rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention 461 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,960 what the disobedient do in secret, but everything exposed 462 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,480 by the light becomes visible and everything that is illuminated 463 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,320 becomes a light. That is why it is said, wake up 464 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,400 sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. 465 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:21,920 It's amazing what he's saying here. 466 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,680 He says children of light, the fruit of the light that is seen 467 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,040 in our lives is righteousness, goodness and truth. 468 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,400 And when we are saved, that doesn't happen overnight. 469 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,840 It happens overtime, it happens over a lifetime. 470 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,680 So don't disqualify yourselves. And when you're reading this and 471 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,600 say, oh, I'm probably a child of darkness, No, the minute you 472 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:40,960 were saved, you were brought from the Kingdom of darkness and 473 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,800 put into the Kingdom of light. And the light within us is Jesus 474 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,440 in US, Christ in US. And as we get to know Him, as 475 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,280 the light begins to spread, as dark things get exposed and 476 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:56,920 dealt with, the light begins to grow brighter, and eventually 477 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,920 everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything 478 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:01,720 that is illuminated becomes a light. 479 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:06,320 The brighter the inner man gets, the more others begin to notice. 480 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,680 They find that the truth comes out of your mouth faster than a 481 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:11,440 lie. They find that your 482 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,360 righteousness in Christ comes from Christ. 483 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,640 You're humble and yet you're confident. 484 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:20,080 They find that you are good to people even when they aren't so 485 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,480 good to you. They find that you are quiet 486 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:24,200 when you should be ranting and raving. 487 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:26,800 You're quiet instead of choosing slander. 488 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:30,560 That's when you know you're a child of light. 489 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:34,360 You are growing in maturity as a child in the light. 490 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:39,480 But the question is, how aware are we of the darkness within 491 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:40,600 us? How aware? 492 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:45,400 How ready are you for God to show you some of those well 493 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:50,200 hidden, you know, well crafted camouflaged flaws and 494 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,120 depravities? And all of us have darkness in 495 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:54,560 US. Let's not kid ourselves. 496 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,560 Every single one of us have dark sides to our character, have 497 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,960 dark sides that have happened over years. 498 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:08,120 You talk to a little child, any child above the age of five, 499 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,240 there is that hint of darkness in them just because of the 500 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,240 world they are exposed to, because of the things and 501 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:18,360 situations that they experience. And yet God is saying I am the 502 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:21,640 light of the world, who he who walks with me will never walk in 503 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,320 darkness. And so there is hope for the 504 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,800 darkest ones of us, the ones, those of us who feel, you know 505 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,200 what? There's too much darkness in me. 506 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:31,800 I don't think even Jesus can penetrate. 507 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,000 I want to tell you, he can penetrate anything with his 508 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,520 light. He's so powerful, a light 509 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,960 source. You know, all of us have public 510 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,960 and private lives. The public life is our persona. 511 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,040 It's what we carry. It's what we walk into rooms 512 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,040 with. The private life is the one, the 513 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,240 one that we live at home, one that our spouse and our children 514 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,400 see. But some of us have a third 515 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:59,120 life, which is a secret life, and that is usually what no one 516 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:01,600 gets to see. And we somehow assume even God 517 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,440 can't see that. But the beautiful thing is when 518 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:09,200 I invite Jesus, the light of the world in, he begins to expose 519 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,040 that secret life to me. And he says this is the area 520 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,560 which you think you're hiding from me, but I can see it in 521 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,920 plain sight. And I want to see you restored. 522 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,240 I want to see you healed. I want to see you illuminated 523 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:23,440 from within. So will you hand it off to me? 524 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:27,360 And today I want to ask you, which part of your life is so 525 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:30,200 secretive that even your spouse doesn't know about it, even your 526 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:32,840 parents don't know about it, your best friends don't know 527 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:36,960 about it. God is calling you and he's 528 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:39,720 asking you, would you let me light, shine my light on that? 529 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,680 When we give access to Jesus, like I talked about that lamp, 530 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,000 when we give him full access, we're not modulating him. 531 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,840 We're saying God, you be God in my life, Show up as you will. 532 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,640 Shine on me every secret compartment, every compartment, 533 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,880 Shine your light so that there is no compartment with darkness. 534 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,680 All of it has light. Can you imagine what our life 535 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:07,960 would look like? The problem though is we live in 536 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:13,320 a time of fake or fabricated counterfeit. 537 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:18,080 We have people who are making counterfeit coins and and notes. 538 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:22,000 We have powders that were exported, you know, spice 539 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,000 powders which were fake. They had brick powder and sort 540 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,840 of chilli powder. We live in a time of inauthentic 541 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,760 false. And So what we have done is 542 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,240 instead of turning to Jesus, the light of the world, we have 543 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,480 turned to other sources of light, thinking they were the 544 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,880 light of the world, but in reality they were counterfeits. 545 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,040 They are not the real light. This is the light of the world, 546 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,960 capital L, capital West. But we have looked at other 547 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:52,600 lights and thought they were the light. 548 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,240 Because, you know, very often it looks like the truth, but it 549 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,520 isn't. It sounds like the truth, but it 550 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,240 isn't. And God is calling us into a 551 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,040 place of saying all that you need. 552 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:07,040 You will find in me. Jesus is saying everything you 553 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:09,080 need because my light sustains life. 554 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,800 Everything that you will ever need, you come to me for. 555 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:14,920 Instead. We're settling for those LED 556 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,160 lamps, whereas settling for Hue. We're settling for those, you 557 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,440 know, small little bulbs because it looks fancy. 558 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:22,960 It's filament. But God is saying I am the 559 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:24,440 source. Come to me. 560 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,600 But we keep choosing counterfeit. 561 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:32,840 I was reading up this article that a science magazine had put 562 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:38,520 up of how even animals are getting confused by something 563 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:40,440 called light pollution. You know what that is? 564 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:45,080 When artificial lights are so bright, it mimics the sunlight 565 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,720 and actually changes the rhythms of birds and animals. 566 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,320 So by migratory birds, migratory animals actually get confused 567 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,800 when they see St. lights. They could get confused when 568 00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:01,040 they see tube lights, turtles that have to migrate into the 569 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,360 ocean and then, you know, go away, far away. 570 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,560 They actually turn away from the ocean, come onto main roads 571 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:09,680 looking at the light, thinking it's moonlight, and get hit by 572 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,320 trucks. Migratory birds which need to 573 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:16,680 fly across continents, get confused because of the light, 574 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,640 the artificial light held by cities. 575 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,480 And I was thinking when I was watching that, I was thinking 576 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:27,360 how messed up life has become even for us humans because we're 577 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:29,960 so desperate for the light and we have looked at the wrong 578 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,120 sources. When we look at the wrong 579 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:36,280 source, much like those turtles, much like those migratory birds, 580 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:40,880 we have gone off track. We lost vision, we lost our 581 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:45,160 destiny, our destination, and we veered off course and God is 582 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:49,280 calling us back to him. God is calling us back to Jesus. 583 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,040 It's never too late. We're at the last few weeks of 584 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,440 this year and God is saying, will you come back to Jesus? 585 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:57,680 The source? Jesus is the source of all 586 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,080 light. Jesus is the true light. 587 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:06,760 In him there is no darkness. Revelation chapter 22, verses 15 588 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,160 says this. Then the Angel showed me the 589 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,520 river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from 590 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,280 the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the 591 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:19,840 great city, of the street of the city, on each side of the river 592 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:23,720 stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its 593 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,680 fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are 594 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,600 for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any 595 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,400 curse. The throne of God and the Lamb 596 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,560 will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. 597 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,720 They will see His face, and His name will not be on their 598 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,000 foreheads. There will be no more night. 599 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:44,280 They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, 600 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,480 for the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign 601 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:52,000 forever and ever. I love that there are two 602 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:56,160 elements which are very outstanding in this. 603 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,080 He says He does not. They will not need the light of 604 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:02,000 a lamp or of the sun, for the Lord their God will give them, 605 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:05,600 like Jesus, the light of the world will continue to be the 606 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:07,120 light of the world. But then there's this 607 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,400 interesting thing of the tree of life. 608 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:12,440 It's found on either side of the river. 609 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,680 And the same thing is mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, and it 610 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:19,720 talks about these trees that are planted beside the river, right? 611 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:23,520 And they're bearing fruit every month, every season, without 612 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:25,920 fail. But interestingly, it mentions 613 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:29,040 one part of the plant, which we don't talk about too much, and 614 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,640 that is the leaves. It says the leaves of the tree 615 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,200 are for the healing of the nations. 616 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,560 No longer will there be any curse. 617 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,440 And what has got my attention for as long as I've read this 618 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,240 passages, What does that mean? Why does he talk about the 619 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:43,560 leaves? We know about fruit. 620 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,520 We know fruit is important. We know fruit has to be born in 621 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,120 every season, irrespective of how favorable it is. 622 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:52,000 But the botanist in me had to go deeper. 623 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:53,840 And this is the interesting thing. 624 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:59,720 The sign of health in a plant is the evidence in the leaves. 625 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,240 You can have the best fruit and best flowers, but if your leaves 626 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:05,160 are not thriving, the plant is not healthy. 627 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:10,239 And so leaves are the areas, they're the kitchen, they're the 628 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:14,040 the places where the food is made, glucose is made and then 629 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:15,560 transported to the rest of the plant. 630 00:34:16,159 --> 00:34:19,320 And the source of that energy is the sun itself. 631 00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:22,800 The sun gives energy to the leaves. 632 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,679 Food is prepared in the leaves and then through the veins and 633 00:34:25,679 --> 00:34:28,600 veins is taken to the rest, through all the, you know, the 634 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,840 inner conduction systems. Food is transported everywhere, 635 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:36,679 but fundamentally to the leaves. Energy is the sun, the light of 636 00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:39,960 the sun. And for those of us who are so, 637 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,600 you know, used to indoor plants, we don't have big gardens 638 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:45,320 anymore. We live in urban cities. 639 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,320 We have smaller houses, smaller balconies. 640 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:50,960 We've got indoor plants, right? And so we have these cute little 641 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:55,280 ZZ plants and spider plant, very cute, very contained in pots. 642 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,240 And the person who sells it to us says, you know what, You 643 00:34:58,240 --> 00:34:59,920 don't have to keep it in direct sunlight. 644 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:03,920 But I have not yet met a gardener tell me that you can 645 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,680 manage with artificial light. All of them will tell me they 646 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,200 don't need direct sunlight, but once in a while keep them in the 647 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,720 sun. Keep it near a window. 648 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:15,040 Don't keep it near the glass, but keep it where there's 649 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:18,160 filtered sunlight. All of them unanimously will 650 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,480 tell me one thing. They need the sun, but not all 651 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:22,960 the time. Keep it in and keep it out. 652 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,240 None of them told me an artificial table lamp will do 653 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:28,680 the job. None of them told me the tube 654 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,680 light will do the job. So why are we as humans so 655 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:38,560 content with fake sources of light instead of going to the 656 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:42,120 light himself? It doesn't stop there. 657 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:46,080 The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 658 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,760 As you and I stand in the presence of God as we live 659 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,680 surrendered lives, as we live exposed to Him and saying Lord, 660 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:57,360 you can shine your light into every part of my life. 661 00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:59,960 I'm an open book. It's incredible because the 662 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,800 evidence of what He is doing in US will bless others. 663 00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:06,720 Anything that is illuminated becomes a light. 664 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:10,800 We read about that as you become illuminated within, as the 665 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,640 darkest parts of your life are touched by the light of God, 666 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,480 something changes. Something shifts. 667 00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:22,000 Trauma changes into testimony. Brokenness changes into 668 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:27,360 incredible strength. Long waits turn into these 669 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:31,240 incredible promises fulfilled. Something changes when the light 670 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:35,880 touches and no longer are you living for yourself, you are 671 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:39,600 living for the glory of God because now you are a blessing 672 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:44,040 to many others. So many of us are so content in 673 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:47,320 receiving our healing being restored, you know, finding that 674 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,560 inner joy and peace in Christ, but then we do nothing with it. 675 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:55,760 What you have received must make you a light better so that you 676 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:59,120 then shine that light on others and draw them to Christ so that 677 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:02,240 your leaves are then used for healing for others. 678 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:05,000 Maybe you've felt you've been in a crushing season this year. 679 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,360 Maybe you feel you're heading into a crushing season because 680 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:12,720 of a diagnosis or a separation or a breakdown of some sort and 681 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:16,680 God is saying when those leaves are crushed, they will bring 682 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:19,840 healing to the nations. Don't be afraid of the crushing, 683 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,000 don't be afraid of the breaking, don't be afraid of the of the 684 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,840 you know, the crushing that the Lord allows because in that so 685 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:31,080 much of power is being released to the nations and the nations 686 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,440 will then turn to Jesus, the light. 687 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:39,200 For too long we have been running on fake light. 688 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:42,520 We think the things we are reading, the things we are 689 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,760 consuming, the people we are listening to will be enough. 690 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,160 But it's time we stop looking at the counterfeit and we look at 691 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,240 the true source. The true source is Jesus 692 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:54,680 himself. You need help on in fitness, 693 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:56,800 your fitness in your weight loss? 694 00:37:57,240 --> 00:37:59,520 Turn to the light source, the one who created you. 695 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:01,480 You've been needing help with parenting? 696 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:06,280 Turn to the light source. You've been helped, needing help 697 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:07,720 in understanding the Word of God? 698 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,200 Turn to the light source, the one who brings revelation. 699 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:14,360 Have you been needing help in your relationships? 700 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:19,880 In your marriage? Stop turning to alternate 701 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:23,600 sources. Your parent might be wise, but 702 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:28,200 they're not the light. That podcast, that speaker might 703 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:32,200 be great as a motivational speaker, but the one who desires 704 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:35,360 for you to win, desires for you to succeed is the light of the 705 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,800 world. Maybe you've been hooked on to 706 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:43,280 those YouTube tutorials to advance yourself in a certain 707 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:45,280 space. God is saying, come to me, do 708 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:48,320 that. But your source has to be me. 709 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:54,480 Maybe you've been looking to to grow financially and you've been 710 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:58,240 looking at all these sources, but God is saying, come to me, 711 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:06,040 the light source, come to me. Enough of running on fake light. 712 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:09,040 Ultimately, all of that is hearsay. 713 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:12,160 When you have unlimited access, why are you settling for 714 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:14,200 hearsay? Go to the source. 715 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:17,680 Go to the source. Some of us have allowed 716 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:21,960 ourselves and, and you know, just opened ourselves up to 717 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:25,080 counterfeit light. We've allowed the enemy to speak 718 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:27,920 lies into our relationships. We have, we have indulged in 719 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:31,480 things we never should have, which was not beneficial to us, 720 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,320 which has been detrimental for our families, our marriages, our 721 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:37,280 children, our jobs. God is not pleased when we 722 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:39,040 choose the fake light over the real. 723 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:44,320 Remember this in Two Corinthians Chapter 11 verse 14, it says, 724 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:48,160 and no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an Angel of 725 00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:51,720 light. He is an expert impersonator. 726 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:55,800 He will make bad things look good just for you to consume it. 727 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:58,360 And after that, when it's too late, we realise just how bad it 728 00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:02,520 was for us. Teenagers today are listening to 729 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:05,880 motivational speakers. We're talking about finding your 730 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:10,720 inner peace, growing your circle of influence, making more money. 731 00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:15,280 Science has become a religion. Making money quick seems to be 732 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,440 the norm. None of that is in keeping with 733 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:19,960 what the light of the world has for you. 734 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,640 He has better things. He has a process. 735 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:25,760 And when you get to know him, when you allow him in, when you 736 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:30,240 give him unlimited access, he will direct your parts, he will 737 00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:32,680 show you what to do next. He will clear your vision enough 738 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,880 to know what's next, what to do. He will shine a light on the 739 00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:40,720 dark places in your life so that every part of you is illuminated 740 00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:44,880 and is a blessing to others. Those of you who have little 741 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:47,480 kids, careful what they watch because the things they are 742 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:52,040 consuming, lot of it has overtones of witchcraft, of 743 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:57,480 sorcery, all kinds of relationships that are 744 00:40:57,480 --> 00:40:59,520 encouraged through the small little cartoons. 745 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:04,760 Be wise. Let us not entertain the Father 746 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,480 of lies. Let us not allow ourselves to 747 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:13,000 bask in the temporary glory of fake light. 748 00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:16,600 Let's look to the source of light ourselves. 749 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:22,280 Let us turn to Him. 1 John chapter 1 verses 57 says this. 750 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:25,000 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to 751 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:26,520 you. God is light in Him. 752 00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:30,120 There is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship 753 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,360 with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live 754 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:35,440 out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as 755 00:41:35,440 --> 00:41:38,480 He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and 756 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:43,000 the blood of Jesus His Son purifies us from all sin. 757 00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:47,880 So I pray that even as we read this that we will be like those 758 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:52,280 trees planted by streams of water, where we're rooted 759 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:54,960 strongly in the Word of God. And that we are. 760 00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:58,880 We've got roots that go deep and wide, that no matter what storm 761 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:02,880 comes, we are not pushed around. But then let us be those whose 762 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,560 leaves are turned to the sun, the true source, and so that 763 00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:10,960 every leaf that is being touched by the sunlight is a source of 764 00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:13,960 healing for someone else. You're listening to someone else 765 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,520 could heal them. You're praying for them, could 766 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,720 bring bring breakthrough. You're interceding for of your 767 00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:23,280 family, could change everything. Your behaviour, your attitude, 768 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:27,560 you're you're stepping out in love, your hospitality, all of 769 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:33,080 it involves your leaves bringing healing to the nation. 770 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:38,960 Transformation starts when you allow the light to come in and 771 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:41,480 transform the darkness within you into light. 772 00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:45,320 I want to ask you, how have you been thus far? 773 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:47,200 Has this year brought out the worst? 774 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:52,240 Have you been abrasive, pushy, rash, brash, so much so that 775 00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:55,520 people would rather stay away or just have very limited time with 776 00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:57,800 you? Have you been so difficult in 777 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,840 your marriage that your spouse has probably wanted time away 778 00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:03,600 from you? Have you been heavy-handed with 779 00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:07,120 your children? Have your friends consistently 780 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:11,480 moved away because they cannot handle yourself willed ways? 781 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,120 It may be time for an intervention. 782 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:17,520 It may be time that the light of the world has to penetrate the 783 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:22,080 darkest recesses of your soul. The larger mission. 784 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,720 Remember this, the larger mission, as much as the light 785 00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:28,240 brings us clarity of vision, that vision will always involve 786 00:43:28,240 --> 00:43:30,840 the world at large. It'll always involve the people 787 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:34,360 that God wants you to reach as much as he wants to transform 788 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:37,120 the darkness within us. There are pockets around the 789 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:41,560 world which are so dark, and he has saved us to bring those 790 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:45,360 places into light. So what is it God is calling you 791 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,560 to do? What is God calling you to do? 792 00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:51,000 As you look at this image, I just want to look at this image. 793 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:55,240 This was an image taken by a satellite, and it's basically 794 00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:58,200 the earth at any given time. And when you look at this 795 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,960 picture, you've realized that there are some pockets which are 796 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:07,160 brightly lit, probably because it's it's visible at that time 797 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:10,040 on the satellite, but there's some which are so dark. 798 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:12,880 And while we know there's a rationale for that, well, it's 799 00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:14,720 probably night there. So all the lights are on in 800 00:44:14,720 --> 00:44:18,120 those places or I don't know whether that those places are 801 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:20,000 having experiencing daylight at the time. 802 00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:25,200 Whatever it is, this should be a representation of what the world 803 00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:28,000 looks like spiritually and how we as lights. 804 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:32,400 If you can picture every every light on that image as someone 805 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:35,880 who knows Jesus, look at the number of dark patches around 806 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:39,320 the globe. God is calling us into the 807 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:43,080 darkest places to be His lights. You bear the light. 808 00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:45,240 A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 809 00:44:46,640 --> 00:44:52,000 We are called to be the light of the world and God is asking that 810 00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:54,400 the greater mission be fulfilled in our lives. 811 00:44:55,600 --> 00:45:00,080 The greater mission which is as the light touches us, we become 812 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:04,080 illuminated to become a light for others so that we reach them 813 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:06,720 and point them to the light of the world. 814 00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:12,240 So what are you choosing to expose yourself to today? 815 00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:16,680 Is it to a fake light? Is it to the light of modern day 816 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:20,040 culture, modern day religious beliefs, the things that 817 00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:22,360 everyone else settles for? Oregon, will you take the 818 00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:25,360 trouble to open yourself up to the light of the moon? 819 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:28,400 That's the question. Can we pray? 820 00:45:29,560 --> 00:45:32,080 Father in heaven, I just thank you so much for what you are 821 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:35,600 doing in our lives. We thank you that God, you are 822 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:39,440 working deep within us. We thank you that your light is 823 00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:43,120 so powerful yet so gentle. We thank you that Lord, it 824 00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:47,720 probes the darkest parts of our lives, bringing light to every 825 00:45:47,720 --> 00:45:50,520 area. Thank you God that you are the 826 00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:53,920 light of the world. Thank you God that you bring 827 00:45:53,920 --> 00:45:58,960 life wherever you go. And today we ask each of us 828 00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:02,360 here, ask you, God, that you would shine your light upon 829 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:06,400 every compartment of our lives. Private, public, secret, make it 830 00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:09,560 1. We pray God will be people who 831 00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:13,200 live in awareness of justice. How much we need you. 832 00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:16,440 God, I pray that you would change the parts of our life 833 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:18,920 where darkness is overwhelmed and overrun it. 834 00:46:19,720 --> 00:46:22,120 We pray that your light would trickle back in. 835 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:26,360 God, I pray for those who have limited your light's exposure in 836 00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:29,520 their lives, who have Lord kept you out of certain areas. 837 00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:33,800 I pray today will be the day they drop, that they allow you 838 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:35,920 to shine on them. Father, I pray for those who 839 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:39,320 need clarity of vision. I pray that you would illuminate 840 00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:41,440 their eyes, God. Their spiritual eyes will be 841 00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:44,400 open to see the things that You have for them. 842 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:48,680 Help them to see and understand how big Your vision for them is. 843 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:52,600 I pray for those who've cast off restraint because they have no 844 00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:54,720 vision. I pray today that would change, 845 00:46:55,320 --> 00:46:57,080 that You would open up their eyes. 846 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:03,440 I pray that You will tune their senses to you, God, we pray that 847 00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:08,000 every false source of light be broken and will fall to the 848 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:10,840 ground. Expose the false sources of 849 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,680 light in our life, God. If it's social media, if it's an 850 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:17,000 influencer, if it's a friend, if it's a parent, if it's a spouse, 851 00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:22,080 expose it for what it is so that we, Lord, turn to you, the true 852 00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:26,000 light. Help us God, help us, Father. 853 00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:30,560 May your will in our lives be done so that we bring heaven to 854 00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:33,800 earth. Help us God, help us to be a 855 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:36,040 light right where you have placed us. 856 00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:38,880 Help us, O God, to lead many more to you. 857 00:47:39,720 --> 00:47:43,000 We pray all of this in your Son's name, Amen. 858 00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:47,240 God bless you. I pray that you will enjoy the 859 00:47:47,240 --> 00:47:49,600 light of the world in this season with all the lights on 860 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:51,480 your Christmas tree. If you look all around us, we 861 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:54,400 have lights everywhere, but it's a reminder that we have the 862 00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:58,080 light of the world in our lives. No more do we have an excuse to 863 00:47:58,080 --> 00:48:01,880 stay drenched in darkness that we would come alive in the 864 00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:03,240 light. God bless you. 865 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:07,720 Have a lovely week. Thanks for listening to this 866 00:48:07,720 --> 00:48:10,840 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 867 00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:14,560 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 868 00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:17,200 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 869 00:48:17,680 --> 00:48:21,000 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 870 00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:24,120 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 871 00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:28,800 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 872 00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:33,320 and to connect with us, go to viazion.in. 873 00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:37,480 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.