Arise, Shine!

Pastor Melinda Song

Isaiah 60:1-3, NIV

¹ “Arise, shine, for your light has come, 

and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 

²      See, darkness covers the earth 

and thick darkness is over the peoples, 

but the Lord rises upon you 

and his glory appears over you. 

³      Nations will come to your light, 

and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on 3^rd anniversary!

Do you know what kumbar means? It is a thorny, stemless palm resembling the Salacca. Kamus Dewan says it is a salak ringan.

 Why did God plant a church here? Because Teluk needs the light of the good news of God.

A. The Darkness That Covers the Earth

1.          In our world evil gets the headlines

a.    23 dead when a group of teenagers set fire to a religious school over a name calling incident

b.    From suicide bombers the terrorists have progressed to driving vehicles into crowds.

c.     Nuclear weapons in N. Korea & the threat of nuclear war

d.    Floods in some places and drought in others

e.    The vulnerable are abused physically, verbally and emotionally

f.       We all accept the fact that politics is a dirty business: we expect lies and corruption

g.    Television and cinema shows celebrate the occult. Language gets worse by the day.

h.    Christians are being slaughtered for our faith in numbers never seen before.

B. The Light Has Come

1.          This prophecy was spoken by Isaiah to Zion

·      While darkness covers the earth

·      God's glory shines on and over Zion

·      And people are naturally drawn to light

2.          This is also a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

·      The Light of God’s glory came when God the Son was born in the flesh as a little baby in Bethlehem.

·      Jesus, the Light of the world had come. He is the light in the darkness

John 1:4-5, 9 (NIV)

⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it…. ⁹ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

·      God's glory will be seen in Him

·      People will come to Him

·      Wise men will bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh

·      Others proclaim the praise of the Lord

·      John 8:12 (NIV)

[Jesus] said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

·      1 John 1:5 (NIV) God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

3.          This verse also speaks to us.

·      1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 

C. The Lord’s Glory Rises upon Us

1.          God’s glory is God’s very presence.

John 1:14 (NIV)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

2.          His glory rises over you (vv. 1-2) like the sun chasing away the darkness of the night.

a.  When we’re in the dark the sun still shines even though we cannot see it.              

b.  Dawn is when we see the sun rising

-    When God shows up, darkness runs off.

-    When God shows up, we can see things as they really are.

3.          The rising of God’s glory means it’s a new day for us.

a.  The night is over, the day has come.

b.  It’s time to start afresh, start with the freshness of the morning dew.

c.  When God comes shining on us, it’s TIME for us to rise and shine!

4.          It’s not our own light that shines.

a.  We have no light of our own.

b.  God dawns on us and we reflect His light.

c.  Like planets reflect the light of their sun, we shine by reflecting God’s radiance that stream from His glorious being

d.  2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 

D. Arise and Shine!

1.          We are the light of the World!

a.  Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

b.  The purpose of light is to shine, not to stay hidden.

2.          People are attracted to the light

a.  Light is a curious thing to those who live in the dark most of the time.

b.  Like nocturnal insects, they are attracted to it.

c.  That means the light shines in a way that gets noticed!

d.  This is our part: if the nations are supposed to be attracted to the light, they’re going to have to see it.

3.          God’s promise: When we shine out God’s glory, the nations will come (v. 3)

a.  In a dark world, the light of Jesus shines as a beacon of hope

-    Most people know this world is a mess.

-    The good news about God’s love, is a light in the window to a world trying to get home.

Conclusion

1.          The people are in darkness, but the Lord's light is on us.

2.          We have the answer to the darkness in people's souls!

3.          We are called out of darkness and into the Light.

4.          We are Christ's light to the world.

5.          God's glory shines on us! It’s a new day! Let us arise, and shine!

6.          The people will come to us if we truly shine Christ.

a.  Let us go out to the ends of the earth and shine so that people will come.

b.  Evangelizing is sometimes simply taking off the bowl and putting the lamp on the lampstand! You are that city on a hill!