Scripture: Romans 13:8-14 (Call to worship - Psalm 149)
Theme: Light Living - Being a Person of Light
1. People of Light are People of Love
2. People of Light don't Adopt Lifestyles of Darkness
3. People of Light Wear God's Armor of Light
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus Christ, God's Only Son, our Messiah and King!
Good morning!
Did you know that the older we get the more we become morning people. At least, that's according to the latest scientific evidence collected by a number of human behavioral specialists, scientists that study aging along with a number of sociologists. It happens as we age year by year. By the time most of us reach our 60's and 70's we will have transformed from being night owls to morning people.
Now, that may make some of you happy while others it may bring a little disappointment. You discover that you can't stay out all night and feel good the next day. You discover that you can't bounce back as well as you did a few years ago. Overall, I think it would make the Apostle Paul very happy. In our passage this morning, Paul wants to challenge us to be daytime or daylight people in Christ. Paul wants us to be people living in the light of Christ rather than people of who choose to live in sin and darkness.
Paul wants us to enjoy a full life of salvation and spiritual transformation. Paul wants us to wake up and enjoy living life in Christ by being radically indwelt with His Holy Spirit. He is wanting us to change the way that we envision our lives and how we live out those lives in Christ. He challenges us by getting us to look at the difference between those who rise early and live their lives in Christ verses those who remain asleep only to barely wake up and live their lives in darkness.
Now, is Paul in this passage condemning those among us who are night owls? Of course not. That is not his intention. But at the same time, I believe Paul's words are giving us some definitive warnings about the temptations and the concerns that can happen when we overly become people of the night. For there are some things that happen at night that can be very detrimental to our walk in Christ. There are some temptations that become very difficult to resist the later we stay out at night.
To understand all that Paul is saying in this passage let's take some moments this morning and look at our passage in more detail.
I. Paul wants us to understand that People of Light are also People of Love - v. 8-11
If you didn't know better you would think that Paul started off this passage wanting to share some advice concerning how we approach our finances. That Paul wants to give his readers some needed financial advice. A few verses earlier Paul touched on the areas of being subject to certain authorities and the need to be a good citizen. Paul focused on the need to obey and pay one's taxes.
Ugh. How much better would some of us have felt if Paul had advocated the idea of us not paying our taxes on some spiritual ground. If Paul had said that when the government is evil then we as followers of Jesus can simply refuse to pay our taxes. But Paul doesn't, does he? Instead, his words are clear -
"That too, is why you pay taxes. The officials in question are God's ministers, attending to this very thing. So pay each of them what is owed; tribute to those who collect it, revenue to those who collect it. Respect those who should be respected. Honor the people one ought to honor." Romans 13:6-7 (KNT)
Paul is wanting his readers and listeners to be good citizens. In like manner, we are to live the same way today. Even though we may not like taxes and revenues and the leaders that have authority over us we are to pray for them, do our best to honor and obey them and as best we can to pay our taxes. That does not mean that we subsequently bow down to their lawlessness, their immorality or their godliness. We do all we can to be good citizens of this earth but be even better citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. There were those times that Paul willingly suffered at the hands of pagan rulers in order to be true to His Heavenly King Jesus. There are times that we may have to suffer as well.
Paul goes from those statements by telling us that we should not be in debt to anyone. It would be easy to go off on a tangent and start talking about fiscal responsibility, financial planning and Christian stewardship. However, that is not what Paul is doing here. Although, it is good for us to not find ourselves enslaved in financial debt - whether that debt is individual debt, family debt, church debt or community debt. We all know that millions of people, thousands of churches and hundreds of communities have found themselves in financial ruin because they foolishly took on too much debt. They tried to bite off more than they could chew so to speak.
So, we can look at the beginning of verse 8 and thank the Apostle Paul for some very sound financial advice. We should be very careful before we go into debt.
However, Paul uses that idea as a launching board to tell us that we should be indebted to one another in the agape love department. When it comes to giving and receiving love we all are indebted to the LORD and to one another. For as people of light we are also first and foremost people of love.
And as people of love we think, we act, we speak and we share love. Not the kind of cheap love that the world promotes as love. For the world has a tendency to call things like adultery and fornication love. We see that being shared all over the media. Someone will leave their wife or their husband and enter into a new relationship and suddenly what years ago we would have called " acts of adultery" or "fornication" is called love. That is not love - that is lust.
Paul wants us to focus on love that is sincere and that is genuine and that comes out of a heart that has been transformed by the LORD. He wants us to focus on a love that enables us to live a life above things like murder, theft, coveting, anger and jealousy.
He wants us to understand that sincere love is agape love that loves God and one's neighbor. Love that fulfills the law of Christ. Love that is seeks to do no harm to another human being or a part of God's creation. What Paul is actually saying here is:
-If you love someone you will not allow yourself to commit adultery with them therefore debasing them and the marriage covenant that they have already committed themselves to with another person. You will honor their marriage covenant and your relationship with God by having a "hands off" "lust off" attitude and lifestyle.
-If you love someone you will not steal from them. You will not take away something that belongs to them and then think that you now have ownership. This not only means property it means work time, it means one's taxes and it means honoring God's Sabbath day.
-If you love someone you will not covet what they have. You will rejoice with them on the things that God has allowed them to possess - fine clothing, shelter and a lavish lifestyle. It means you will not allow envy to take root in your heart. It means you will not allow feelings of jealousy to take root in your heart towards someone for their good looks, their financial holdings or for their position in life. For we all this morning, that our lives are not made up of things that will eventually turn to dust and rust. Instead, you seek first the Kingdom of Heaven knowing that Our Lord will meet all your/our needs.
II. Secondly, we see that People of Light don't adopt Darkness Lifestyles
Paul loved to share the message of Christ. Paul loved to share the message of God coming down to rescue, redeem and restore mankind into being people who reflect His holiness. It was the passion of sharing that message that caused Paul to walk thousands of miles proclaiming Jesus as Messiah, Savior and King.
In traveling all of those miles Paul came to understand the world at large. It was not as if when he lived in Jerusalem and around Judea that he had lived in a bubble but walking along the streets of Corinth, Ephesus and Philippi had caused the Apostle to see much more than I am sure that he desired. And yet, over a period of time he began to see certain patterns that are still in place today.
Paul noticed that the majority of sinful behavior happened in and around the time of darkness. He noticed that as he traveled and as he stayed in Gentile town after Gentile town that they all had an increase in immorality after sun set. As the sun was going down the percentages of wild parties, immoral behavior, drunkenness, acts of jealousy and anger rose higher and higher. It's almost as if as the light of the world was decreasing the darkness of evil and sin began to increase.
What was true back in Paul's day is still true today. Worldwide, night time is prime time for most violent crimes, immoral behavior and domestic fighting. In some areas peak time is right around 10 PM. That is the time most people let down their guard and find themselves in the worst possible situations be it dealing with anger issues, drinking issues, violent issues and sexual issues.
It is here that Paul has some sound practical advice. One of the ways to avoid those situations is to be a person of the day instead of a person of the night. If one for example gets up early around 5 - 6 AM then there is a great chance that by 9 or 10 o'clock that evening they are either getting ready for bed or are already fast asleep.
But you say that is old fogie. That's no way to live. You got to get with it. You have got to swing. While you are young you got to let go and who cares if you sow a few oats.
However, we all know that sowing a few so called oats has a way of reaping all kinds of problems. Paul is not putting out a command to never stay out late or to not enjoy the midnight hours. What he is saying is when we find ourselves out late at night we have to be on high alert. For when we find ourselves in the dark, when we find ourselves tired and exhausted and when we find ourselves with the wrong type of people in the wrong settings we can find ourselves being overwhelmed with the pleasures of the eye and the temptations of the flesh.
Paul was not a prude but he was not about to place himself in harm's way either. He was not someone who wanted to take away a person's liberties but he was smart enough to do all he could to help people not become enslaved to things of the world. Things of the world that come more out at night than they do in the day time.
All you have to do is watch TV and you can see that the later the hour the more violent, the more sensual and the more crass and debased TV shows become. All you have to do is go around a tavern to see that the later it gets the more people get drunk and make poor choices concerning morality and purity. All you have to do is to put on your spiritual discernment meter and you can feel that the darker the night gets the more evil things try to have their sway.
Now, of course that doesn't mean that evil is unable to exist or thrive during the day time. My gracious we all know who have lived a little while that you can be just as mean as the devil during the day hours as you can be at night. People get assaulted during the day, they get robbed, they have affairs and they do all kinds of evil. But the truth still remains that most bad things happen after the sun goes down.
But how do we avoid all the bad? How do we make sure even if we have to be out at night or work at night or are a night owl that we don't mess up? How can we make sure even in the day time we don't mess up?
III. Paul tells us in verse 12 that People of Light are People who have put on God's Armor of Light
Paul is telling us that while the world is walking around in a life of darkness the followers of Christ have obediently put on their armor of light.
Paul is saying that while the world thinks it's night time and they are putting off things we who follow Christ know that it is day time and so we are putting on our armor of light. We are clothing ourselves in Christ.
So, what does Paul mean by armor of light and then what would armor of light entail?
+First of all by using the word armor Paul wants to remind us that we are still involved in a battle.
Even though Christ defeated the powers of evil/Satan on the cross it does not mean that Satan has been forever removed. Even though we are born again it does not mean that the battle for our souls is over. As long as we are in this body on this side of everlasting life we will have to battle against the powers of evil and our flesh. We will have to be both defensively and offensive minded.
That is the reason the Apostle Paul uses the word "hoplon" here. The word hoplon refers to some type of military instrument. It can mean a soldier's shield as well as some type of body armor. It is used to refer to a weapon that has both defensive and offensive capabilities. A coat of armor or a shield while we think of them mostly as defensive weapons were also offensive. Soldiers would use their armor as a way to thrust themselves into battle knowing that for the most part their heart and their core areas were protected. They would use their shields to block arrows and blows but also to deliver blows. All one has to think about is how Captain America used his shield both as a defensive and offensive weapon (of course in ancient times it would not fly back to you when you threw it).
Paul was telling us that when it came to evil and to darkness we are not to hide but we are to be proactive. We are to shine forth our light - the light of Christ. For where the light of Christ is evil has to go away. Where the light of Christ is evil is defeated.
There is something about praising the name of Jesus that causes evil to stop in its tracks. The devil can be tempting you but if you will call on the name of Jesus then the Bible says that he has to flee (James 4:7). He doesn't have to stay away forever but if we stay true to the name of Jesus then the Devil will not defeat us or destroy us. He cannot stand in the Light of Christ. He cannot defeat us if we have on and use the armor of Light that the Holy Spirit will give to all of us.
+That armor also reminds us that we need outside help. Our armor is not something that we just ooze out of our bodies or we develop by some means of spiritual osmosis. It's not something that will merely grow on us as we come to worship occasionally on a Sunday morning.
Instead, we all know that armor must be put on. It is something that we have to cover ourselves with and submit ourselves to. It is something that comes from the outside of us and it's something that has to fit us. We have to have our own armor - while we can be protected somewhat by someone else's shield or armor the only way to be fully protected is to possess your own individualized armor and shield. To not only possess it but to be able to use it effectively.
So what are the things that we must put on in order to have an armor of light and what are some of the ways we can make sure that our armor of light protects us against the forces of evil?
+Prayer is the #1 key.
Before there was a Bible there was prayer. Before the Law was written down by Moses there was prayer. Pray is the greatest experience, the greatest gift and the greatest weapon any disciple of Jesus can possess and experience.
Why? Because prayer is being in the very presence and power of the Lord God Almighty. Prayer is sharing sacred and holy space with God. Prayer is be one with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Prayer is the beginning of our relationship with the LORD, the continuing of our relationship with the LORD and the all in all of our relationship with the LORD.
As you read the Word, as you sing, as you worship and as you live you begin to realize how important talking to the LORD truly is for our lives. Talking, obeying, listening, talking, obeying, listening to the LORD is the foundational stone of everything.
Every athlete knows the importance of listening to their coach. Every student knows the importance of listening to their teacher. Every child knows the importance of listening to their parent. Every sheep knows the importance of listening to their shepherd.
Every follower of Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the King of Kings knows that the most important thing is to be open to obeying and hearing God.
Today, we do not live in the time between the Old and New Testament when the voices of the prophets were silent. We don't live in the time of young Samuel when the Bible tells us that the word of the LORD was rare. ( 1 Samuel 3:1ff) If you remember that was a time when the priests of the LORD were sleeping around and stealing from God's People. The leadership of the nation had turned against the LORD and no longer promoted God's Law.
Today, we live in the day of the Holy Spirit. We live in the days when God has poured out His Holy Spirit into the hearts, minds and souls of His people. We live in the day when the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit can speak to us at any time of the day or night.
The only thing we must do is to make sure that our ears, our hearts and our minds are not being clogged up by evil words, thoughts and actions. The only thing we need to do is to make sure that on our end our receptors are in good working order.
+God's Word
Aside from prayer there is no substitute for God's Holy Word. The Bible is not only God's love letter to us but it is one of our most basic foundational stones.
1 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us plainly -
"All scripture is breathed by God, and it is useful for teaching, for rebuke, for improvement, for training in righteousness, so that people who belong to God may be complete, fitted out and ready for every good work."
If we take that scripture passage seriously then we will fully understand the value of being a person dedicated to reading, to meditating and to studying God's Word. How else are we going to learn? How else are we going to know when we need a course correction? How else are we going to know how to be a righteous people? How else are we going to know how to be a complete follower of Christ ready to do His work?
When we pick up our Bible we are in effect asking the LORD to breath into us His Holy Presence. And just as His breath gave life to Adam's earthen body back in the Garden of Eden so too does His breath (His Word) bring light and life into us and into our houses of worship today. We need the breath of God to live each and every day for Him. For it is the Word that helps us to grow and to repel the attacks of Satan.
+Praise and Worship
It is not by accident that we have music in our worship services. It is not merely to take up some time before we take the offering, share a communal time of prayer and listen to God's Holy Word. There is something mystical and supernatural about music.
The ancient rabbis use to say that one of the best translations of the opening verses of the Book of Genesis was - "And God sang, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." That what we read as God speaking the creation in existence was in fact God singing creation into existence.
I don't know if they are right but I do know this - in the book of Zephaniah chapter 3:17 we read these words:
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."
Music along with art can uplift and soothe our souls. Music and art can take us to higher dimensions that we could ever think possible. Music and art can heal us along with inspire us. Music along with art can lead us to growing deeper in the LORD. Music and art can touch parts of our souls that nothing else can touch.
There are times when we are down and depressed that we can hear a song or see a certain picture of Jesus or of heaven and suddenly our souls are lifted up. There are times that we hear a song or see a picture of some great miracle of God and we are given new strength for the day. There are times that we hear a certain chorus or see a picture of God's creation and we are renewed with strength like eagle's wings.
Now, there are many other spiritual disciplines that we can add to our spiritual armor - things like fasting, mediation, contemplation, solitude, worship. simplicity, celebration and service. But these three are three that if we will allow them they will provide for us a strong armor of God's Light - Prayer, God's Word and Worship/Praise.
I believe as we close this morning the Apostle Paul would want us to ask ourselves some questions -
+Are we living as People of Light
*Are we known by our acts of "agape" love? Do we give of ourselves to others or are we more inclined to see what we can get - what we can receive?
*Are we known for our dedication and our commitment to the LORD? Are we careful to be people of Light rather than people nudging around the corners of darkness? Are we careful in making sure that we stay in the center of God's Will and not on the edges?
*Is our Spiritual Armor brightly shining the light of God's Holiness?
*Are we people of prayer or mere people who voice little sentence prayers now and then? Are we doing our best to become prayer warriors - people who intercede and who allow the Holy Spirit to pray through and in us? Are we doing our best to cover our families and our loved ones and even our enemies in prayer? Do we faithfully gather with the LORD as individuals and as a group seeking God's direction, guidance and protection through prayer?
*Are we people of the Word? Have we read the Bible through from cover to cover? Do we spend time in the Word daily asking the Holy Spirit to teach us and show us new revelations leading us to experiencing new anointings and miracles?
*Do we praise Him or do we merely sit like bumps on a log? Do we lift up our hearts in praise and worship? Do we thank the Lord for His grace, mercy and love?
As we close this morning, we do so in prayer and with an open altar. We close by opening up our hearts and minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We close by asking the LORD to convict us, forgive us, cleanse us and empower us. We close by asking the LORD to infill us with His Holy Spirit so that we might be the People of Light He needs in His world to be His witnesses.
Song/Open Altar/Prayer/Benediction
