This Little Light: Is It Really Mine?, Part 2

Today from Chuck Swindoll wake up you buried your light under the bushel because you're not ordained because you're not a mature Christian you think that because you know all there is to know from the Bible and decided to just forget the whole thing to leave it to the preacher only you allowed the darkness to invade and begin to emulate that life you want to live arise from the dead. I would say get out of the coffin don't belong in their your life. Chuck Swindoll traveled with his family to the Carlsbad caverns. Yesterday's program he described what it was like to stumble down the dark path that led to the depths of the caliber reached the bottom. The guide turned off all the lantern student abject darkness today on Insight for living Chuck embellishes the start metaphor to help us understand the power of light when it breaks through the night. Chuck titled his message.

This little like this. It really mine pictures did Jesus used to drive home the point he wanted to make about letting his message out.

I give you the first when you guess the second you are the salt of the earth and you are the light of the world.

Isn't that interesting left with any word picture he could've used. He talks about salt and light, Mel, you don't pile assault on something to make it tasty you sprinkle a little about the light about the light, nobody takes the light puts it under a bushel basket. He puts it on the hill so that everybody can see it because it's going to dispel the darkness and it's going to attract attention. It's that great word picture called in Ephesians chapter 5 turns to what you get the picture in your mind. You don't need much help with anything else.

He starts with darkness any moves to light in verse six let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 5 verse six. Therefore, don't be a partner with them what you this bright shining. What are you doing running around dark caves. That's not your habitat does not what life is about for you here about reflecting you about shining. Do not be partners with them, for you were formerly darkness. He that keeps her from feeling proud son can never be proudly got its light from God certainly can't be proud although I did get this from the sun. He says to us here.

You were formerly darkness, but now that's where the cross comes before you. Anyone have anything to reflect.

There was nothing in which God did work and you realize that in the cross of Christ. There was a sufficient payment for sin offered once for all. And if you come to him for your righteousness and shining he could transform your life, and so he turned you darken miserable person of of evil into a shining reflection still just a slab of glass in the smear mercury but with him there.

Make all the difference in the world. So don't be a partner with those in darkness. You were formerly in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord and so walk as children of great work with children of light, like in the darkness. Well, stop and remember, remember, you and I were ignorant we didn't know the way out. Say nothing of the way through. We were shallow and superficial, selfish, our world revolved around us. We wanted our way demanded expected in the secrecy. We did a number of things were ashamed disappointed ourselves as we think back, we have the power to change it no matter how many New Year's resolutions. We we stated, I didn't take a few hours sorority break and we could change. We were powerless we were helpless we were hopeless lost lost and then Christ came and he turned this darkness into the reflection. Something that would reflect two other people living in the cave that there's another way to live and the difference now. Verse nine is goodness and righteousness and truth is not the fruit of me that's the fruit of the light. That's what the light provides by reflecting off of my person. There is, for the grace of God.

Goodness in place of badness, righteousness in place of emptiness and self-will and truth in place of dishonesty, secrecy, as we try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. So he says don't be a partner. Verse seven fact he says in verse 11.

Don't even participate in the unfruitful needs of darkness. Please observe he's coming down on deeds of darkness, not doers of dark. Note that don't spend your life participating in the deeds of darkness. But you gotta spend your time with the people of darkness are your totally out of touch useless. What good is a Christian living in a walled up building away from the real world. Get out there. The light belongs on the hill. Let it shine let it shine, but don't participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness. After all night. It gets confusing to people in the cave when they see that you live just like him, but when they see the shining they see that there's hope there's a way to get out. I like the one with the weight of one man describes this. These are the ethics of light when the light of Jesus is refracted through the prisms of our lives, there will be sanctifying shades of life for others to see sanctifying shades of light of life for others to see. That's the negative don't do that. Here's the positive instead. Verse 11 closes expose them expose this year. Some people say that's all I needed more modern preaching that cave under them expose all that stuff that's going on as they should. Don't talk like that don't live like that, don't smoke, that stuff don't take that don't don't sleep around. Stop and weep exposing is that what expose means can this mirror talk you when what life is like, look it reveals it shine Danielle just shines shine turn on the light. I mentioned being raised in Houston. We lived in Houston so long. I thought everybody she was building. Really, I did Houston back then was a place where men sweat and women had huge hair and roaches had big wings. They were my mother who was as clean as she could be never believe we had roaches in our house ice to give more fun out of that one Friday night at Simone commuter commuter.

We went into the kitchen I go look like a Fort Worth rodeo. We had roaches going to that okay, but the light brought about the light just exposed just exposed subfamily before before I left home I finally got her to admit. Maybe on Friday nights we had roaches in there and they were there all the time they were, therefore, he got there, but the light exposed when you live honestly, you expose dishonesty to a point of un-comfortability when you live with integrity you you you shot the person who pads his expense account because you don't ask you don't pan yours.

You don't announce it, you know, walk around the big sandwich board saying on the only honest person in the company you don't pass around little tracks talk about how pious and great you are, you expose the darkness by shining the light. It is, isn't rocket science. Is it we make it complicated. You say you mean you never tried don't go there is never you will sometime have a marvelous opportunity and will be laid right at your doors. This is your movement talk, but you want to beat the door down. I'm never known anybody who lost a fight and said I therefore gave my life to Christ he beat this not out of me and I just gave my life to Jesus. I just couldn't fight any longer to such an attractive life. I use had to turn my life. You know, when you were €1.01 by the goodness and righteousness and truth. You are one with the grace that was demonstrated to you, you know what I'm surprised thereby done customers and the costs I'm surprised everybody in his sleeping around is living in the cave. I'm surprised everybody done communicate in the gutter.

I'm surprised everybody done cheat suite is in the cave. They can help it. They can't change it. They need you shining they need to know about the reflection that there's another way to live. There's there's like there's a way there's a way out of the sky I light Eugene Peterson rendering part of the sermon on the Mount does a wonderful job. God is not a secret to be kept were going public with this is public as a city on a hill if I make you light bearers you don't think I'm going to hide you under bucket. Do you I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I put you up there key open house. Be generous with your lives.

By opening up to others, you will prompt people to open up with God, our gracious father in heaven. Isn't that great open up your live landed she let it shine and when they start to give you the credit you have the perfect opportunities that you know what I will get this created but I can tell you how to get the light and I'll tell you how you can get your mirror shopping but I can't give you light that's gotcha. All things become visible when they're exposed to the light. For this reason, it says I like where that reads I looked all over to see where it says this. The closest I can get is about four or five verses from 45 chapters out of Isaiah. I think it was in first century course of worship.

I think it grew from a statement that Isaiah the prophet had planned back in chapter 51 or 52 or 60 or one of those were a similar statement is made, but it is probably a well-known chorus like this little light of mine today. Oh sleeper.

That's where the course begins wake up you buried your light under the bushel because you're not ordained because you're not a mature Christian you think that because you don't know all there is to know from the Bible and decided to just forget the whole thing to leave it to the preacher only you allow the darkness to invade and begin to emulating to emulate that life you want to live arise from the dead. I would say get out of the coffin. You will belong in their your life shine shine Christ. In fact will shine on you can shine on you if you down there in place of the dead. There was nothing that would shine if there was no light in the caverns. Even if I was surrounded by mirrors. I do have light from another source and let me give you a little piece of comforting advice.

Those you don't reach and can't reach God will reach through someone else after you there reachable here region before Alexander social needs and became a household word in many homes around the world before he became a mirror.

His world was a cave, dark and barren and lonely and broken.

He was an atheistic mathematician socialist to the core. In fact, the captain of the artillery of the Russian army on the front lines in World War II. Following the war, he continued to think more like a philosopher than a mathematician, and he began to probe the depths of the socialist world in which he lived, and in one piece of personal correspondence.

He wrote a sentence. One sentence against Joseph Stalin will be criticized. Remember that line one sentence when the KGB was presented with this sentence. They immediately present him in an arctic wasteland for eight years, living were even rats could hardly survive his world got even darker. His parents were dead, his wife now divorced him, but the redemptive effect of this barren place began to work its way out. The once embittered victim of mistreatment existing in the darkness of the gulags came face-to-face with eternal issues. The Lord began to work on his heart through an interesting chain of events. I don't have time to go into suddenly there was light in the cave instead of growing in resentment.

He began to realize all the good reasons why he should of been imprisoned putting to death his vanity is superficial, selfish existence. The man finally condemned himself with far more conviction than the KGB ever could have broken forgotten alone. The Lord reached Solzhenitsyn began appreciating the marvelous effect this living hell was having on him.

Listen to this true story.

That's what he will often say when referring to it. Bless you, prison for having been in my life. I love that line began to shine the reflection of God's handiwork and a marvelous display of grace toward fellow prisoners, even toward his guards, but there would be one final blow before his term is sentence would end right there that house of horrors he discovered through medical advice that he had terminal cancer rather than raging against his final misfortune. He decided even this is part of God's plan and even if I'm gone, God's work will continue on through the reflection of others like AW toaster puts it on a man of God dies nothing of God's released you know, he began to write.

Did he write interestingly dating all the way back to his conversion in 1971, of all places, Vogue magazine in America got hold of a prayer that he wrote at the time of his conversion, when the greatest prayers you could hear listen. How simple for me to live with you oh Lord, how easy to believe in you when and confusion. My soul bears itself or bands when the most wise can see no further than this night and do not know what tomorrow brings you fill me with a clear certainty that you exist and that you watch to see that all the paths of righteousness be not closed from the heights of worldly glory. I am astonished by the path through despair you have provided me this path from which I have been worthy enough to reflect your radiant to me all that I will yet reflect you will grant me and for that which I will not succeed in reflecting appointed others. Amen repo heads together. God is built into our system, a way to illustrate darkness disclosure rise. The eyelids work they close out the light. It's been so long since you were there in the cave tried to imagine what it's like to live in that blind darkness in the world. It's lost its way. Awaking every morning hoping for light and finding nothing and you will realize the power of your life shining light.

Just in the shining. There is an exposing of the things done in secret.

While you're sitting there.

I want to make sure that you know the way out. It's not true, your mother or dad or a Christian friend or relative.

Remember, they don't have the light in themselves. The light giver is the life giver. He does it through Christ who loved us and gave himself for us once for all paid in full. The only thing that keeps you in the darkness as your own determination to resist, to refuse to take the light choice is yours. All my pleading won't make it happen. This is not God's work and leave it with him come today to what smart follow the light today our father and our God. Thank you for your grace and finding us. We weren't even looking.

We didn't even care.

We thought that the cave was a great place to live is everybody around us seem to find a way to make it down deep inside.

There was emptiness and ignorance was anger and resentment was lost. Agreed and we hated it our own gulags. That's where we were and you let the light in you on the sofa.

Take take take a man listening to the Bible teaching pastor and author Chuck Swindoll titled today's message.

This little light is it really mine and this is insight for living will hear a personal comment from Chuck just a moment. So please stay with us and to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org will 2020 started with a global pandemic and has resulted in unprecedented social unrest and we seen the escalation of this emotional response over the past year, but these unwanted forces of fear and uncertainty have given us a choice.

We can either choose anxiety and resentment or we can walk in the light to guide you through the new year we recommended desk calendar that will bring a small beam of light for your journey. It's a flip calendar called quotable Chuck Daly insights from the pulpit.

Psalm 119, 105 says your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. By displaying this calendar on your desk or kitchen counter you be reminded of your freedom in Christ every single day in 2021 to purchase the flood calendar called quotable Chuck call us if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/store. In addition to your purchase.

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The check described today by now all of you know that I'm not predisposed to doom and gloom outlook on life God just didn't wire me. That way, but without question never witnessed the level of cultural chaos confronting all of us today. The forces of evil are dramatically at work working overtime to create confusion, distraction and fear. Frankly, the escalation of these battles has ignited a greater personal passion to preach and to teach the truth.

While there's still time at insight for living were not winding down. In fact, were ramping up were completing one of the most productive years in the history of insight for living and were positioned to accomplish even more. In this new year that's ahead as we approach December 31. I'm calling on you to personally invest your resources in insight for living so that people will hear the clear and calm in message that God is still very much in control. Remember, your gift today normally brings insight to you, but your hearing gift delivers insight to other you see it your partnership that determines what we can accomplish together. So let's band together as a family to make sure the truth of God's word breaks through the noise so that people far and near, can benefit from insight from and I look forward to hearing from you today. Here's how to respond to Chuck Swindoll right now to give a donation today.

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The preceding message. This little line is it really mine was copyrighted in 2000 2001 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll.

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