Walk In The Light

01-21-19 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.( I John 1:5-7)

There is only one indispensable pre-condition for fellowship with God. We must be willing to come into the Light. Any sinner, no matter how vile, can be reconciled unto his Creator if he would but allow himself to come out into the open, and let himself be seen just as He is. “Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner!”.

God is Light. To come unto God is to come into the light of exposure. “…In thy Light shall we see Light!” (Psalm 36:9)

Isaiah the prophet and the Apostle Peter both experienced this vividly as a testimony for us all.

When Isaiah saw the LORD, he also beheld himself. The true Light of God exposed to Isaiah all of his own sins and flaws and the true depth of his iniquity in all of it’s deformity,,

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.(Isaiah 6:1-5)

Notice the member which caused him the keenest grief, His lips! The faculty of speech reveals the hatred, envy, putrid lust, perversion, and all of the abominations of the human heart. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!

Isaiah saw the terrifying “burning ones” Worshipping the LORD of Hosts and longed to join the chorus, but could not. He could see clearly in a terrible flash his own uncleanness, and unfitness to join the heavenly chorus, and it crushed him. He had stepped into the Light of God and it was made excruciatingly clear, that he was a sinner.

Peter had a similar experience, when he met Jesus;

Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.( Luke 5:4-8)

As soon as Simon Peter realized who Jesus was, he was crushed, weighted down with the revelation of his utter sinfulness and unworthiness to God. He too had come into the Light of God.

Everyone who truly has come unto God has had this kind of experience, for God’s light reveals us unto ourselves in all of our fallenness, and iniquity. He makes us “Poor in Spirit…” by showing us our bankruptcy, and the light causes us to hate what we see in ourselves… .

The temptation is there for us to want to leave the light, to go away from church, Christians or the Bible, because the exposure is uncomfortable and difficult.

But if we will do what Isaiah and Peter both did, and simply remain in that light, we will find out what they found out; that the same light which exposes our sins, has the power to purge us of our sins as well.

Isaiah stood still, trembling and calling down upon himself damnation! He remained in the presence of the LORD. The Angel was told to take a burning coal from off of the altar and touch it to his lips! “Now your iniquity is purged and your sin is forgiven!

This is the story of every true believer. God’s Word reveals to us that we are sinners, condemned and unworthy. the burning altar is the cross of Jesus, where he paid the price for our sins. The coal from off of the altar is the confession of Jesus,

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.(Romans 10:9-10)

Salvation is coming into the Light of God, and remaining there, it is seeing and believing.

[sauropod]

Excellent post Pastor.