Living in the Light: Follow Your Inner Guidance to Create a New Life and a New World

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You are not just a victim of Satan’s system, you are a contributor, see? You were darkness, you are now light. In other words, whatever dominion we are in, we are of. See? We’re a part. We are that system. There is no system of evil in the world, apart from the darkness of the individuals who are that system, be they demons or men. There is no system of light in the world, apart from those who are the light of the world, be it Christ or be it Christ’s. So we are not just victims, we are contributors.“And if we were darkness but now are light in the Lord,” and that’s the only place light is, “then we should walk as children of light.” We should walk as children of light. We’re walking in the light anyway; we might as well act like children of light. In the same way, the light of a believer’s life often changes a work environment as sin is exposed and righteousness replaces it. It changes people’s lives as they repent and give their lives to Christ. Light is by nature more powerful than darkness. It changes environments and lives. God’s will never conflicts with his Word. God’s Word is the revelation of his character and being, and it trains the man of God for all righteousness (2 Tim 3:17). 2. Believers test and discern God’s will by putting God first in their lives.

The apostle John repeatedly used the “light” metaphor in relation to the Messiah. For example, he writes that Jesus is “the true light that gives light to every man” (John 1:9). In 1 John 1:7 he says, “If we walk in the light as He [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” In verse 5, John says that God’s very nature is light. Jesus, then, is the conduit or provider of light to the world. Since you are God's dear children, you must try to be like him. 2 ( A)Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

In Order to Live in the Light, Believers Must Convert Darkness into Light

This is a brilliant book. John radically re-thinks the dangers of money, sex and power and explains why our culture is enslaved to them—but he also shows that God had good purposes in mind when creating these gifts and they become more satisfying in themselves when we realize that He is more desirable than all of them. Application Question: What fruit do you most desire to produce in your spiritual life and why? To Live in the Light, Believers Must Continually Discern What Pleases God

So when somebody comes along and says, “Well, we did this and we did this” - finally, you know, the next text in Matthew7, He says, “You can say, ‘Lord, Lord,’ all you want, you can say you cast out demons, you did this, you did this, you did this, but I never knew you.” No fruit, no life. And so some claim to be walking as children of light, but there’s no fruit, and they lie. Now, from time to time, you know, we who are Christians who sin, and when we sin our product drops. And maybe they’ll look a long time in your life to find some fruit, because your life isn’t what it ought to be. The expression of your life at this point is sinful in some ways. The Christian who walks as a child of light will produce fruit, and as you sin, even as a Christian, fruit diminishes. Light – no more moral darkness, no more intellectual darkness. John Holland, in his dying moments, swept his hand over the Bible that was lying on his chest, and he said to his wife, “Honey, did you light the candles?”“Oh no,” she replied, “I didn’t.”“Oh,” he said, “it must then be the light of the face of Jesus Christ that I see.” Living in the light; and there is one ray of light, and it’s Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Horatio Bonar put it magnificently in these words: “I heard the voice of Jesus say, I am this dark world’s light, look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright. I came to Jesus, and I found in Him my star, my sun. And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done.” Meditate upon a wise being living inside yourself (like the inverse of an inner-child meditation) to gain clarity/get answersYou are God’s children whom he loves, so try to be like him. 2 Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God. If you do not daily wrestle with temptations in the areas of money, sex, or power, it is only because you have surrendered to these temptations. Every Christian must confront our common pull to make idols in these areas. In this book, John Piper equips us to fight temptation by firing up our affections for the glory of God in Jesus Christ. He wisely shows us not only what to avoid, but how to rightly enjoy money, sex, and power as part of a life conformed to Christ through the gospel. I expect to give this book to many friends and fellow combatants in this spiritual war. Certainly, finding out what pleases the Lord also applies to knowing God’s will in specific circumstances. He goes a step further, point number two. He’s given the contrast of the children of light, now he gives the characteristics. You say, “All right, Paul, I’m with you. Boy, if I’m not in that kingdom, I shouldn’t mess with it. But what are the characteristics of children of light?” Oh, that’s easy, he says in verse 9: “For the fruit of light,” best manuscripts say light, not the Spirit, “For the fruit of light,” that’s what he’s talking about, “is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” That’s pretty simple, isn’t it? You don’t need some great Bible teacher to unscramble that mystery. Goodness, righteousness, truth – those are the marks of those who walk in light. Some things are so vile that they should be discussed in as little detail as possible, because even describing them is morally and spiritually dangerous.

The next thing believers must do to live in the light is to not partake in darkness, but to expose it instead. “The verb translated here as “expose” (from elegchō) can also carry the idea of reproof, correction, punishment, or discipline.” 8

To Live in the Light, Believers Must Continually Discern What Pleases God

But there must be no sexual sin among you, or any kind of evil or greed. Those things are not right for God’s holy people. 4 Also, there must be no evil talk among you, and you must not speak foolishly or tell evil jokes. These things are not right for you. Instead, you should be giving thanks to God. 5 You can be sure of this: No one will have a place in the kingdom of Christ and of God who sins sexually, or does evil things, or is greedy. Anyone who is greedy is serving a false god. Secondly, it has to do with how we live. As those justified and made righteous by God, we must daily practice righteousness. James 2:17 says, “Faith without works is dead.” First John 2:29 says, “If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.” True believers practice a lifestyle of righteousness. These fruits should be continually borne in our lives, instead of the fruits of evil and sin. 3. Truth. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. It desperately needs to be reproved. You see, you can’t just let it go on. It’s evil, it’s vile, the things they do are unspeakably evil, and this is the heart of God talking here. And here we are in our world, where we’re drowning in a sea of media stuff that pumps into us, that there’s no such thing as evil, and we say, “Well, it’s not so bad.” It’s evil. It shouldn’t even be talked about. It shouldn’t even be entertained in a conversation. It’s so wretched, and it needs to be dealt with and exposed. And yet sometimes, you know, by just turning on your television in your home, you expose your child to a tolerance of the very thing you shouldn’t even talk about; the thing that you should expose as evil. But beyond that, there’s a command too. Look at that in verse 11. There’s a command. The contrast and the characteristics lead to a command. Just in case you need something negative, he says in verse 11: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” And you can stop right there. Just in case it isn’t clear to you yet what I’m saying. Based on the contrast, you see, you’re so different, you’re so far removed, you’re over here trying to verify the life of God in you, you’re over here involved with goodness, righteousness and truth, you were that. Now, the point is have absolutely no fellowship with that. And he uses the word sugkoinne. Koinne means fellowship, you add a preposition to the front of it, it intensifies it.

By choosing to refrain from certain conversations and jokes, it again shows how perverse the world is. Believers must use wisdom in their conversations and interactions. Every word must be “full of grace” and “seasoned with salt.” (Col 4:6). You say, “Well, you mean I just sort of crawl in my little hole and don’t ever peek?” No, you don’t participate; you’ve got to peek, because the next thing is the commission. Look at this. The contrast leads to the characteristics, which leads to Paul’s command, and since we’re to have absolutely no fellowship, we might all bail out, and so he adds this. “But rather reprove them,” and the word reprove is expose. Listen: don’t do what they do, expose what they do. We are the spiritual CIA, folks. And our job is not to be involved, but to expose the crimes of darkness. Every one of us is called by God to do that. And the agent or the tool that does that is the Bible.If we are going to walk in the light, we must find out what is pleasing to God. We do this by bringing every thought and decision before the Lord so he can shine his light on it. He clarifies his will through his Word, other believers, our hearts, and his sovereignty, among other things.