Starlight Star bright. The first star that I see tonight. Deep in the dark, creation is humming. For a light has come. And the light is coming. A light has come, and a light is coming. At 299,792,458 m per second, a light has come, and a light is coming. You see, light is energy. It's rays and waves greeting us with bright sunny face. For light speeds and light spreads and and covers everything that it touches. Light breaks and it illuminates and it captivates and it stimulates the senses, and eliminates the dark. It fascinates the children and generates a spark. You see, light shines. And without it, we are blind, literally. It is only when light enters our eye that we can finally see. You see, we as a people living in darkness are in need of a great, great light. It's no wonder then that out of all the things he could have chosen to create first, God said, let there be life. Right? So in the middle of the night, When the angels appeared to the shepherd's fright, do not be afraid, they say, just simply follow the light. Starlight Star bright. The first son is born that night. To the virgin mother. To the brother James, who uttered, wondered and suffered under others blunders to uncover the love that we should have for each other, and a father and a son, shining so brightly that it's only right that we call him the light of the world. This light was broken and spread. Covering every sin that he touched, illuminating the truth, captivating our attention, and generating our tomorrow. So let this be a sign. That the blind can see. That the water is wine. That the broken are free and his light will shine into every crack of brokenness, over every horizon with hope, through the prism of his promise. Behold, a drummer boy is drumming for his glory's homecoming and evil is succumbing to the light that has come and to the light that is coming. Let's pray. Jesus, you are the light of the world. You have called us to reflect your light into this world. And today may we be reminded of the power, of the promise, of the purpose of your light in our lives. Whatever is hidden I pray that you would reveal that in our lives so that you could heal it for your glory. We love you, God. It's in your son's name we pray. Amen. We started out this morning. With that poem that was written by a gentleman named John Jorgensen. And that poem reminds us. Of the power of light in our lives. You cannot go a single day. Without needing light. So that's why this morning's message is entitled Step into the Light. We're in week 3 of our series Walking with Jesus. And in week 1, there on Easter Sunday, we talked about how God Came walking alongside those two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And we shared how Jesus changes how you see that Jesus meets you where you are, and that ultimately Jesus can restore your relationships. And then we moved into our study of Ephesians chapter 5. And last week we talked about what it means to walk in love. That love is not a feeling that you follow, that it's a pattern that you practice. And then we're called to love people the way that Jesus loved us. Well, today, The apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Ephesus 2000 years ago, is gonna talk about what it means to walk in light. And so we're gonna spend the next few minutes breaking down this truth together. God won't heal what you still hide. God won't heal what you still hide. It's sad that church sometimes can feel like some of the fakest places to be. And I say that in all honesty, right? Because we want to keep up a facade. We want to be OK. How are you doing? I'm fine. How are you all busy? And, and maybe you walk through these doors and you're just hanging on. Or you're struggling. Maybe it's health, maybe it's financial, maybe it's emotional. Maybe it's a, a quiet addiction. I'm not sure what brought you in today, but I guess That there's probably one thing at least weighing you down. And what would it look like if church was a place where we could confess and share and be open? With one another Because I think there are times where we try to act OK, and we try to act like everything's all right. In reality, God wants to work in our lives, but God's not going to heal what remains hidden in your life, which you won't bring forth to him. You know, The first sin Back in the garden, all the way back in Genesis, Adam and Eve sin, what do they do? They hide. See, to hide is to be human. But then God goes to them and says, Adam, Eve, where are you? Now, did he ask that question because he didn't actually know where they were? Now, we asked that question because Adam and Eve didn't know where they were. Reminds me of with my little girl, we play hide and seek. And uh and she was like, oh, I got a great hiding spot. And so she goes into her room, I count to 10. And I go in and there she is sitting on the bed, and she just got a blanket over her head. I mean, it's a full small child shaped object right there in the center of the room. Like you cannot miss it. And of course, I'm like, oh, Chloe, where'd you go? And she starts giggling. Because in her mind, because she can't see me, she assumes I can't see her. But how many of us have walked into church with a metaphorical blanket over your head? And you're like, you're trying to hide something, when in reality, God already knows. And if God already knows what you're battling, What would it look like then for you to just to bring that into the light? If you have your Bibles open up to Ephesians chapter 5. We're gonna pick up our study here in verse chap verse 8 of Ephesians 5. Paul writes these words to the church in Ephesus in verse 8. For at one time you were darkness. But now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them. For it is shame, shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. This morning, what I want to do is talk through this passage and share with you three ways that light moves. We're called to be children of light and they're called to walk in light. So how exactly does this walking in light look like on a practical basis? And so we see 3 things from this passage that teaches us how light moves. So the first way that we see light moves comes from verse 8, is simply Light reveals Light reveals In first service, I actually made the mistake of reading because I've done this for years, that it says for at one time you were darkness, but I, by habit, I read at one time you were in darkness. Because that's how, that's where your mind goes, right? Yeah, oh, we were in darkness, and now we are in light. But in verse 8, it actually says you were darkness. And it it says you are light in the Lord. This is important because this is an identity issue. This is not behavior modification. You were bad and now I want you to behave well. He says, no, you were dead. And now I want you to live alive. That you were darkness, that your sin. Defined you But because of Jesus, because of, for example, in Ephesians 2. And really, all those verses in Ephesians lead up to this point, we see things for you were saved by grace through faith. That Jesus died on the cross as payment for your sins and for mine, so that when he rose, we can rise, that our identity changes. The word for darkness there really means moral blindness or spiritual ignorance. And that root word for, for light is where this idea of fosse or we get photos, photography, photosynthesis, those type of things. Is that the power of light is that it leads to truth, revelation, purity and God's presence. It's crazy to me that the sun. Impacts so much of our day. When it's 93 million miles away. I mean, light travels here at, we, we said that in the poem that 299,792,458 m per second. It takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds for the light from the sun to get to us. And yet we're perfectly positioned to receive the benefits of the stunt. And I find myself sometimes questioning whether or not God is in control or whether or not I need God in my life, and yet I cannot go outside yesterday without sunscreen. Cause I'm getting burned by something that's 93 million miles away. Like light is everywhere, that you need it in your life, that not only do you need it to see, you need it to see everything else. And so God reveals himself to us and also reveals ourselves to ourselves. For parents in the room, if you've ever asked your children to clean their room. Have you ever had a situation where you walk in and your kids just turned off the light? Like, 00, room's clean. What, what do you mean? Well, I don't see any mess. You turn on the light. Look what you did. Turning on the light does not make your room a mess. Turning on the light shows you that your room is a mess. In the same way, when you turn on the light of Jesus in your life, it doesn't make your room a mess. It, it shows yourself that your life is a mess. Do you ever think like a, a spot in the house was clean and then you turn the lights on, or you looked at it again in the daylight, like, oh, I missed the spot. Right Ever tried to walk through the house at night without the lights on and you find yourself bumping into the coffee table or hitting something? It's a path you've walked thousands of times, but when you can't see, you start running into stuff. So many of us as Christians, I think we come into church on a Sunday morning, and, and we walk in a little bit like this. Good morning. How are you? Good, blessed. How are you? Good. Cause we don't actually wanna see what's going on. In other people's lives, and we don't want people to see what's going on in our lives. But God's not going to heal what you continue to hide. Cause you have to be honest and real and open and bring it into the light, so that he can bring that healing. So you were darkness, but you now are light. And there's power in light. It says these words here. First John 1:5. This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Psalm 27:1, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? And Jesus says these words in John 12:46, I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. Same writer of Ephesians, Paul writes to the church in Colossa, similar words. He writes this in Colossians 1:13. For he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. And one last quote here, I just, I want you to see that this lights all over scripture. 1 Peter 2:9, Peter writes, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. God wants to know you, the real you. In your brokenness, in your sin, in your doubts, in your anger. What's the one thing you're really hoping people don't find out about you? God wants that piece too. Because if God's not big enough to handle our anger, or questions or doubt or worry, then I don't know if God's big enough to save us. But if, if God is strong enough that literally the first words in the Bible to let there be light, and there was. And then Jesus comes in and is the light of the world. If there is power in his word, if there is power in his light, then doesn't it make sense then that there is power for us to step into that as children of light. We don't have to be hidden. We can take the blanket off. He sees us already. There's value and power and strength simply with being honest with God. So here's the thing. First thing light does is light reveals. The second way light moves though, is then light heals. That if you reveal that to God, God is ready to heal you from the inside out. Notice in there, verse 9, where it talks about the fruit of light. That all that is good and right and true. Good is moral integrity. Right is the right alignment with God. True is authenticity with nothing hidden before him. It says in there that you will be able to discern, which means to test, examine, or prove. And you start finding yourself asking better questions. With 20 years of ministry experience, I've, I've talked to a number of couples and, and one of the common questions I get is, uh, well, how far is too far? Like phys physically, sexually, those things, like how far is too far? Where is the line? And we start talking through practical implications of what the word of God says. But I always start with, let's ask a better question, cause you're already losing when you ask that question. And it's not a place of shame, it's just saying, what is the purpose of asking that question, right? If you're asking the question, how far is too far? Like how close can I get to the line? Like how much, how far can I get to the edge without actually falling over? Well, who is the subject of that question? What is, who is that question for? It's for self. Right? How much can I gratify the desires of self and, and, and sin and pride and lust or whatever it is? How, how far can I get and still do what I want and be OK? That's not the best question because you're saying, how far can I go without getting in trouble? Instead of asking the question, what is going to honor God? What is going to bless and serve the other person? What is the healthiest thing for my relationship? Because the subject then becomes lifting the other person up and glorifying God with your decisions as opposed to how far can I go with it being technically OK. What happens when you bring everything into the light is that you start asking better questions. You need light to see. You need light for warmth. It, it, you need light for starting the fire. Think about that show Survivor, like there's always a challenge where someone needs to make fire if you have fire in the camp. Why? Because you need it for warmth and to cook food and, and, and just to survive. So many of you as believers, and myself sometimes included here is that we try to live the Christian life when really we're on an island without fire. And we wonder why the food tastes cold. I gotta be honest, being a girl dad is different. You got 3 kids, 2 boys. Got it, right? Just give them some food, let them wrestle, climb a tree, you're probably good, right? Like it's messy, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of, you get it, right? Where you get that little girl. She gives you that little look. Right? And like I'm in trouble, right? I say that because what happens is we go from not having cats to now we have a cat, and now we got a second cat. I did not see myself as a cat person. OK. Now we have 2 The thinking was, right, you, you have one, well, now the cat needs a friend, right? You're the friend, that's why we got, OK. So we had this cat, this cat in our house taking care of right now named Marble. And, and it is sweet in the sense of like, it was a rescue cat, right, and I don't know what it came from. But it's kind of sad because we came into our house and literally Marble spends the entire day under the bed. Hidden the whole day, and then only comes out for a little bit of affection and food. OK, And you know what? That's not a bad way to live as a cat, right? But can I tell you that's a really bad way to live as a human. That some of us have been hurt by someone or something. And so like, I know how this story goes. And so we think like I'm just gonna live protected and hidden away. And I'm only gonna come out for a little bit. But God wants us to come out of hiding. Maybe you've heard the phrase church hurt. My heart breaks for that, and I, and I say that in all sincerity because I think sometimes one of the biggest attractors to Christianity, sadly is hypocritical Christians, right? And someone claims faith and then uses that as a weapon or hurts somebody else. Um. But can we pause for a second? Like, I recognize the reality of it. I recognize the seriousness of it 100%. But can we just take one step back and think about something in this way. We don't use that framework for anything else. Like take out church hurt. We don't use that for anything else, right? Like, you don't hear anybody saying like, oh, you're gonna go to your job this week? Nope. I can't go to my job because I have work hurt. Are you gonna go out? Are you gonna go to the gym and, and work out? No, I can't go to the gym. I have gym hurt. Go through, like, I say that because it's not work, it's, it's a person who hurts you. Right. It is an individual or a group of individuals who hurt you, and it's very serious and it's very real. But the reason I bring this up is that don't substitute the reality of light and truth and love of what's supposed to be. When a broken person in a broken world hurts you. That, uh, my heart goes out to those who've been hurt by people and you, you've been hurt in relationships, been hurt in many different ways. And I, and I understand the reality and the difficulty and the challenge of learning to trust again. But I don't think God wants you to live your life like marble under the bed as a cat, hidden most of most of the time. Right? We've been called to step out into it. And so here's the thing, I think that if you reveal to God, if you bring into the light, what it is you struggle, what, what pain you're processing, the traumas and things that you've gone through, and it's not, might not change right overnight. But you bring that into the light. What light reveals, God can heal. But it says this here in his words, in in the Gospel of John, John chapter 1, verse 4 and 5, it says, in him was life. And the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. See, there is not a battle between light and dark. When the light goes on, darkness flees. And so the, the goal is to to bring as much as possible into the light. To allow the light to do what light does. That's why the writer of Psalm 119:105 says, your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. And we love quoting that verse, and that, that verse gets some play on social media or on mugs or gets crocheted. But you ever stop to think, why do you need that verse? Like the only reason you need a lamp is because you are surrounded by darkness. And so when we are surrounded by darkness, we have to come to understand that God wants us to bring everything in. All our questions, all our doubts, all our pains, all our struggles, cause he already knows. But when we acknowledge it, when we acknowledge where we are, and we confess to God and confess to one another, the deepest, darkest things and insecurities that plague us, that's where God does his best work. Cause that's how Satan tries to get you. Satan will try to get you to sin. And then when you do sin, you feel shame and guilt. And then when that shame and guilt comes in, you don't wanna tell anybody, so you isolate, and then you start to spiral downward and start, and then you start pulling yourself away. And now to deal with the numbness that you feel or pain that you feel, you go back into another sin, and you start spiraling downward. Pastor and author Levi Lesko described this like, what if, what if you could spiral upward? Why does spiraling always have to be down? What if the struggles and, and, and the issues that you face is actually what God's gonna use to transform and change you from the inside out, so that when you come on the other side of it, you're stronger than ever before, and you can actually minister to people who've gone through something similar. We have to as Christians stop acting like the purpose of life is to simply arrive at death. And it feels like the Christian life sometimes is like we're just simply trying to run from sin. And we are, but we're, that's not the goal. The goal is just not to avoid sin, 000, don't touch me, sin, Oh, avoid sin. 00, we're going through. Then like, if you're just running from sin the whole time. That's exhausting, and it feels pointless because the reason he tells you to leave sin behind, to flee sexual morality, to flee the things that are hindering you, is because you're called to run the race that God has called you to. And so the movement of light is that light reveals, then light heals, and which leads to the purpose of your life, which is that light shines. Light shines. He says, awake, oh sleeper, arise from the dead that Christ will shine on you. This is mission. You have identity. You were darkness. You now are light. But then God exposes and heals and transforms you. But the reason he transforms you is for the purpose of mission. I, uh, a few years ago, we began a partnership with I68 Ministries and building houses down in Mexico for those in need. And when you go down there, you camp, and this might surprise some of you, but I'm not the most outdoorsy. Uh, and if you question that already, I use the word outdoorsy. No one actually does that if they are outdoors. Um. And so I had to borrow some equipment to go down, and I had to go in the garage and I got the old flashlight out ready and some of the things to bring down with me. I was like, oh, the flashlight doesn't work. Well, before I threw it away, I was like, oh, wait, wait, let's see if, oh, it probably just needs new batteries. OK. Put the batteries in, look at like, oh, flashlight doesn't work. And after a few minutes of griping, I realized, oh, I hadn't turned it on. Then I had to flip the switch on. And then as I was going through, and as we were camping, going through, walking and I was like, oh man, the flashlight's not working. Whereas, I was so used to walking without a flashlight, I'm walking with the light pointed down at the ground and instead of ahead of where I'm supposed to be going. And here's why I say all this. Um. We're a bunch of flashlights here in the room. And some of you are like, oh, it's not working. OK, but have you changed the batteries? Do you have the power of Christ in you? Do you have the Holy Spirit in your life? Because apart from the Holy Spirit, you can do nothing. Is the light of Christ coming in? Have you, have you brought into light the things that you struggle with, the things that you doubt, the things that you're battling? As it says, for example, in First John 1:9, that if we confess our sins, and verse 7 says, if you walk in the light, it says in verse 9, there, if you confess your sins. That he is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, that when you step into that light, when you have the power of God in your life, then it can change things. If you put the new batteries in. But then also, if you have the new batteries in, have you turn it on. One of my fears as a pastor is that we're a bunch of flashlights that only turn on on Sunday mornings for an hour. I mean, I want the light on here, right, to encourage sir one another on. But the purpose for the light is to go be the light to the world. Are you pointing it in the right direction? I've had conversations with people and they're telling me it's like, man, my gosh. It's my workplace is dark. It's just, it's just a dark world. I'm like, oh, if only God sent a light into that place. Do you know of anybody? Oh, what if God put you? To be the light in that place. Because as believers, we're called the shine. And that's a lot more fun than just simply running from sin or hiding under the bed. Right? We want to make a difference. Will be used by God to build his kingdom. To declare victory over death and sin and brokenness. Jesus says these words in Matthew 5:14 to 16, he says, you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand that gives light to all those in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. You are no longer defined by the sin that led to death, but defined by the God who brings you into light. That now we get the privilege and the honor and the joy to shine together into this community in the world, to bring his kingdom down, to say that there is hope and love and forgiveness available to all who put their faith in him. You don't have to stay in darkness. I know because I was in darkness, but I'm now in light. Philippians 2:15 says. That you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Does our society scare me? Sure, a little bit. Like, there's no way you can turn on the news, like, I feel pretty good today, you know. I think our leaders got it. Right now, in, in, in the world, in the country, and, and whatever side you're on, right? Like, it's so easy to be discouraged, but can I tell you something? That as the world gets darker, the gospel shines brighter. And we get to be light to the world. That you are no longer defined by the sins that lead to death, but when you step into the light as he is in the light, that light transforms, changes your heart, you experience forgiveness and joy and purpose and peace, that you get to turn around and be that light to the people around you. And I'm telling you, that's the beginning of revival. But know this. God won't heal what you still hide. Have you heard those stories about what's called a monkey trap in these areas in the Amazon jungle or in Africa. There's the natives would would try to capture these monkeys who were trying to take all their food. They would just put a piece of fruit in a hollow tree branch or hollowed log, and the hole would be big enough for the monkey to go in. And then it could go out anytime, but as soon as it grabs the fruit, it's too big to pull out, so it gets stuck. And then it would freak out as people are coming in, but it wouldn't let go of what it was hanging on to. What are you hanging on to? That you need to let go of. What is the issue, the struggle, the addiction? The pain that you need to process that you need to bring to light, say, God, I need you to work here. Because he doesn't need you perfect. But he's not going to heal what you keep hiding. I want to challenge you this morning. And then live out those three movements of light. Number one. Are you willing to reveal and be honest with God? Be honest with the addiction. With the pride, with the lust, with the anger, with the drink. With the jealousy, the bitterness, what is it that you're hanging on to that you're trying to hold back from that you don't want anybody to know? Can you bring that into light? Because when you reveal it, God can heal it. And I don't want it to be like cliche and just be like, oh, it just happens immediately. Like it might take some time, it might take some process. But I want you to have. Than those honest conversations and bring what that is to someone you trust. I, I remember one of the toughest things I did early on in marriage was, uh, finally coming clean to my wife of struggles that I had had with pornography and, and some other things in my life that I, I tried to portray this perfect picture, and we're newly married and I'd never opened up about my issues or struggles because I was trying to be perfect, I was trying to be strong, I was trying to be this man. And I finally, a few weeks in the marriage was just like, OK, here's actually the real me. Here's everything I struggled with, here's all the stuff. I was like, whoa. But by bringing everything in. And openness and trust that God was able to work in our marriage and our relationship and bring healing and love and, and, and, and triumph and overcoming and, and, and joy that comes in because God's not gonna work and heal in your life, what you're still trying to hide. Are there people in your life that you can confess to and confess with, that you can be honest with, no matter how hard that conversation is? I'm telling you, if you do that, that's where God does his best and deepest work. Because if the light reveals and the light heals, it leads to that last part, which is the light shines. Are you willing to live out your life? In this dark world, are you willing to put in the batteries in the flashlight, turn it on and go point that light where it's needed most? That we can bring light and glory to a dark world that desperately needs it. I don't know about you, but I want to be on that search and rescue team. Right. Like you see those movies with the National Guard and they come and they're over the seas and they got a helicopter with the lights and they dive in, like, I'm in, man, let's go. But we gotta be honest, we gotta be open. We gotta take our life out of the hiddenness and be authentic and real. Say, God, change it. You are the light. I want to be the light. Let's go shine together. I'm telling you, if we can do that. We can change the world. And I know that Because he is the light. And he's called us as a church to be his light. Let's go shine together. Will you join me, dear only Father? Thank you for your example. God, the first thing you did in this world was to speak light into existence. That when your son came, he was described as the light into the world that no darkness has overcome it, but light has overcome the dark. And that God, then we now are called children of light and called to walk in light and to walk as light. But God, you're not gonna heal what we keep hidden. I pray that we would confess it before you. I pray that we would confess it to each other, to be open and have honest conversations with where we battle. So that you can work and transform us from the inside out, that together through the healing power. Of your love and forgiveness, God, and your Holy Spirit, that we can go and shine in this broken world. Reflect your light to a world that desperately needs it. Help us to shine today. We love you, God. It's in your sons and we pray. Amen.