Rise and Shine

Introduction

Isaiah 60:1-3      

"Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
² For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
³ The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising."

Rise and Shine! Those were the words used by June Cleaver to holler up the stairs at Wally and Beaver. Those were the words used by my father to stir my sister and I each morning as we were growing up. They are wonderful words of promise. It is the promise that the long night of darkness has finally ended and the joyous rays of morning have arrived.

They are the words Israel needed to hear. Exiles are returning to Jerusalem, and the passage reminds them that the wonderful presence of God is about to change their darkness into light.

They are words everyone needs to hear. Everyone finds themselves in dark situations and dark moments. The Bible says Jesus is the Light, and in Him is no darkness at all. My friends, the Light of Jesus will always dispel the darkness that engulfs this world.

Let’s look at this passage this morning and see what the Bible teaches us about the glorious light of God that we are to reflect as Christians.

I. The source of Darkness - vs. 2

Have you ever been in a place where there’s no light whatsoever?

I remember on a couple of occasions when my wife and I went on tours through caves, and they get to that point in the tour where they turn out the lights. It’s so black in the earth's bosom that you can’t even see your hand two inches in front of your face. There simply is no light.

Illustration of Spelunking with teenagers:

For years I would take a group of teens from our youth group spelunking (cave exploring) in some “little known” caves in southern Indiana. After being underground for nearly 2 hours, we would pause to eat some snacks. I would pass out candles to the teenagers, taking their flashlights and their backup source of light, and with lit candles would talk about the Christians worshiping in the Catacombs as they ate snacks. Imagine having all 15 teenagers sitting with a candle and talking about early Christian worship and then saying, “Quiet, what is that I hear, it is the Romans, blow your candles out.” They always followed my example and did it, and suddenly it was pitch black. Before long the darkness presses in upon you like a heavy burden, surrounding you, closing in upon you, it is almost claustrophobic. Now, they were warned not to move, to sit right where they were. It gave me the opportunity to talking about the fact that making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Now, what I did next always brought repentance. I would talk to the teens about Hell and how it was a place of “outer darkness”. After describing it vividly for 5 minutes I would then turn on my flashlight (remember, I had all of theirs), and would ask if anyone wanted to come to the Light of Jesus and ask Him into their heart so they never had to face the place of eternal darkness. Friends, we had what I call several “Cave Conversions”.

Illustration of farmer dating in darkness

Back in the days before electricity, a tight-fisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. The farmer said, “When I went a-courting’ I never carried one of them things; I always went in the dark.” The hired hand responded, “Yes, and look at what you got!

Listen folks, when you look at something in the dark, it does not look so bad. It’s a great relief when they actually turn the lights back on and continue the tour. At the moment I turned the lights back on, the darkness fled and everyone began to feel more at ease.

This morning the Prophet Isaiah speaks to us about light and darkness. He speaks to us about living in the darkness of this sinful world.

II. The Source of the Light - vs. 1&2

But in his words, we have the words of God giving us encouragement. As we live and work in this dark sinful world, we are not to be overwhelmed by the darkness, because God sends his light into the world; a light that shines out of the darkness and a light that shines out for all. The kingdoms of Judah and Israel at the time of Isaiah were living in darkness. A darkness that surrounded them spiritually and was darker than the deepest cave you would ever tour on this earth.

There are many today who are living in darkness, spiritually speaking. Friends, if you are living in darkness, understand what the light does:

• The light removes darkness
• The Light reveals danger
• The Light shows the path before us

In John. 8:12 Jesus says, " When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” (NIV)

III. The Force of the Light - vs. 1&3

We are reflected light. Just as the sun is the source of light and the moon reflects light from the sun to the earth, Jesus is our source of light and we are to reflect that light to others.

1 PETER 2:9 tell us, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (NLT)

EPHESIANS 5:8-9 emphatically states, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (NKJV)

The New Living Translation says it this way: “For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it.”

This is why Jesus tells us to follow Him, and why we are told to be holy, and why we are told to do His will and obey His commandments. We are the Jesus that people will see. They will base their thoughts about Jesus by how we conduct ourselves, or what kind of light we reflect. We should reflect the glory and light of Jesus we love. Listen friends, the further that we get away from the source of light, the dimmer our reflection will be. Understanding that we are reflected light should help us understand why we need to diligently work to stay near to Jesus.

Conclusion

Are you walking in darkness this morning or have you come to the light of the Lord? Are you close to Jesus this morning or have you slipped so far away that your reflection of Christ has grown dim? Notice in verse 3 Isaiah is referring to the powerful influence the Israelites would have on those around them. What level of influence do you currently have for Jesus?

Let me challenge you to Rise and Shine! By coming to Christ, the darkness of sin and despair will be dispelled by His glorious light.