12/22/24 “The World’s Night Light”
“The World’s Night Light”
Luke 2:1-20
Think about the last time you’ve been in complete darkness.
Pitch black. No natural or artificial light sources whatsoever.
Maybe it was in your basement during a power outage…
…or in an interior room in your house when all the lights were shut off…
Maybe it was in a tunnel or a cave somewhere…
Last Summer when Lisa & I were in Alaska, we took a train ride through a long tunnel up in the mountains North of Skagway.
…the tunnel had a slight bend to it, so there was a moment in which we couldn’t see light from behind us or ahead of us…It was an eerie absolute darkness for a time.
Maybe you live way out in the country where there isn’t any ‘sky glow’ from nearby cities…and if the moon and stars are shrouded by heavy cloud cover…it can get really close to absolute darkness, right?
Some of you may have heard me mention this, but when I was about 8 years old, my cousin & I – yes, the same cousin referenced in last week’s sermon…(it seems most of my traumatic childhood memories involve my cousin MIke in some way…)
…Well, we were at the Sauk County Fair and, for some reason, we thought it would be fun to experience a walk-through trailer “ride” called ‘Pitch Black’
…and that’s basically what it was, you walk in one end of a 53’ semi trailer and try to feel your way through a maze of hallways until you finally reach the exit at the other end of the trailer…all in complete darkness!
I have to say…this was probably the most traumatic event of my childhood…
I think it took me about half an hour to eventually find my way through the many winding hallways and dead ends…
What didn’t help the situation was there were many other kids in this trailer of doom who were crying incessantly and shrieking with terror thinking they’d never see their parents again…
..from the outside, it must have sounded like some sort of torture chamber straight out of the middle ages…
…and because you couldn’t see anything, you were always bumping into other kids….poking people’s eyes out…
Tripping over some of the casualties who had been trampled…just laying on the floor…
…or they had just recoiled into a fetal position, haven given up all hope of ever getting out of this thing…
I still remember one girl grabbed the back of my shirt in hopes that I would lead her to freedom, but after about 15 minutes of getting nowhere, I think she gave up on me!
…she should have followed my cousin – I think Mike made it through in about 5 minutes…
…By the time I finally made it out of that dark death hole, I think he had already ridden a few other rides, and was half done with a snow-cone.
To this day, I’m convinced the “Pitch Black” ride was for parents who were so sick of their kids, they saw this attraction as their one legal chance to unhitch their annoying ‘kid wagon’ from their lives…
…”well, if my kid doesn’t come out…he doesn’t come out….getting kind of hungry…guess its time to go home…”
See, that’s how parents were back in the 70’s and 80’s…
Back in those days, our parents let us do crazy dangerous things – I believe – half hoping that natural selection would weed some of us out…
Like I said, I was traumatized… and for many years after the ‘Black-Out’ experience, I would never go to bed without one of these (Hold up Night-Light)
I simply refused to be in absolute darkness for many years, and a night light - like this one - brought me much peace of mind as I would drift off to sleep at night being able to view all four walls of by bedroom.
Apparently, I felt that if I could at least see the nighttime monsters coming at me, I’d have a better chance of survival…
Having a night light maybe wasn’t an effective strategy against ghosts, goblins, or the boogey-man, but it was very effectual for my health and my peace of mind…
..As It brought me many hours of sleep that I would not have had if my night light were not in my room.
As we turn to this familiar passage of scripture this morning from Luke chapter 2 recounting the birth of the savior…
…I’d like for us to consider 3 ways in which Jesus’ birth was like a powerful night-light given to the world…
1) …Because the light of Jesus came to this earth, we have the ability to see the spiritual landscape of sin all around us….
Just as light exposes one’s eyes to items in an otherwise dark room, the spiritual light of Jesus exposes sin in this world.
Some of Jesus’ most important teachings had to do with how to properly understand sin…and what to do when we do encounter it.
In its most basic sense, sin is anything that conflicts with God’s nature.
Sin is missing the mark of holy perfection…
Sin is Falling short of God’s standard of righteousness…
Sin is to disobey the moral laws of God…
Sin is to serve one’s own desires rather than desire to serve God.
Jesus tells us that – in this world – sin is all around us….and – as followers of Christ – we will experience pushback because of our faith…
When talking about the sinfulness of the world, Jesus has this to tell us in John chapter 15 (John 15:18-19) “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
…and picking up in verse 22 (John 15:22) “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.”
Like a bright light shone in a room that had been dark for a long time, Jesus’ supernatural life, teachings, and miracles provided no excuse for anyone to reject His divine credentials and authority.
On the farm where I spent much of my childhood, there was an old basement cellar underneath the kitchen…
it was one of those creepy old cellars that was only used during canning season and a few other times throughout the year…
One day, my grandma had me go down the ladder (No Stairway…just a Ladder) to the cellar to grab a jar of something she had canned half a year ago
As my feet hit the floor and I took a few steps away from the light coming from above, I couldn’t see anything…
…So I took out my flashlight…turned it on…and YIKES!
…They were creepy crawly things everywhere, including cobwebs all around me…on my clothes…in my hair…
Anybody remember when Indiana Jones goes into the pit with snakes all around him…? this was similar…this was my Indiana Jones experience.
(…And, no, this time my cousin wasn’t with me! 😊)
But the thing is, I would not have been freaked out about my surroundings had I not turned on my flashlight…
The light was what enabled me to see the ugliness of this underworld that was thriving underneath the old farmhouse…
When it comes to sin in this world – as well as the sin that occasionally surfaces in our own lives….
Jesus is the light that exposes it to our spiritual eyes…
When speaking to a man by the name of Nicodemus – a Jewish leader who was caught up in the darkness of idolizing legalism and tradition – Jesus said:
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19-21)
A few chapters later in John’s gospel we read these words from the lips of the savior: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
If you know Jesus as your personal Lord & Savior, you have been given supernatural power to recognize sin – both in the world, and within yourselves – AND you’ve been given the power to reject sin and walk in the light.
A central theme of the New Testament is that where there is light, there is life.
If you are In Christ, you will be able to see this sinful underworld for what it truly is…
…Jesus is the light for your journey and He will bring you to the place of eternal life…
I love how Psalm 119:105 says this same thing about the Word of God, which is another way of actually referring to Jesus: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
A light for our spiritual journey amidst a world of sin….
This is the first way in which the baby from Bethlehem – and the life he lived – provided light for a dark world.
2) The second way in which Jesus’ birth was like a night-light to the world is that we – as His followers – no longer need to fear the darkness of death
If God had not taken on flesh and come to the earth as a baby to fulfill a mission of redemption, we as a human race would have no hope in life beyond the grave.
…without the life of Jesus – one that ended on a sacrificial cross and began in a humble feeding trough – we would all be condemned by our sins…eternally separated from God in a place the Bible calls hell.
With that in mind, its no wonder humanity’s foremost fear throughout all time has been the fear of death.
It’s the doorway to our eternal destiny that is filled with much mystery and…to many people, much trepidation.
…And as more and more people ascribe to having a worldview void of any faith whatsoever, it’s not surprising that – for them - death looms like a raging storm in the back of their minds…
…Like an insurmountable predator gaining ground with every tik-Tok of the clock…
Is it any wonder that people who are extremely rich have chosen to have their bodies cryogenically frozen in the hopes that someday science will find a cure for whatever killed them….and have their bodies brought back to life.
…or, apparently, if you can’t afford to freeze your entire body, they can just freeze your head for a reduced price…creepy, right?…
Hmmm, floating heads.…Anyone else getting wizard of Oz vibes?
Just out of curiosity…I wonder what’ll happen when people’s fortunes eventually dry up and they run out of rent money at the old Frosty-Fingers Hotel….?
Is it any wonder scientists are desperately trying to figure out a way to fuse human brainwaves to microchips in a feeble attempt to preserve cognitive existence beyond the grave…?
But…desperately searching for immortality is nothing new.
Ever since the 13th century, people have been searching for what’s called the Holy Grail….
…the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper with the legend being it has powers of healing and the preservation of youth for eternity.
Again…Indiana Jones comes to mind, right?....Remember the old Crusader knight living in the cave with all sorts of grails around him….? ”You have chosen…Poorly”
People without Jesus fear death every single day because – in their minds – they are one step closer to becoming worm food, and nothing more….
….But Jesus came that we ought not fear death…
In fact, Jesus tells his disciples – and us – that he has defeated death.
He gives John these comforting words recorded in Revelation “…Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)
Quoting the prophet Hosea, the apostle Paul also reminds us of how Jesus has conquered death when he says this: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
Amen!
A huge part of the light of Bethlehem involves the fact that because Jesus came, we need not fear the doorway of death…
Because for the one who has placed their faith and trust in Jesus, death leads to a place of love, warmth, and beauty far beyond what our finite minds can comprehend or describe.
I’ve read a couple of books about many individuals who have had near-death experiences, and even though we have to approach these stories with caution, they do provide a tangible reminder that – at the very least – this existence of flesh and blood is not the end of our existence.
Our souls live on…just make sure you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior…and not only that you know Him…but – more importantly - that He knows you.
Then you will be able to say with the Prophet Hosea, and the Apostle Paul: Death, where is your victory…death where is your sting?
The third and final way in which Jesus’ birth was a night light to humanity is that we are no longer in the dark as to what we must do in order to have eternal salvation…
The primary and most important mission of Jesus Christ coming to earth as a tiny baby was to redeem mankind through taking upon himself the punishment of our sins, and in so doing, clothe us in His own righteousness….so that those who are in Christ may one day stand sinless before God the Father.
In Matthew’s account of the angel visiting Joseph after he had learned of Mary’s pregnancy, the angel said these words concerning the baby: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
Verse 11 (Luke 2:11) of our passage for today records the angels saying to the shepherds “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
Did you notice those three titles for Jesus in that verse?
Savior. Christ. Lord.
Jesus is savior because He would redeem people from their sins
Jesus is the Christ because He was the Messiah…or, anointed one (This is what the term ‘Christ’ actually means)
Lastly, Jesus is Lord…whenever ‘Lord’ is capitalized, it refers to Divinity…not simply human nobility…in other words, Jesus is….God.
Our Advent theme for today is love…
Folks, there is no greater love story than God’s plan of redemption for mankind.
…sorry, Hallmark channel, but God has you beat.
…And this God loves you with a kind of love that goes beyond our understanding…
…There is nothing you could ever have done in your past, or ever will do in your future that will stop God from loving you.
…But He does require one thing from you.
He wants your heart…and He wants all of it.
He wants your devotion, your time, your praise, and your trust.
He wants your life….a life of belief in – and service to – His son Jesus Christ.
In John 14:6, Jesus says “ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
He also says: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
As we saw earlier, John 8:12 records Jesus saying: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus also says: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved….” (John 10:9)
And finally, Jesus says to his friend Martha in John 11:25-26 “…I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?
This is the question I want to leave with you today?
Do You Believe This?
Do you believe that Jesus came and died upon a cross to save you from your sins, and was raised three days later, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father to continually intercede for you?
You see, the Christmas story is just as much about the cross as it is about the manger…
Just as much about the stone that was rolled away as it is about the stone feeding trough.
Just as much about Mary gazing upon her son dying on a cross with arms held wide as it is about Mary gazing upon her newborn son with arms at his side.
Easter and Christmas are two sides to the same light-filled coin of salvation.
The story of the greatest gift ever offered to mankind…is far better than any gift that’s ever been under any Christmas tree…
The gift of eternal life…
and this is the brightest part of the night-light that is Jesus Christ.
So, to sum up, because Jesus came to earth, we can:
1) Know what sin is
2) Have no fear of death
3) Understand in whom we need to believe in order to inherit life eternal.
Friend, if you have yet to give your life to Jesus, please don’t delay.
None of us knows how long we have left on this earth…
Those 2 souls who were gunned down on Monday at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison – I’m sure they had no plans of dying that day…
We never know when our time on this side of eternity will be up.
Just make sure you are ready to walk through that door when your time comes.
Let’s Pray.