Monday, January 4, 2016

January 2-4, 2016 Pastor Forrest Bivens Rise and Shine in this New Year!



Isaiah 60:1-6   Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. 5Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 6Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.
Introduction:  I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. I was used to having sunshine 85% of the day time year-round (percentage of time between sunrise and sunset that sunshine reaches the ground).  For me that was normal and I assumed it was the same everywhere else. Of course I was wrong. In and around Milwaukee the percentage is 54% -- 31% less time. My first year spent in Wisconsin (as a student in 1961-1962 school year) found me kind of depressed and unable to explain it – until someone told me that our emotions are influenced by the amount of light we receive – whether it’s sunshine (best) or artificial light (OK). God created us to understand and appreciate light, so he often uses this imagery to picture greater truths. Today’s text is a great example – with an invitation:
Rise and Shine in this New Year!
1.      Rise because you have light
2.      Shine because you are light
Part 1:  Rise because You Have Light
1.      Isaiah starts by pointing us to a penetrating and universal darkness: See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples.  “Darkness language” is often used in the Bible to picture serious problems that sinful mankind has: ignorance, sin, and sorrow
·         The worst of all ignorance that people can have is to be clueless regarding God and how sinners can get right with God.
·         The worst of all sin is to be enslaved by the guilt and power of sin but lacking of repentance.  In a word: it’s the darkness of unbelief.
·         The penetrating darkness of sorrow involves enduring disappointment and sadness of being a sinner in a sinful world but lacking the joy of a faith-life.  
2.      Isaiah wants us to do more than casually observe these are realities in this world. He says, “See! or Behold!” to get our attention. This is a serious and important truth. Also, he speaks of “the earth” and “the peoples,” references to mankind universally. It wasn’t just Israel in the OT, but also all nations. It isn’t just the US today but all 196 countries worldwide. The darkness of ignorance, unbelief, sin and sorrow are pervasive everywhere. For anyone who cares about people, this is a tragic reality!
3.      Then there’s the dramatic shift in focus: Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. . . the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. There is light to counter darkness, knowledge and wisdom to replace ignorance, faith and spiritual life to oppose sin and unbelief, and joy to react to sorrow. God is addressing his people – the “Israel within Israel” – those who embrace the gospel centered in the Messiah. They were the first to see and know the light (the gospel is God’s power for salvation to all who believe, to the Jew first, then to the Gentile.) References to the Lord rising upon you and his glory appearing over you are linked to the Messiah. The Gospel reading for Christmas Day included these words: We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). The Light of the Word has come!
4.      Because this is so—and because you know Jesus: “Rise!” Get up and be active about life and living. Express the good news that light has answered darkness in your heart and life. What a wonderful invitation for this Sunday – for at least 2 reasons: (1) Epiphany season begins Thursday and fulfills what is here promised: Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Starting with the Wise Men or Magi, Gentiles are brought to bask in the light of the Messiah alongside Jews. The Epiphany season, showcasing how Jesus exhibited himself as the Messiah through signs and wonders as well as words, is a continuous call to us all: Rise! Get up and actively express new life in Christ, with new wisdom, joy, and faith. (2) We have just begun to live out another calendar year, not knowing in detail how things will play out for us and our loved ones, but still knowing we have every reason to be up-and-at-it, active, eager, expressive of new life in Christ. Rise, Jesus remains with you! Rise, your light has come and still shines brightly in his gospel! Rise, you have meaning and purpose, goals and hopes that really mean something. Rise as forgiven and comforted sinners who are saints!

Transition: Rise. And shine! There is a double emphasis and urging here. We rise because we have light in Christ; we shine because we are also light!
Part 2: Shine because You Are Light.
1.      Let’s remember that Jesus clearly said, “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12) AND that he also said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). Both are true. We may speak of “moonlight” even though that light is a borrowed or reflected light from the sun. Christians reflect the light of Christ. This is inevitable: 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. Jesus knows well the weaknesses and faults of us Christians, yet he means what he says. What we all do have includes: 1) a value system that has substance and meaning in contrast to the empty, here-today-gone-tomorrow baubles worldlings have to settle for; 2) love supernaturally given and maintained in us, to show to friend and foe alike, to be different, drawing attention to Jesus; 3) the ability to bear crosses and endure disappointments with grace, patience, and optimism bases on God’s sure promises.
2.      First key question: Do we agree with this high view of ourselves? We are often quick to see darkness and dimness more than brightness. This is the way the devil and our own sinful nature like us to see things – they never trust divine promises a bit. Nor do we wish to deny our weaknesses and faults. But these don’t deny or change God’s truth of our also being light. Perhaps a comparison will help: we know there are many different lamps and lights and they may be made out of many different materials (like silver, gold, crystal glass, wood, tin, clay, plastic). Some are weaker, others stronger; some are highly valued by people, others considered of little value. But the truth remains: when connected to a power supply, all can give light or shine. So it is for all who are connected to the living God through faith in Jesus. May this view of ourselves prevail!
3.      Second key question: Do we believe positive things will result when we shine? Isaiah does – God promises it. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. 5Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 6Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. What an almost unbelievable promise! We are quick to think and say that so many will reject our faith and testimony in Christ. We know that is also true: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (Jn 3:19-20). But that is never universally true – The Lord’s Word will never return to him empty, without accomplishing what he wants it to (Isa 55:10-11). The timetable often calls us to show patience. The sometimes gradual nature of the light dispersing darkness (like sunlight dispersing fog layer by layer) means we may not see the full effect immediately – but the work is being done. And the slow-but-steady impact of a godly, loving lifestyle coupled with Christ-centered affirmations of sins forgiven and destinies redirected to heaven remains firm: darkness gives way to light in God’s good time.
4.      Because all of this is true: Shine! Look once more at this text. The opening two words, “Arise, shine” are the only two words that invite, encourage, or command us to do something. Everything else is trustworthy information about the gospel realities that God has established, salvation promises that he makes regarding the future of his people in the last days, and comforting descriptions of how well this will turn out for us and those we serve in Christ. Wow! What a perfect example of “evangelical admonition” or gospel encouragements to allow us to start the new year well! The instructions and revealed will of our God are so closely linked to his saving acts and gracious promises that they move the heart to respond.
Conclusion: May this balance – with the gospel promises outweighing our clear duty and responsibility – characterize the whole year among us! If we want to learn to paint, it’s a good thing to spend time with a painter; to learn to build it’s good to spend time and learn from a builder; to learn to work on a car it’s wise to spend time with an auto mechanic. And to be godly and Christlike, it’s best to spend time with God and Christ. With open Bibles, open hearts, and open minds, let’s do that this year. Then we’ll know firmly that we have light and are light – and we’ll rise and shine in the new year. Amen.

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