SABBATH THOUGHT 2024-06-01—COMMISSION OF LIGHT
May God bless you on His Sabbath day!
The Bible begins with God creating the heavens and earth. In describing the earth, it says it was without “form and void”. Those two words can also mean desert and empty, respectively. I picture the earth resembling planets such as Mars, which is empty of everything except desert. It is interesting, though, that the earth was also in total darkness at that point:
GENESIS 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
It does not say that the rest of the heavens were in darkness, just the earth and the first thing that God did was remove the darkness:
GENESIS 1:3-4 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided [separated] the light from the darkness.
The Bible says God SAW the light and it was good. Without light, nothing is ‘good’. God and Jesus Christ ARE light so They are also the source of light, whether it is the created sun or Their own glory. For this reason, all who would be children of God must also become light. Like the earth that was in darkness, nothing is good that is in darkness. Only light is acceptable to God. Light is not just a metaphor either. It is a spiritual condition or state of existence. It is real, not imaginary. When someone is called, they are called into the light of God the Father and Jesus Christ:
1 PETER 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
As long as people are in darkness, they cannot find God. When they are called into the spiritual light of God, they can finally see and know Him:
2 CORINTHIANS 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Throughout the Bible are descriptions of God bringing people out of darkness into light. Why does the Bible talk so much about light? In the beginning, God created light to rid the earth of darkness. That is a physical condition that was ‘good’ at the time, but not perfect. For God, the physical is temporary whereas He is eternal spirit. If the earth is to be perfect, a different kind of light must be created:
JOHN 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Only spiritual light brings perfection. Physical light is unimaginably dim compared to spiritual light, which is so bright that physical beings are destroyed in God’s glorious light[1]. Perfection is only possible in the spirit, so those who worship God must BECOME children of spiritual light[2]:
JOHN 12:36 … believe in the Light, that you may become children of light. …”
Without spiritual light, no one can see or know God. Again, this is not some vague analogy. The light of God is not a physical one. Those who have the light of God IN them are a brightness that is LITERALLY visible in the spirit realm:
PHILIPPIANS 2:15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
I imagine the spiritual light of the children of God shines ever so brightly even though no physical beings can see it. But the children of God are able to sense this special light:
PSALM 43:3 Oh, send out Your [God’s] light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.
PROVERBS 4:18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Even if we cannot see the light of God manifested in us, it lights up the path of salvation because it is through the Holy Spirit we are able to follow that light. Physical beings see spiritual light “through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12) but it is there, nonetheless:
JOHN 16:13 “However, when it, the Spirit of truth, has come, it will guide you into all truth; for it will not speak on its own authority, but whatever it hears it will speak; and it will tell you things to come.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” The spiritual light of God lights up the path to the Kingdom. Where does it come from? It is light of the righteousness that God imputes to us:
PROVERBS 13:9 The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
PSALM 37:6 He [the LORD] shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
Children of God have a light shining about them that is the righteousness of God in them! It is given to those who obey Him and have the Law of Love in their hearts.
The earth is lit up by the sun and makes it beautiful to our physical senses. But imagine this world as God sees it. It is a world that is in utter spiritual darkness except for the very few children of light. His people are scattered here and there around the world. They appear as pinpricks of lights in a sea of darkness. Pictures of the earth at night show the earth is black except for lights from cities. Now imagine there are only a handful lights scattered around the world and that is how God sees this earth. To Him, it is complete blackness except for those pinpricks.
God is bringing this earth into the fullness of spiritual light. He is separating the darkness from light once again; only this time it is not with a physical sun but with billions of children of light. The light of God in His children allows them to come out of the darkness. That is when people see and know God. As more people become shining lights of God, the less darkness there will be on the earth.
That spiritual light is also a beacon of the gospel, the good message of a spiritual life in a Kingdom that is only light:
2 CORINTHIANS 4:3-4 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
The gospel IS that spiritual light that shines in the children of God. What is the gospel? The “GLORY OF CHRIST.” It is a message of LIGHT itself—the ultimate spiritual light! The term ‘gospel’ likely brings to mind some long and complicated story of sin, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, obeying the Law of God, baptism, etc. However, as I wrote in the previous Sabbath Thought “Believe the Gospel,” the term gospel is derived from the Old English for “God’s Story”. The gospel is God’s Story. It is a story FROM God and ABOUT God. It is about bringing mankind out of spiritual darkness into the true, eternal spiritual light of God.
Many organizations promote the idea that they alone have the responsibility to preach the gospel to the world in order to fulfill the commission of Jesus Christ given to the apostles. However, that is simply not the case. In my experience, very few people came to hear the truth of God through an organization. Most came to believe through contact with existing believers—not a preacher, TV or radio broadcast, or magazine. This is why organizations that think they alone have the responsibility and means to fulfill the commission actually hinder it. The truth is that God makes His people children of light for the very purpose of spreading the “light of the gospel”—the story of God and Jesus Christ. Darkness spreads darkness and LIGHT spreads LIGHT. The LIGHT of the gospel is spread by children of LIGHT.
Believers ARE the pinpricks of spiritual light in this world. Wherever they go, their light shines. Most hide or run away from that spiritual light because “the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19). But there are those few who can sense it when the darkness is exposed by the light of one of those pinpricks. Scripture says:
JOHN 6:44 “No one can come to Me [Jesus Christ] unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
How does God draw people? By exposing them to the “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” from those who are children of light. God has never drawn anyone to an organization. It is the righteousness of each SAINT that SHINES in this world. Scriptures actually says each of YOU are the LIGHT that shines!
ROMANS 2:19 … YOU yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
ISAIAH 58:8, 10 Then YOUR light shall break forth like the morning, … And YOUR righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. … 10 … YOUR light shall dawn in the darkness [upon those who are called], And your darkness shall be as the noonday [to those who are called].
ACTS 13:47 “For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set YOU as a light to the Gentiles, That YOU should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
PHILIPPIANS 2:15 … children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom YOU shine as lights in the world,
When it comes to doing the ‘work’ of God, EVERY believer is commissioned by Him to have a part in it. EVERY CHILD OF GOD IS A LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL. Do not cover or hide your light from others but make sure it is like a city on a hill, shining for all to see:
MATTHEW 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
God expects all of His children to bring spiritual light to a very spiritually dark world. Be one of those lights that is shining brightly so that God draws others out of darkness into YOUR light!
May God’s grace and peace be upon you!
Steven Greene
https://sabbathreflections.org
1 comment
Lee
Thank you Steven for another ENLIGHTENING message!! If these organizations are SO important, then why was Revelation 14:6-7 written? “And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people; saying with a loud voice, FEAR GOD, and give glory to HIM, because the hour of His judgement has come; and WORSHIP HIM who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Emphasis mine throughout) Why aren’t these organizations there to do what the angels are going to do??? They must not be that important!! Many ministers are afraid to speak up and STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH for FEAR of what the leader of the ORGANIZATION might say or do!! I have heard other ministers and their families LAMBASTED from the pulpit by so called leaders!! I find this APPALLING! WHERE is the LOVE? Many leaders of these organizations wind up being filled with PRIDE and with an overwhelming sense of SELF importance!! “Now the PURPOSE of the commandment is *LOVE* out of a PURE HEART, and a GOOD conscience, and GENUINE FAITH; from which some, having MISSED THE MARK, have turned aside to VAIN JANGLING.” (1 Timothy 1:15-6) I recently tuned in briefly to hear a so called leader of an organization devote the entire sabbath service to “Questions and Answers”!! I find that disturbing on many levels!! This draws attention to the MINISTER and AWAY from the worship of God!! No wonder 2 Timothy 4:3-4 was written. “For there will come a time when they will NOT tolerate SOUND DOCTRINE; but according to their OWN LUSTS they shall accumulate to themselves a great number of teachers, having ears itching to hear what SATISFIES THEIR CRAVINGS; and they shall TURN AWAY their own ears from THE TRUTH; and they shall be turned aside unto MYTHS.” What about the “Good Samaritan” mentioned in Luke 10:33? What ORGANIZATION was he a member of? Verse 31 states; “Now by coincidence, a certain priest (and you could substitute the word Minister) went down the road; and when he saw him, he PASSED BY ON THE OTHER SIDE.” He was a priest yet he TOTALLY IGNORED a PERSON IN NEED!! The same with the Levite in verse 32. “But a certain Samaritan, as he was journeying, came to him; and when he saw him, he was MOVED WITH COMPASSION.” (Verse 33) Only the Samaritan did the right thing!! Ministers are not as important as some of them would like to *THINK* they are!! “But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these were silent, THE STONES WOULD CRY OUT.” (Luke 19:40) TRUE ministers of God have one thing on common and that is HUMILITY!! (As well as LOVE for the brethren) Are ministers able to save people? “When someone says, “I am of Paul,” (substitute your pet minister’s name) and another one says, “I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? Who then is Paul? And who then is Apollos? They are but ministers through whom we believed, even as THE LORD gave to each one. I planted and Apollos watered, but *GOD* GAVE THE INCREASE.” Therefore, neither is he who plants anything, nor he who waters; for it is *GOD* who gives the INCREASE.”(1 Corinthians 3:4-7) God hung the earth on NOTHING, what have all of the leaders of these organizations done in comparison to this? I venture to say NOT MUCH!! “HE stretches out the north over the empty space, and HE hung the earth on NOTHING.” (Job 26:7) “Jesus said unto him, “I AM the WAY, and the TRUTH, and the LIFE; no one comes to the Father EXCEPT *THROUGH ME*” (Luke 14:6) By the way, I came into the church through a PERSON and NOT an ORGANIZATION!! It is a good thing because that organization is no longer in existence! Unfortunately, some have chosen to utilize the same methods of operation which brought my former association down. The true servants of God follow HIM! “My sheep hear MY voice, and I know them, and they FOLLOW **ME**.” And I will give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and NO ONE shall take them OUT of My hand.” (John 10:27-28)