Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Living In The Light Pt.1

Hallelujah! Amen! Let’s turn to Ephesians; we’re going to pick up where we were last Wednesday. I want to take a look at a couple of different principles that the Lord has spoken to us out of the fourth and fifth Chapters. I think it’s something that we might spend a little bit of time in—just refreshing ourselves in the great genius and wisdom of God in establishing the body of Christ and how He’s placed each one of us together in each other’s lives. And it’s not only in this fellowship. All around the world, the body of Christ comes together, every member being fitly joined together, bringing increase, strengthening, and edifying itself in love for the glory of God. That’s why we’re here tonight. We’re not here to hear a teaching. We’re not here because "That’s what we do; we go to church." We’re here, number one, to honor God and to fellowship with Him. We’re here to receive life and direction from the Head (as He begins to minister through each one of us) and to be even more effectively joined (or knit) together.

So, let’s take a look again at Ephesians, Chapters 4 and 5. I want to look at how this is working practically in our lives. It’s an exciting thing to watch genuine koinonia! Now, "koinonia" ("fellowship") isn’t the fact that we find people with common interests and go hang out at the mall, or play golf together, or ride our motorcycles, or whatever it is. That’s not koinonia. Just because Christians are hanging out isn’t koinonia. True koinonia takes place when we’ve been together, God has been glorified, and we’ve been edified. When we go apart, we’ve been refreshed, and we’ve been enlightened. Many times we’ve been encouraged, and sometimes we’ve been reproved or rebuked. That’s the reason that the Spirit of God has placed each one of us in contact with one another. That’s what the church is. And we meet in different areas geographically all around Washington D.C. Here it is, Wednesday night. Traditionally in America, on Wednesday night the church gathers together in different little meeting groups. Tragically, what’s happened is that many have become social clubs. Some have become doctors of theology, holding classes and trying to just allow knowledge to increase in the hearts and the minds of the parishioners. So, we come to class. We’re not here to learn. We will learn, but that’s not why we’re here. We’re not here to be refreshed. Hopefully we will be refreshed, but that’s not why we’re here. You are here for the person next to you. We’re here for the life of God to flow from the Head through each one of us and bring strength, refreshing, encouragement, and direction to those that we come in contact with.

It’s interesting that it starts right here. So, we’ll pick up where we were last week. Turn to Ephesians 4. The Scripture says in verse 11 that the Lord Jesus gave gifts to men. "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." Verse 12 says, "For the perfecting of the saints…" So, we’ve come here tonight, and God has placed a gift in our midst. And if I’m representing properly the Chief Shepherd of the church (the Lord Jesus), and if I’m doing my job, you’re getting perfected, not just encouraged. You don’t come here just to get stroked and feel good about yourself, though that happens sometimes (and praise God when it does!). You’re here to be perfected, conformed to the very image of Jesus. Not only do we become shepherds (or leaders) and set a course, but much of my role as the spiritual overseer is directing traffic—putting people together and seeing that the gifts are all functioning and working properly. So, it says that these gifts are to bring about the perfection of the saints to do the work of the ministry. Now, we all know this, but it’s not common knowledge in a lot of churches. "The ministers get paid to do the ministry!" That’s not my job. The ministry is your job. My job is to prepare you, to oversee, to guide, and to represent the authority of the Lord Jesus as we minister (or care, he goes on to say here) one for another.

Are we taking seriously our care for those around us? I don’t mean that we just have empathy for them, that we have an emotion, a love, or a concern. I’m talking about caring—caring for the wounds, caring for the lack of spiritual strength. Are we representing the standard of perfection to those whom we’re coming in contact with on a daily basis? Or have we subtly become worshipers of the creature more than the Creator? Are we more concerned that we don’t hurt our relationships horizontally by representing His lordship, His standard of perfection, and His perfect pursuit? Are our eyes looking up into the heavens, from whence comes our help? Are our treasures in heaven, where thieves can’t break in and steal? Are we caring for those around us biblically, and not from a humanistic standard?

The power of Secular Humanism (the religion of our nation) affects us whether we like to believe it or not. It’s growing in its influence. It’s being embraced to the point of insanity! I’m not going to get off on politics or some of the silly laws that are being passed today to take our children away from us and require us to bow our knees to the state (which says our children are actually theirs, and we have the privilege of paying for them). We know the biblical principles of training our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and yet we’re facing this spiritual force. Don’t minimize it. Don’t minimize its effect on your thinking. Some of us have been affected by Dr. Spock and the way he said that children ought to be raised. Christians are using "time-out," instead of the rod that drives foolishness far from them. It’s the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of man. Many of us love on a humanistic level and not a spiritual, divine level. I want to address that as we go on and see what biblical love and caring is. Its emphasis is always the eternal, not the temporal. Its end is Christlikeness, not momentary gratification. How do we relate to one another? What are we jealous for when we do come together, hopefully, for fellowship?

So, he says the standard is perfection, and the work belongs to each one of us. It’s the ministry that each one of us is responsible for. "Ministry" just means "service," doesn’t it? The term "to minister" means "to serve." It’s to prefer others better than ourselves and be able to sacrifice things that we would want to take upon ourselves because we see needs in those who are around us. I need a little bit of quiet time, but my brother needs his hands lifted up. Do I go off somewhere, lie in the hammock, and pray "Be warmed and filled"? Or do I lay my life down and go to lift up the hands that are hanging down around me? That’s the real care that we are to have for one another. I don’t want to get bogged down in this; I want to get to the main point here. I’m just setting these principles and the responsibility that each one of us has.

He goes on and says in the last phrase in verse 12 (look at it), "…for the edifying of the body of Christ." We know what "edifying" means. It just means "to build up." We’re to build up each other into the image of Jesus. Think about it this way. Are the people you consistently come in contact with growing? Are they more spiritual than they were last week? If they’re not, you’re not doing your job. Building up is not just encouraging. Building up is making this body, and each member of it, stronger. You’re receiving illumination as you’ve spent time with the Lord, and you’re able to speak into the lives of those around you. "Just this morning when I was in my devotions, the Lord showed me something!" We’re excited to share that with one another, instead of fantasy football, the latest "my game" or "our game." (What’s that new video game? Wii? I knew it was a plural thing!) "We’re going to get together and Wii-out, Wii-Wii!" There’s nothing wrong with that. But when I walk away from you, the accomplishment of the night should not have been me knocking you out playing Wii-ball, but leaving you stronger than I found you; amen?

Are we doing the work of the ministry? Is each one of us taking personally the call of God on our life? Every one of you is an ordained minister. "I have called you," Jesus said, "and I have ordained you, that you would bring forth fruit and your fruit would remain." How serious are we in this hour about growing a church in the image of Jesus, when around us, so many are apparently becoming weaker? We will not settle for mediocrity! We will not blaspheme the name of Jesus by bowing our knees to mediocrity, humanism, or tolerance. But we’ll stand boldly and proclaim freely the things that we’ve seen and heard in our prayer closet to the community of the saints coming together, with signs and wonders being done in the name of the Holy Child, Jesus. We’ll have a genuine love for one another that would cause people to look and say, "I’ve never seen a love like this!" That doesn’t mean giving an ooey-gooey hug and "I’ll bake you a pie." It has to do with bringing instruction and reproof through the Word of God and requiring the standard of perfection of the saints to begin to manifest among us to the edifying of the body of Christ.

These ministry gifts, he goes on to say in verse 13, will continue to manifest themselves "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." So, the requirement (or standard) is to be constantly heralded by the ministry gift. "Here’s the standard. Here’s the goal. Here’s where we’re going. Here’s how we’re going about it. And guess what? We’re not going to play like the world. We’re going to come together and pray. We’re not going to separate into little family units. We’re going to come together in these evenings and bring our families together, because two are better than one. Amen?" As we bring about the pursuit of unity and community, it’s for the purpose of glorifying the Lord in the raising up of a godly seed, another generation that believes just like we believe—brainwashed. People say, "It’s so terrible to talk about brainwashing. Young people just ought to be able to discover the truth on their own." We’ve already discovered it! They don’t have to go on looking! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. Thy Word is truth." There’s nothing to look for; we’ve found it, praise God! This is it, and our kids can’t think any other way.

I want to tell you something: the other side’s doing it. Somebody was telling me about a program on TV the other day that was showing some of the kids being trained in Islam. They were interviewing these little people, and they were saying, "I just can’t wait to die like my brother did, by being blown up! These were little kids, five-year-olds, speaking graphically of how their siblings were blown to pieces as they were destroying the Satan, America, and all of this. I want to tell you something: they’re going to win. If I had to place a bet right now, I’m betting on the terrorists! Do you want to know why? They’ve got conviction. Do we? I’m not talking about politically. I’m talking about the kingdom of God, the gospel. I’m talking about resisting principalities and powers. I’m not talking about the Crusades and going to war with the Muslims. Our weapons are not carnal; they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds! They’re going to win the political war. We’re going to win souls, praise God! And you have these extremists on both ends. I want to tell you something else. Our government is just as afraid of us as they are of those folks, and they’re going to try to do away with both of us.

As we come into this last day, warring against the spirit of antichrist, what are we doing to strengthen one another? Because we’re going to be persecuted from many sides—politically and spiritually. You cannot remain in the spiritual condition that you’re in and stand against what’s coming. So, God is calling us to strengthen ourselves, and to perfect ourselves, and to begin to solidify and know who’s among us. It’s just like with Gideon and the discovering of the 300. We need to know who’s ready to go to war, or who’s distracted by their own care and their own ease and comfort.

That’s how God chose Gideon’s 300, you remember. He said, "You have too many people with you. I want you to get rid of some of these folks." There were a lot of men who thought, "Yeah, I’m ready! We’re ready to go to war, praise God! Hurrah!" Then, when the opportunity came, after a time of being pushed to the place of exhaustion, and they finally came to the water, there were those who just stuck their head in and drank (doing the back stroke and all these different things!). Then there were the 300 (the Scripture says very clearly) who knelt on that one knee, dipped their hand in the water, and lapped. They never took their eyes off the horizon. God said, "I’ll save by the 300. I don’t need those other people to do what I’m going to do."

We’ll never have enough numbers. We’ll never have enough money. We’ll never have enough talent to win. It’s not by might, and it’s not by power. It’s by His Spirit, amen? He needs vessels that He can flow through, that are not obstructed by the cares of this world. Some are hearing the trumpet. Some of us who have heard in the past—many of us are being refreshed and revived in our spirits. Thank God for some of the young adults! I’ve just heard recently that some have come up here and have begun to pray early in the mornings before they go to work. After we’re through fellowshipping here, many of them leave these services and don’t necessarily go out and just hang around in a restaurant. They go to pray. They go to seek God and see what more He has to say. How can we build up one another—not to the exclusion of the rest, but as preparation? There’s no merit badge for this. This is normative Christianity. This is what we are called to do in an hour of warfare like we’re experiencing in our generation.

No one has ever been where we are today as a people, facing sin in the way that we’re facing it. You say, "Wait a minute! The thoughts of men’s minds were just evil continually, and God destroyed the earth by water. That had to have been a worse time! And what about Sodom and Gomorrah? That had to have been a worse time!" Iniquity shall abound in the last days, and we are in the last days. It’s abounding because of the number of people that are alive on the planet right now. Do your remember when God had to confound man at the Tower of Babel? God said that when they came together, in one heart and one mind, nothing was impossible. We are created in God’s image! How many people today are unifying worldwide? God confounded language, and man found a way to overcome it! On a computer, I can type in English, and they’re getting it in Chinese on the other side. (For me, typing it would be important; because when I write, it looks like Chinese!) Men are wanting to get around God, building their own kingdoms. That’s the spirit of antichrist.

I don’t want to get distracted into that aspect of it, but I’m trying to let you know the environment that we’re in. Beloved, the Bible says that in the last days, not only is the Antichrist going to emerge sometime very soon, but the world’s being set up for it right now. Just watch Europe. The Euro is not an accident—the coming together of currency, the cashless society that’s upon us. When I was a young believer (a few years ago—last year!), if you began to think about a cashless society, it didn’t register. When you read in the Bible that every eye would see Jesus at one moment, it didn’t register. There weren’t the satellites. There wasn’t television as we know it today. There were like two channels and rabbit ears (or actually a clothes hanger). A guy would stand on a chair with his hand on it, and the other would say, "Yeah, that’s good; stay there!" That was what the reception was like.

In a few years, look at where we’ve come. And it’s all for one reason: the rise of the man of sin. But the real power preceding him is going to be the false prophet, the one who’s going to bring all of the religions of the world together. How in the world are you going to do that? You have to get rid of the extremists and bring together all of the moderates. Guess how this extreme group is going to be removed? Not by government, and not by a bunch of wild Muslims. We’re going to be caught up in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye—the rapture of the church, praise God! We’re going out of here soon, man! Then they can get about their business. How soon is it? Look around you. How soon is it? Look at the seasons. Look at the appetite of the world. Look at the spirit that you feel every time you walk outside, and tell me the Antichrist isn’t here! What are we doing to prepare ourselves to reach our generation?

We’re not going to do it by playing church. We’re going to do it by becoming an army, by being part of the universal body of Christ. We’re going to do it by fulfilling the part that God has called us to do in order to bring about that unity and to bring about the full stature of Christ (verse 14), that we would no longer be children (nepios). Can I share something with you? Some of us have been on the baby bottle way too long! Some of us are bottle-feeding our children and our friends, and it’s time for strong meat. The word in this verse for "children" is nepios, "a nursing child." It’s not teknon (an adolescent), not huios (a mature individual who’s able to stand and represent God), but nepios.

So, the question I’m asking is this. What are we doing to build up and strengthen those around us? What kind of pressure? Because, you see, strength only comes one way: by pressure, by resistance. Strength only grows by resistance. Some of us are getting very strong. Do you want to know how? We’re resisting God, and we’re becoming stronger in our sin, stronger in our delusion, stronger in our confusion, and stronger in our double-mindedness. But some of us are resisting the devil, and he’s fleeing from us, praise God! Resistance, pressure. You’re being pressured one way or the other. Are you pressuring those around you toward righteousness and the truth?

Look at what he goes on to say here. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men [this doctrine of our age that’s just tickling men’s ears and telling them what they want to hear]… But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ" (emphasis added). The truth will make you grow up. Coming to grips with your condition helps you to make a choice to grow up, to do something about it. Then we grow up into the Head. We grow up and realize that we have a purpose. There is a reason why God has called me and separated me to Himself. I see the reality of God’s love for me and His separating and gifting me. Then I see that it’s not to be consumed upon myself. But He goes on in verse 16 and says, "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted [intertwined, framed properly] by that which every joint supplieth…making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

Now, how is that done? He tells us what the object is. Here’s what we are doing, and this is why we’re together. This is what the church is, and here’s what it looks like: many members, called of God, gifted of God, and placed of God as it pleases Him (not us). We don’t get to vote. "I want to be the eye." "I want to be the hand." God has called us, and He has placed us as it pleases Him, Corinthians teaches us. Romans makes it clear to us how this body works. Each of us is placed by God’s sovereign wisdom for His pleasure, gifted and graced to begin to build one another up. We’re part of a unit. In America, we push individualism. You don’t see those principles in the Scriptures. God brings us into harmony and into unity.

So, He says, "Here’s what I want you to do." (We made mention of this last week but I want to present it from another perspective.) "I want you to understand that, as I cause you to interact with one another and your lives to be intertwined with one another, each one of you becomes spiritually matured and renewed (verse 23). When you’ve put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness—when you’ve stopped being a flatterer, when you’ve stopped being a respecter of persons, when you’ve stopped looking for the praises of men, when you stop trusting in the strength of men—you will then be capable of putting away lying—lying to yourself and lying to those around you.

I want to show you some biblical principles, hopefully this evening. If not, we’ll look at them on Sunday. If our light be darkness, the Scripture says, how great is that darkness! We’re living in a whole generation of people who have been lied to and are lying to themselves. We’ve talked about that before.

Jeff was telling me something. I thought he was making it up, but he was upset enough that it must have been the truth. He said he was watching television, and there was a competition. There were actually professional video game players. (I thought, "Surely not!" but he said there were, so I’m going to go with it.) He said there was going to be a video game fight. He said there was this one grossly fat, pimple-faced, ugly looking, out-of-shape guy; then this other little scrawny guy behind him. They turn around, and they stare at each other, growling and saying, "I’m going to kill you!" and then they go to their games. Now somehow, they think they’re fighting! All I’m saying is, a generation that fought for our freedom in North Africa, in Europe, and in the Pacific are dying, and they’re all just about gone. The ones who went through the Great Depression and rebuilt this nation are all just about gone. But we have another generation that says, "We can do it! If we had to, we could do it! Give me a video game, and I’ll build that thing, man! Watch this! Watch me stack those blocks!"

Some of us have lived our spiritual lives the same way. We’ve read stories about people who pray. We’ve heard testimonies about people who pray. We’ve read about miracles, but we’ve never seen one. We’ve never prayed a prayer of faith. We’ve never seen anybody healed when we laid hands on them. We’re to be building up one another into the full stature of Jesus Christ.

Please don’t misunderstand or misapply what I’m about to say. We get some symptom, and we go on the Internet. (We’re all doctors now.) It says, "You must have…, and you’re going to die!" And you found this out in three seconds. "Oh, no; that’s the other thing. You’re okay." We find out what it is, and we find every symptom, and we find every cure, and we find every medicine. What would have been wrong with just laying our hands on them in the name of Jesus and praying the prayer of faith? You know where I stand. I’m not against medicine or doctors. I’m for Jesus!

Where are our weapons in this generation? Where are David’s mighty men in our generation? As the eyes of the Lord search to and fro, and He says, "Whom shall I send?’ who’s going to stand up and say, "Here am I, Lord; send me"? What are we doing to encourage those around us to be that man? Who’s encouraging you to be that man? That’s who you want to be hanging out with! You see; we’re seeing right now a separation in our body. We’re seeing a moving apart, and the cloud is moving. There is a moving apart. Which group, or which side, are we going to? When Moses came off the mountain and brought down the new tablets, you had to choose a side. Some of us are finding out that there is no neutral ground. What are we doing? Are we free enough to stop lying to ourselves and to those around us and "…speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are all members one of another" (verse 25)? "Be ye angry…" Somebody should get angry at the sin, and I’m not talking just about our fellowship. We’re doing as well as anybody. If someone said, "Let’s find the 12 most spiritual churches in a 30-mile radius, we would hold our own. But that’s not what we measure ourselves against. It’s the stature of Jesus Christ. What are we doing to provoke those around us to love and good works? What are we doing to be angry at sin, and yet sin not in our anger, giving no place (verse 27 says) to the devil?

One of the ways to really find out if we’re doing our job is by how we respond to mediocrity, carnality, and sin in our midst. We’re told by the world that we should be tolerant. "Just accept them as they are." That’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches longsuffering, gentleness, kindness, meekness, and humility in the way we relate to those who are warring in their own lives. The Bible also teaches very clearly that I’m to take the beam out of my eye so that I can see clearly to deal with the speck in your eye—in other words, always assuming that I’m a bigger mess than anybody in here. My first responsibility is to take care of me. But one of the reasons I’m taking care of me is to be able to see to help take care of you. Now, the answer to whether we’re loving as we’ve been loved, whether we’re receiving the admonition to build up and edify the body of Christ and be intertwined together, is how we respond to sin in our midst. And the answer as to whether or not we are a people called of God, chosen of God, and who love the light is how we respond, then, to that reproof.

This is what Paul says as he goes on into this next chapter. I want you to take a look at this for just a moment. He says, "Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children. "Follow" is an interesting word in the Greek. It means "to imitate." "Do it just like I do it." You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. A standard has been set. Traditions have been arrived at. The example in Jesus is clear. Be followers of God, imitators of God. "And walk in love as Christ has loved us and has given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." He says by offering yourselves up, there are things you’re not going to do, and He gives us a list of the no-no’s. "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints. Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks."

Can I ask you a question? Are you thankful for the call of God on your life? We lift up our eyes, and we look on the fields, and they’re white. Millions, and millions, and millions of people are going to a devil’s hell. Are you thankful that, out of all of those, God rescued us? Oh, He gave all of them an opportunity also, because He’s not willing that any would perish. But while we were yet sinners, He loved us and died for us! He sought us, and He called us to Himself! He’s given us grace, and He’s given us faith to believe in Him!

"This is too hard, getting involved with everybody and helping everybody out. Dear God, I have enough trouble with me! I can’t even take care of myself!" That the truest thing you’ve said tonight. That’s why we need each other; amen? "Well, how can I get help?" By helping somebody else. You reap what you sow.

So, Paul goes on here and says, "Now, listen. None of this that the world is involved in is to be tolerated in your midst." Now, we don’t have trouble with fornication, murder, and those kinds of things. But he also talks about covetousness, which is idolatry. He talks about unclean thoughts, and that’s not just immoral thinking. They’re vain thoughts of the world’s system, reestablishing the Tower of Babel, embracing the humanism that’s so prominent in our lives. "Don’t let anybody deceive you with vain words," he says in verse 6. "It’s these things that bring the judgment of God on the children of disobedience." He says, "Listen now, you guys. I’ve called you out of darkness." The whole point that I wanted us to get to tonight is the responsibility, beloved, of turning up the light in the lives of those that we relate to. We are the light of the world.

In the epistle of 1 John, He says in the first chapter, "This is the message that you heard from the beginning." We’ve shared with you many times why 1 John was written. John the Beloved wrote that epistle because of the influence of Gnosticism on the church. The Gnostics were those who had great spiritual revelation that didn’t line up with the Word of God. They were mystics. They were always getting some new word and some new revelation. They became so mystical that they said God was this nebulous force that could somehow be embraced through knowledge. They believed that matter was evil, and it didn’t really matter how you lived in your daily lives, as long as you had a heart for God and a pursuit in the metaphysical. Does that sound like our day?

John writes and says, "Here’s what you heard from the beginning. This is the message that I brought to you: that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If you walk in the light, as He is in the light, you have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin. If any man says that he’s in the light and doesn’t love his brother, and if any man says he’s in the light and doesn’t keep my commandments, he is a liar and the truth is not in him." The epistle of 1 John is powerful and demands our obedience to the Word of God and our involvement in one another’s lives in bringing about a standard of holiness. He says in that epistle that "…he that doeth righteousness is righteous…" (3:7, emphasis added).

Now, look at what Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 5 (and we’ll start winding down with this). He says, "Here’s what I want of you. Don’t involve yourselves in that spirit of antichrist." He’s not talking just about the gross sins of fornication, homosexuality, and whoremongers. He’s talking about the vain (foolish) talking. If you know more about video games, and fantasy leagues, and the Redskins roster, and the latest cars—and that’s all you can talk about, and that’s what is constantly bombarding your mind, and you want to hang around with those people who only talk about those things—then you’re in darkness. The judgment of God is coming on this generation, these people who are partakers of those things. He’s writing to the church; listen. He says, "…for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience" (verse 6). He’s talking to Christians who are getting caught up in all this vain talk—just rattling on about nonsense, memorizing needless facts, and involving themselves in vain endeavors.

Most of us have been around here long enough to know that we’re not talking about separating to a monastic-type mentality. But I want to tell you something. Some of us are out making dollars, and investing, and doing all of these things. There is nothing wrong with barns (plural). But when you’re caught up with the building of a plurality of barns and filling them to the place where you’re finally satisfied, you’ve lost your treasure. There’s nothing wrong with business. There’s nothing wrong with prosperity. The blessings of the Lord make rich and add no sorrow with them. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. But there’s an order, and there’s a balance. Do you want to know what the balance is? I’m going to show you balance; watch this scale. On one side is the temporal, earthly, and secular. On the other side, there’s the spiritual, the eternal, the Word of God. The temporal side didn’t go away. It’s just that the eternal outweighs it to where there’s absolutely no question about what dominates our lives. That is balanced Christian living; the scales are not even.

So, we realize that He’s calling us, and He’s saying, "Listen to me. Don’t partake with them." He didn’t just mean not to partake of those things. He said, "Don’t partake with them. Don’t get involved with these people. Be followers of those who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises of God." There’s a movement. There are people who are moving into a straight and narrow path, into a strait (narrow) gate. Who are you traveling with? Who do you want to be around? What do you want to talk about? "Be not ye therefore partakers with them. [Now, watch; look at the phrases here. I want to say it just like it’s written.] For ye were sometimes darkness [not gray, not carnal, not 60/40 or 80/20, but darkness], but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light… Proving [manifesting, promoting and requiring the standard, producing the fruit, setting the course] what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (verses 7, 8, 10, 11).

Now the word "reprove" here means "to expose." The first thing is not to jump down somebody’s throat and rebuke them. Reproving is not rebuking. Rebuke may follow, but I want you to see something. Reproving is exposing, helping them to see it. "Do you see what you are doing? Do you see what the Word of God says, and do you see the choices you’re making?" I expose that; I show the contrast. I give a reason for the hope that’s in me. I speak the truth in love, as Paul said. Now the individual that has that exposed has to make a choice. There’s only one of two choices. It’s either light or darkness (in Him is light and no darkness at all). So, how much darkness is allowed in our midst? No darkness at all.

What are you doing every time you see darkness? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God," the Scripture says in John 1:1. As he goes on, it says, "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (verse 5). That word "comprehend" means "extinguished." The darkness extinguished it not; it was not able to stand against the light. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men…That was the true light…" (verses 4, 9). It cannot get so dark that light does not vanquish darkness! The darker it is, the more effective even a little light is.

Let’s go back to where we started. If we’re light, and we’re concerned with some around us who may be in darkness—if we’re light, have we had any effect at all? They ought to be moving away from us if we’re light and they’re darkness. There’s no fellowship between light and darkness. I want to tell you something. If the light is bright enough, you don’t have to run people off. They prefer darkness because their deeds are evil. If we’ve asked this question once, we’ve asked it a thousand times back in the conference room with the pastors and the deacons. "Why in the world do some people hang around here?" We’re always dumbfounded. "I don’t know; I can’t figure it out." I think we just don’t want to admit it. There’s not enough light. Now, I know that you can’t say that unequivocally. I know that God allows tares, and I understand the sovereignty of God. I’m speaking towards the principle.

The Scripture, then, is placing on each one of us a requirement as to whom we walk with. Do not partake with them, verse 7 says. Walk as children of light. Prove the acceptable things. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them. "For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light" (verses 12-13).

We’ll finish with this. Most of us are very uncomfortable with this. We’re taught, "Don’t rat on people!" How many of you, when you were growing up, came across the tattletale? You wanted to just knock them out! Did any of you? I did; because I was always doing something wrong, and people were telling on me! The people who dislike the tattletales the most are the ones who are doing the most wrong. We’re going to see some passages in Proverbs on Sunday that go contrary to everything in our natural being. They speak about delighting in reproof—about looking for people who will instruct us, and encourage us, and give us guidance, and speak into our lives the things that are lacking. The natural man doesn’t want to hear those things, but a child of light runs to the light. I want to hear the truth. I want to know what you’re seeing, because I don’t know my own heart. No man knows his own heart. I don’t know my heart. I’ve shared with you before the testimony. The thing I emphasize most in my life is trying to know my own heart, even though it’s impossible.

In the position I’m in—having to make certain decisions, and hear the voice of God, and set a course, and bring some judgments—I don’t want my preferences or my will involved. So, I’m constantly trying to find my own heart. And I know that I’m no different from anybody else. I know the tendencies toward personal preferences, prejudices, self-will, pride, and all of those things that work in every one of our lives. So, you run to the Word of God, and you look for the wisdom of God, and you look for clear principles. Then, in the meekness of a Moses, and once you’ve heard from God, you speak the Word. And you don’t really take into any consideration what man might think or say.

Are we going to be able to speak to one another in that vein (in truth and in love) as we were reading earlier? Stop lying, and just say it! On Sunday, I’m going to show some of the specifics and how these things are to be done. If one of the kids is running wild in the foyer, and the parents aren’t there, don’t talk to your friend. "You know, so-and-so’s kid is a brat, and they ought to be watching him. My kids never do that—in my sight!" The next time Johnny comes by, just snatch him up! His wheels will be going round and around, and you look him dead in the eye and say, "We don’t behave that way here, do we?" There’s one standard for everybody. "Yes, but Johnny’s one of the deacon’s [or pastor’s] kids." Then he ought to really know better; amen? Do you want to know what kids pull all the time? "I’ll tell my Daddy!" "No; we’ll tell your Daddy. Come on!" God’s no respecter of persons. We can’t be afraid of people’s faces, titles, or reputations. We’re to be jealous for the glory of God and the standard of perfection. Stop lying to one another. The responsibility is yours. If you see Johnny, it’s your responsibility. It’s not your responsibility to go tell so-and-so, who tells so-and-so, who tells the teacher, who tells the deacon, who… There are things coming into our deacons’ meetings (that I’m having to deal with) that could have been stopped if you would have smacked Johnny on the second lap around the foyer! But now, Johnny being out of control and our not caring for one another turns into gossip, that turns into strife, that turns into respect of persons. Now we’ve got to deal with it because you didn’t smack Johnny!

The work of the ministry. The glory of God. The standard of perfection. The environment of light. Loving enough to be jealous for the truth and the glory of God. When that begins to be our motive, then we’ll be able to orchestrate it properly. We’ll be built up, the Lord will be glorified, and light will prevail.

Father, we thank You for the Word tonight. We just ask that You would help us as we go into this study.

I wasn’t planning on doing this exhorting tonight. I had all the principles laid out. I don’t know why the Lord brought it more to an exhortation tonight rather than the laying down of these principles, but we always accept His wisdom. The motive of it is the glory of God and the building up of the body. It can’t be done when we love ourselves more than we love the brethren or when we keep lying to ourselves. We know what to do; and he who knows what to do, and does it not, to him it’s sin. We know not to let vain talking go unchallenged. We know when foolish jesting is out of hand. Somebody should speak to it. We know when it’s time to stop playing, and separate ourselves, and spend some time in prayer, and go out and share the gospel. He has called us to light, and the standard is no darkness at all.

Give us Your strength. Give us Your wisdom. Give us Your grace, Father, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

We’ve gone over a little bit, so turn to somebody next to you and say, "You’re the light of the world." Amen! Go in peace; God’s love go with you.

Back to Top | Audio   |   Purchase Audio   |   Bible Teachings   |   Print