LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Oh. My. Goodness. I had SOOOOO much fun last night! I got to teach at prayer meeting at my church. The group wasn't much larger than my SS class but the "feel" was SO different. Perhaps it had to do wearing a mic - which I wasn't real crazy about - GRIN. Then, again, I'm definitely not used to teaching with men in the group and CERTAINLY not with my husband in the audience. This was a new experience for sure!

We are without a pastor right now so we've been having various speakers/videos/and such for the teaching time at prayer meeting. A few weeks ago the chairman of our Elders asked me if I would begin alternating with the wonderful retired minister who is currently teaching on praying the Psalms. God laid on my heart to teach on praying the Names of God and last night we began with LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

About a year after I first came to this church, the minister of worship approached me about beginning a banner ministry. I really don't think either of us had any perception at that initial point what blessings God would unfold over the coming years through lifting His names high by means of lavishly adorned banners.

For me personally, banner ministry birthed a life-long passion for studying the names of God. All the time I worked on our first banner, LIGHT OF THE WORLD, I would find myself thinking and meditating on what it meant to me that Jesus is the LIGHT of the WORLD. It was while I worked on this first banner that God began to teach me first-hand what power there is in His names to affect and change our daily lives. Continually, God reminded me that not only was Jesus the LIGHT of the WORLD, but that He had said we too were to be the light of the world. In fact, that's what He impressed me to put on the back of the banner.

I worked on the banner the whole month of November (1989) trying to get it ready to be used in the choir's Christmas program. The weeks leading up to Christmas are the busiest time of the year for us wives and mothers ... decorating, shopping, baking. There were times I thought I must have been out of my mind to add a project of that proportion to my already loaded schedule.

Needless to say, the weeks just before Christmas are the busiest retail time for merchants too. I would work all morning on the banner - gluing sequins/sewing beads - and then, when I had no choice I would "run" to Walmart for the "have to" items we were out of - milk, bread, etc. You know the kind of Walmart "run" I'm talking about, don't you? The kind where you don't have the time to spare to begin with but you have no choice so you go thinking "I just need to get in and get OUT! I hope I don't run into anyone I know because I sure don't have time to chat!" Raise your hand if you've ever "been there, done that." Of course, you can probably already guess what happened when I'd get to Walmart, don't you? Yep. I would invariably get caught in the Christmas madness and every check out line would have at least four people ahead of me!

Want to hear the dialog that would go on in my muddled mind (oh scary thought!)?

• "Okay, Bevo - just choose a line and get it over with." Impatience and irritation near the surface.
• First person in front of me checks out: "Oh, come on lady - couldn't you have rummaged in your purse for your wallet BEFORE now!" Begin tapping foot.
• Second person: "Good grief - how many coupons is this woman going to use!" Impatience grows. Continue tapping foot. Begin drumming fingers on cart handle.
• Third person: "Come on! How many pockets is this guy gonna have to check for quarters and wadded up dollars?" Add scowling face to the tapping foot. Impatience grows a little more.
• Fourth person: "Finally! I'm up next. What???? A price check! You have GOT to be kidding me!!!" Add audible sighs to the exasperated expression. Loudly.

This would be the point the Holy Spirit would bring the banner to my mind and softly whisper, "How is that poor embarrassed (lady waiting for the price check) going to know that Jesus is the LIGHT of the WORLD by the expression on your face? How is that tired, overworked cashier going to know that Jesus is the LIGHT of the WORLD by your pinched lips and the sighs coming out of your mouth?"

Oh. My. Forgive me, Lord. That's when I would

• Take a deep breath.
• Remember Who I belonged to.
• And smile at the people around me
• because the LIGHT of the WORLD had penetrated the darkness of my impatience.

Oh, yes. God taught me FIRSTHAND the power of His name to change my perspective of my reality. There is power in His name to change the perspective of your reality as well, my friends! Whatever that reality might be.

You see, EVERY name of God is a dual revelation. Every name, title and description of God in scripture tells us something about WHO HE IS and also something He wants to do for us.

I learned three statements when I first began working with banner ministry that had a profound effect on my life.

Here's the first one:

ALL THAT GOD IS, HE IS IN HIS NAMES.

Do you get that? Our God is incomprehensible. Our puny little finite minds can never grasp all that He is. In His infinite mercy the Holy Spirit allowed the men He chose to pen His word to use hundreds of names, titles and descriptions to communicate WHO He is to us - all so that we might grasp in just some small measure the wonder of His person.

Here's the second:

ALL THAT GOD IS IN HIS NAMES, HE IS IN CHRIST.

You see, the scripture plainly tells us that "In Him [Jesus] rested the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Col. 2:9

And third:

ALL THAT GOD IS IN CHRIST, HE IS IN YOU.

That's the one we have the most difficulty embracing, isn't it? And yet, God's Word tells us that it's "Christ IN you .." that is the hope of glory! (Col. 1:27)

Oh my sweet friends, it is essential that we learn to LIVE and PRAY in Jesus' name(s). Every name tells us WHO He is and what He wants to do

• FOR us
• IN us
• and THROUGH us

So, what does it mean to us to live and pray in Jesus' name, The LIGHT of the WORLD? Well - let's tiptoe through a few scriptures and see. Did you know that LIGHT is associated with Jesus literally from the beginning to the end of scripture? Genesis 1:3 "And God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light." That was Jesus!! John 1:1-4 tells us that He was there in the beginning and that nothing was made without Him. It tells us that He is the Word of God - the Logos - the spoken Word - He spoke LIGHT into existence when the world began! And, folks, at the end of time, He's going to BE our LIGHT! Revelation 21:23 "The city [the new Jerusalem] does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb [Jesus] is its lamp."

Towards the end of Jesus' earthly ministry - probably about three months before his death - and in the very midst of the hostility of the religious leaders towards Him, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. John 7:14 tells us that about halfway through the feast, Jesus went up to the temple courts and began to teach.

Are you familiar enough with the temple of Jesus' time to picture the scene in your mind? All along the lower courts of the temple were colonnades and areas where rabbis sat to teach. These courts were a thoroughfare to the level fifteen steps above where sacrifices were offered. In this area were four magnificently gilded candelabra some 75 feet high. Can you even imagine the splendor? These candelabra contained bowls of oil that were lit at night during the feast and cast their glow over the darkness of the entire city. It was an awesomely impressive sight! The light from these candelabra was a remembrance for Israel of the Shekinah glory pillar of fire that guided their nation in the wilderness and represented the presence and protection of God.

It was against this backdrop that Jesus said to those listening to Him teach, "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 I can almost picture Him gesturing toward the candelabra and all they represented to the people as He spoke the words.

Just a short time later Jesus gave sight to a man who had been born blind and said to those observing this unprecedented miracle, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:5) Oh, what a parallel for you and me - for we too were born blind. Spiritually blind! We were born spiritually blind to see the will and way of God for our lives. Jesus told Nicodemus, "unless one is born again, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) You see, it's only in the light of Christ's

• PERSON
• PRESENCE
• and POWER

that we receive our knowledge of God.

So, what does it mean for us to LIVE in this name of Jesus - LIGHT of the WORLD? It means that we allow the light of His PERSON, PRESENCE, and POWER to penetrate our daily reality the same way even just a glimmer of light penetrates the darkness.

We've all had times when depression, weariness, condemnation, or tough circumstances have engulfed us like a dark cloud. I remember a time many years ago when I was under such a dark cloud and feeling hopelessness and despair. Today I have no remembrance what the situation was - but I remember VERY clearly how the LIGHT of the WORLD penetrated the darkness of my reality with His light. I was driving along - feeling SO "blue" - when on the car radio I heard a resonant voice say: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32)

I didn't hear another word after "I have prayed for you." I know that was a radio announcer reading the scripture of the day. But, to me, it was the audible voice of God speaking His truth into my life. The LIGHT of the WORLD penetrated my darkness and I knew that no matter my circumstances, He was praying for me. I had hope. I had reason to rejoice. I was filled with a sense of His person and presence - and, yes, His power to keep pressing on.

Oh people, Jesus doesn't want to just penetrate our darkness. Light's power of penetration has the capacity for multiplication the same way sunlight on crops helps produce a harvest. Whatever the circumstances of your life right now - good or bad - Jesus wants to penetrate your present reality with His light and fill you so full of His person, presence and power that His light shines out of you for all the world to see.

I have a precious friend that has one of the most radiant smiles you will ever see. And, truthfully, you will rarely ever see her without that smile. It radiates from deep within her spirit and shines to everyone around her. And yet, this same friend has known a darkness much deeper than most of us will ever know. Her oldest daughter was killed in an automobile accident that badly injured my friend and her other two children. Recovery was VERY difficult but the LIGHT of the WORLD shined into her darkness with a love so deep and a light so profound that she was able to have the psalm that says God's "lovingkindness is BETTER than life" written on her little girl's grave marker.

Jesus LIVES in you, believer! Are you LIVING in Him so that His light can penetrate your darkness and shine the radiance of His glory through you to those who do not know him?

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said: "God does not show Himself equally to all creatures. This does not mean that He has favorites, that He decides to help some and to abandon others, but the difference occurs because it is impossible for Him to manifest Himself to certain hearts under the conditions they set up." Can you see how true that is? Sunlight doesn't play favorites either. It just shines down. But it sure looks different on a lake than it does on a swamp! Are you setting up some condition in your heart that keeps God from manifesting His person, presence and power in your life?

God is ever searching for those who will draw back the curtain of their hearts to receive the full benefit of His guiding presence. He is looking for listeners. How can we expect God to speak in that gentle and inward voice that melts the soul, when we are making so much noise whining and complaining about our circumstances?

Most of us think the most important thing about prayer is for God to hear what we are praying about. In the eternal sense, just the opposite is true. The most important thing in prayer is not that God hears what we are saying, but that WE hear what HE is saying!

Ask the LIGHT of the WORLD to shine into the dark corners of your heart. Ask Him to penetrate every dark crevice with His light and show you what needs to be cleaned out so that you might experience His person, presence and power. Ask Him to fill you with His light so that it overflows and shines into the darkness of the world around you.