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WHY CAN’T PEOPLE SEE THE LIGHT OF GOD? |
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The clouds that bank up against the Oregon coast can be likened to our inability to see the light of God. What has blocked the light of God from reaching the eyes of the lost? The Scripture says Satan has blinded their eyes. “And even if our gospel is perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (II Corinthians 4:3-4)
How can we stop Satan from blinding the eyes of the unbelieving? This is what spiritual warfare is about. Satan is the god of this world, but he has been defeated by our beloved Savior on the Cross. The book of Hebrews explains how Jesus defeated Satan. “Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14-15) “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15)
Satan does have power, but it is the power of deception and not true power. We can take our rightful place by faith in the promises of God. Interceding for those we want to be saved will stop the deception of Satan and allow God’s word to penetrate their hearts.
What is intercessory prayer? We can see it by Abraham’s example interceding for Sodom to save Lot. (Genesis 18:16-33) We can see it in Moses interceding for the Israelites when they were worshipping the calf. (Exodus 32:1-14) We can see it in Jesus as He died for us. (John 18:28-37, Matt. 27:1-56, Mark 15:1-41) We can see it in Jesus as He prays for us. 8:34) (Hebrews 7:25, 9:24, Romans 8:34) We can see it in the Holy Spirit, for He is our intercessor. (Romans 8:26) We can see it in Paul as he prays for the Jews. (Romans 9:1-3) An intercessor prays until the answer is obtained. God looks for intercessors, but will He find any?
“And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30)
“It has been made a desolation, desolate, it mourns before Me; the whole land has been made desolate, because no man lays it too heart.” (Jeremiah 12:11)
“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John17:12) God will give us in prayer what He has promised us.
How can this be? Don’t people have a free will and decide for themselves if they want the Lord or not? It is God’s will that all men be saved! “The Lord is not slow about His promises as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9 If we pray according to God’s will, he will hear us and answer our prayer. (1 John 5:14,15) If we abide in Christ and let His Word abide in us, God will answer our prayers. (John 15:7) If we pray according to what we believe we will receive it. (Mark 11:23 ) It is a fight in prayer and sometimes is not won in an hour. But if we pray, believing according to what God has put into our heart, we will receive the answer. It is not a deduction of what the Bible says but a relationship that allows God’s Word to grow within our hearts bringing the faith to pray through. (Acts 7:38; Deut. 32:46-47, Hebrews 4:12)
The second way of not seeing the light of God is unbelief. People follow the rational of the world. “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” Col. 2:8
The people of Nazareth had unbelief because of their familiarity with Jesus. Jesus couldn’t perform many miracles there. (Mark 6:1-6) This natural way of thinking comes from rational thinking. God’s way is faith in His Word. Trust God and His Word and not in your rational deduction from your experiences in the past. Allow His Spirit to get hold of you so that your heart grasps hold of the promises of God. Meditating on the Word day and night will bring success, allowing us to believe in the promises. (Joshua 1:8)
Serve God with a heart open to the leading of the Spirit and the teaching and encouragement of others. Encouragement keeps up going through difficulties and hope from God is the foundation of faith. “Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end;” Heb. 3:12-14
The light of God will overcome the darkness in the world. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (i.e., the darkness did not overcome the light.) John 1:4-5
When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” what does He mean? God’s Word to us is our light. (Psa lm 119:105) God’s commandment to us is a lamp and His teaching is a light. (Proverbs. 6:23) The commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes. (Psalm 19:8)
Without light we can’t really function. With light we can see which way we are going. With light we can see the dangers along the road,. Light gives us understanding. Light shows us the way. Light gives us warmth. Light causes things to grow.
The sunlight puts energy into the world’s ecological system and the light of Jesus empowers us to live spiritually. Light is the substance that allows us to know what we need to know. Believe that the light of Jesus will penetrate the darkness of the world.
A person with a stony heart or a hard heart can't receive the Word of God. A heart that is bitter for some reason. Rejecting the light of God hardens the heart.
"And they made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of host had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts." (Zech. 7:12)
What stops a stony heart? God will replace a heart of stone. Humbleness and repentance is the first step in getting right with God. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts of sin. (John 16:8) As one responds to the working of the Holy Spirit, the ability to hear from God returns.
"And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh." (Ezk. 11:19)
Persuasive speech is done with forbearance and gentle words and composure. "... sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness." (Prov. 16:21) "By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks the bone." (Prov. 25:15) (breaks the bone - soft and conciliating language will accomplish the most difficult things. R. A. Torry) "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Prov. 15:1) "If the ruler's temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses." (Eccl. 10:4)
Having no preacher will obviously hinder the hearing of the Gospel. "For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they ! believe in Him whom they have not heard? And I how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Ron. 10:13-15)
How can we cause the Lord to move on people to preach? "Then He said to His disciples. "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." (Matt. 9:37,38) God will answer the prayer that is according to His will as we abide in Him. (1 John 5:14,15; John 15:7) Let us pray for workers.
After discussing the problem and the need for prayer, He sent out the 12 on an evangelistic mission. It is not enough to pray, we must act as well. Jesus sent out the 12 even though they were not perfected into the ministry yet. What I have seen, is the ministries that are willing to let people minister, even though they may not be completely ready, are the ones that grow. They are not afraid to delegate authority.
Jesus has commissioned us to gol It is j only for us to find out where. But also we need to train for it as a boxer does for a fight and not just do things blindly. (1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Tim. 2:15)
"... peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (John 20:21) "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." (John 17:18) Jesus was sent to be a light to the world. He was sent to preach the gospel to the poor. Jesus wants us to go and preach the gospel of saving grace and to make disciples of all the nations! (Matt. 28:18-20)
"But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;1" (Acts 9:15) The Lord will give us a specific ministry to do. If we are ready to be led, the Holy Spirit will send us to a ministry as He directs. (Acts 13:1-5) God has appointed people as gifts within the church. (1 Cor. 12:28,29; Eph. 4:11,12)
God has given all of us the ministry of being ambassadors of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:18-20)
The next area that keeps people from hearing the Word of God is the perversion of the Bible. The teaching of the cults or wrong doctrine keeps people from accepting the truth. "But evil men and impostors will ; proceed form bad to worse, deceiving and i being deceived." (2 Tim. 3:13) But what can we do about this?
"holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may I be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and j to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach, for the sake of sordid gain." (Titus 1:9-11)
Teach good doctrine and refute those who are in error and contradict.
Hold fast the faithful word. (NASB) Adhere to the true doctrine. (New English) Cling -(Beck & Williams) I.E. don't change from the pure doctrine that we have learned.
"But shun foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law; for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned." (Titus 3:9-11) Don't get involved in foolish discussions but warn those who do and reject them after a second warning.
"For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 18:28) Know the Bible well and be able to teach effectively and to refute wrong doctrine.
"And the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth," (2 Tim. 2:24,25) There is a lot explained in these verses. To be the Lord's servant the fruit of the Spirit is necessary. When someone is describing a wrong doctrine it is easy to quarrel with them. But we should be good natured, patient and listening for the Spirit's response that would bring the person to repentance with our gentle answer.
One reason why people don't hear the Word of God is that they are busy with other things. One must allow a place for the Word. Many times we must make a choice between things that are fun and listening to God. What are we going to choose? Following after God or following after our own desires?
In Luke 14:15-24 Jesus teaches of a dinner where the guests were unwilling to come because they were too busy. Are people too busy for God? Of course they are. Take time for the Kingdom of God. Take time for the things of God. 1 Timothy 6 says to flee riches and pursue righteousness. It takes time to read and study the Bible and pray. It takes time to serve the Lord. Time that people could spend making money. Time that people could spend on the lake. To serve God we need a touch from God. This comes as the preacher preaches, as the prayer warrior prays. Jesus is the Lord of the earth. Are we going to respond to Him or will we ignore Him and face the consequences later. Jesus is not a tyrant; He is gentle. He does not want us to face the consequences of foolish actions. The lasting water Jesus gives comes from serving God in the plan that He has for us. (John 4:14,34,36) To act for our own benefit for pleasure will not last. To serve God in obedience to His will for us brings true satisfaction over time.
Sin keeps people from seeing the light. They think that the life the Bible describes I is just a dream and is not something that can j be attained. "Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.'" (John 8:34) But this state does not have to be if the gospel is presented to them through prayer. "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14) Salvation gives us freedom from the tyranny of sin if we give ourselves to live for our Lord instead of ourselves.
People can't see the light of Jesus if we hide His light under a bushel. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under the peckmeasure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16) One of the parts to the armor of God is to have your feet shed with the preparation of the gospel of peace. (Eph. 6:15) If we are ready to share the gospel at all times we become stronger Christians. The Holy Spirit will bring opportunities our way if we ask Him to. This will make us aware of the opportunities as well. Expectation is part of walking by faith.
Water from the Rock Bible Studies
--- Scott McCrae
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