Week 97 Christmas Lights

That song, I stopped singing for a minute just to hear you sing, you really encouraged me and blessed me, hearing your praises to the

Lord. Well, I love the time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it might be for a reason that you haven't thought of, but one of the reasons that I love the time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is because it's like the one time of year that I get to be normal, right?

Because the rest of the year I'm singing Christmas songs and people are upset with me, right? Like singing songs too early, but now, right?

Now we can all sing Christmas songs and nobody thinks I'm a weirdo. I don't think that they do.

But I love this time period. And I know, I understand, there's been so much during this time that has become commercialized and honestly, let's be honest, symbolic of American gluttony and greed.

Some respond to this by just dismissing the celebration of Christmas altogether.

And while I do actually understand that position, I refuse to give this time of year up.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the month of December, these are the darkest days of the year.

I'm speaking of physical darkness. From December 1st, which is Thursday, this coming

Thursday, to December 31st, there are over 13 hours of physical darkness here in Arkansas every single day.

You know, in the Bible, it teaches us that there was physical darkness in the heavens once, in the skies above.

The Bible tells us on the fourth day of creation, God put stars in the night sky.

He put lights in the midst of darkness, as it were. The Bible says to mark times and seasons.

And we might even say to give hope and trust in His sovereign hand. It's in this time of physical darkness in December that many people, believers and unbelievers alike, put up Christmas lights.

On these dark winter nights, these lights shine brightly and beautifully.

And they remind me of something else. Would you turn to Ephesians 5 as we continue our exposition through the book of Ephesians?

As you are well aware, we are not living merely in a time of physical darkness.

Would to God that all we had to worry about in December was the physical darkness. But we realize we're also dealing with a great spiritual darkness.

And yet, it is during this time period of great physical darkness that Christians celebrate light.

The light of God came down from heaven. The eternal Son of God taking on human form and being born of the

Virgin Mary. And so Paul tells us today in our text to walk as children of light.

Now of course, this is an exhortation for every day, for year round. But can you think of a more appropriate time period than in the midst of this great physical and spiritual darkness that we're living in for Christians to be the light of the

Lord? And so this is what we're going to take up this morning in our text. The sermon title is simply this,

Christmas Lights, Ephesians 5, verse 7 -14.

Would you stand with me as we honor the reading of God's Word? It says on your insert,

I don't remember what week this is, maybe week 97 of our series through Ephesians. Ephesians 5 beginning in verse 7.

Therefore do not become partners with them, for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the

Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.

Therefore it says, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Father, would you bless the reading and preaching of your Word today? Would the Holy Spirit fill this place in a special way as He gathers with His local church, corporately gathered?

We pray that Christ would be honored. We pray that Christ would be exalted. We pray that as Christians, we would hear these commands and exhortations from this letter and that we would seek to be light in this dark world.

We would seek to walk as children of light and be the people that You would have us to be. Lord, if there are those in our midst who are not converted, we pray even now that they would heed this exhortation at the end, awake,

O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Bless our time together, and may we give proper reverence to the preaching of God's Word today.

Would you help us to put away our phones? Help us to put away our thoughts about other things?

Help us to stop worrying about this week, and may we focus on the task at hand, which is

Your Word being preached. We pray it in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. We addressed verse 7 a couple weeks ago, where we said that since the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, that we can't be partners with them.

That's what verse 7 says, therefore do not become partners with them.

And so, that's the same word, partners, the same word used in Ephesians 3 .6. I'll go over there real quick.

Excuse me. Ephesians 3 .6 says, this mystery is that the

Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the

Gospel. That's the same word in Ephesians 5 .7. Therefore, do not become partners, do not be partakers with them.

Christians cannot be partakers of the life of unbelievers. We can't be partners with them.

Yes, we can and we must interact with them. You're going to have, it's inevitable, you're going to have business transactions with unbelievers.

You're going to have family members and unbelieving friends, right? But there's a stark contrast between our lives and theirs.

Why? Verse 8. Verse 8 says, for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the

Lord. There's no way that we can partner with the darkness because we used to be darkness, but now we're light.

This is what we've been rescued from. Listen, you may not know me very well and I may not know you very well, but I know something about you and you know something about me.

Everyone has a past. Everyone has a past. I know yours and you know mine.

Well, how do you know? You don't know me. Well, how do you know my past? I know this, if you are in Christ, your past was darkness.

You walked in darkness. And by the way, look at verse 8. I want you to see this. You didn't merely walk in darkness.

Look at how the text describes you. You didn't merely walk in darkness, but what does verse 8 say?

You were darkness. You were darkness. Not merely that you were just this neutral person and there wasn't light.

If you would have just had light, you would have walked the right path. If you could have just been told the right thing, you would have made the right choices.

But because of your family and because of where you were born, you just made some bad choices and you walked a dark path.

That's not what the text says. The text doesn't say that you walked in darkness, but that you what?

You were darkness. You were spiritually blind.

Spiritually dead, Ephesians 2 tells us. You loved the world.

You loved the things in the world. You loved to follow Satan. You loved the sins of the world.

You did not see the glory and the beauty of Christ. You reveled in your sin and the control that you thought you had upon your life.

But God. But then God brought about your regeneration. By His great mercy,

God caused you to be born again to a living hope. You looked upon Christ in the light, in His beauty, as your only suitable and all sufficient

Savior. You turned from your sins and you put your faith in Christ, in His life, in His death, in His burial, in His resurrection for your sins.

You repented and believed the gospel. And now darkness is in the past tense.

That's what the text says, verse 8. For at one time you what? Were. Not are.

You were darkness. But now you are light.

So Paul exhorts us here then what? Walk as children of light. James 1 .17,

James says, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Our great and holy God is the Father of lights. And we who have trusted

Christ are His children and we're commanded in our text today to walk as light.

So let's consider three points this morning. The first is this, the source of our light. Number one, the source of our light.

Verse 8. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light. And then this is important.

In the Lord. You are light in the Lord. You are light.

This is an amazing statement to consider here from the Apostle through the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul puts it this way,

Paul does not just say that the saints dwell in the light as sons of light who are to pick up light's implements.

In verse 8, he says that the saints are light. If you are a

Christian, you are light. You are light. John tells us in 1

John that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. And this is what happens when the light of God shines in our hearts.

We become light. We're not just followers of the light, but the text says in verse 8, you are light.

Not just that you walk in the light, but you are light. A couple of weeks ago, I was putting up lights at the house,

Christmas lights. I know you said a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, I'm sorry it was late, but usually, you know,

September we start thinking about that. But a couple of weeks ago, I was putting up Christmas lights. And one of my children,

I'm not going to say this child's name, but one of my children was helping. And this child,

I had multiple helping, but this particular one plugged up a strand of lights and said,

Dad, these lights don't work. And sure enough, the lights were not on.

And you know what? I was disappointed until I realized that this particular child had plugged the lights into themselves.

Do you know what happens when you plug a strand of Christmas lights into themselves? I'll tell you what happens when you plug a strand of Christmas lights into themselves.

Nothing, right? Nothing happens. The Christmas lights up on my house now, they shine beautiful.

Although my wife says it looks like someone just came by and blew up, threw up, I think that's the word, threw up Christmas lights on my house.

You can come by and be the judge. But the Christmas lights up on my house shine beautifully.

And they really and truly are lights. Yet, if they were plugged into themselves, they wouldn't work, right?

They would just look ugly and tacky. Now, this is not a perfect analogy, but hear me, dear Christian, I think it's good enough to use here.

Christians truly and really are lights, but the source of our light is not ourselves.

We're not plugged into ourselves, rather, it's in Christ. It's not just that we turned over a new leaf, or cleaned up our act, or just started going to church.

Look what Paul says, verse 8, you are light, you are light in the

Lord. Christians are light in the Lord. So again, Asimbal says, the saints do not become light by taking up deeds of light.

They are light in union with Christ, experiencing the power of the inaugurated new creation through the

Holy Spirit, and are being recreated in the image of God for good works as they await the day of redemption and resurrection.

You understand something this morning, saints? If you are to be light in the Lord, you can't be plugged up in yourself.

You can't be plugged up, it's not doing good things that make you light. You don't plug into good works as your source of light.

Your source for light is Christ. It is when we repent of our sins, and the Holy Spirit brings us into a union with Christ, that is our source of light.

It's Christ. You've been crucified with Christ. And the life that you now live, you live by faith in the

Son of God. Christ lives in you as you walk by faith in Him. In John 8, verse 12,

Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

In Christ, believers, we have the light of life. Jesus is the light of the world.

And if we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, we are light. We've been transferred, 1

Peter 2, verse 9, says that we've been called out of darkness into His marvelous light.

And so now that we're united to Christ, our eyes see the kingdom of light. Our heart is stirred with affection for all that is good and true and righteous.

Our feet walk in the light. Our mind thinks on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, the things of excellence, the things worthy of praise.

And this is because by grace through faith, we now acknowledge Christ as our King and our

Savior and our Friend. Christ is the source of our light. Friends, this ought to remind us that apart from Christ, you will not be light, and you will not ultimately have light.

Let me just say it to you this way, and remember this tonight as we write these letters. Apart from Christ is only darkness.

Your friends and your neighbors and your family members who are apart from Christ, there's only darkness.

Remember this morning, those who rely on their good works to gain them access to God are really just stumbling in darkness.

Those who persist in sin, presuming upon the grace of God, are really just in love with the present darkness.

Those who claim to love Christ but are not light in this present dark world are only self -deceived.

And I remind us here of the good news of this season, of the good news of Christmas. God has come to dwell with us.

The Lord has visited His people. He came to save His people from their sins. Darkness does not have the final say.

And friends, I say this morning to you, you don't have to dwell there. If you're not a

Christian, you must hear the gospel plea. Look to the Son of God and live. Even now, let the light of Christ shine upon you.

Repent and believe the gospel. Only Christ is the source of our light.

Number one, the source of our light. Number two, the substance of light. Continue on in the text, verse 9.

Verse 8, Paul says, walk as children of light, verse 9, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

Goodness, righteousness, truth. Verse 10, and try to discern what is pleasing to the

Lord. It's very interesting. I've told you before that the commands of Ephesians 4, 5, and 6, the imperatives, can really be summed up by saying this, be who you are.

Right? Christian, this is the exhortation of walking with Christ. Be who you are.

Now, don't listen to the foolishness of the world. Oh, well, God made me this way, or God made me that way, and I get to sin or whatever.

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, be who you are in Christ. And Paul says, you are light.

So what do you do? You be who you are. Since you are light in Christ, you walk now as children of light.

Listen to a very important distinction. Good works don't make you light. Rather, because you are light, you do good works.

This is an important distinction. And it is a reminder that Paul has stressed time and again in this letter that the walk of believers matters.

We are to walk out the reality of who we are. Listen, I read this quote from Martin Lloyd -Jones.

He says, we do not make ourselves who we are by what we do. Listen, listen, listen. We do not make ourselves who we are by what we do.

Rather, he says, we do what we do because we are what we are. Fruit always comes from within and is an expression of the true nature.

We're to walk in love. And here we're to walk in light. We're to walk as children of light because of who we are.

Verse eight, for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

We walk as children of light because of who we are. Martin Lloyd -Jones uses the analogy of a

Christmas tree. So listen to this. A lot of professing Christians, a lot of professing

Christians try to live their life as though they are a

Christmas tree. Now follow this with me for just a moment. Meaning, what we try to do is hang some good works upon our limbs every now and then, right?

You've got a Christmas tree, you put it up. If you don't have your Christmas tree up already, shame on you, no, I'm just joking.

But seriously, what is wrong with you? No, you put up the Christmas tree and you hang ornaments on the

Christmas tree. This is how some professing Christians try to live.

They're the tree and they try to hang good works upon their limbs in order to be a real tree.

But I'm gonna tell you something. You know what's gonna happen? Well, for us, it'll be a few months down the road. But for many people, what's gonna happen around the first of the year, you're gonna take the tree down, right?

You'll take the Christmas tree down and you'll put it up. Why? Because it's not a real tree. And even if it is a real tree, it's not growing, right?

You'll probably take it out and maybe you'll burn it or whatever. Well, this is what many professing Christians do. They don't try to be who they are.

They try to add these things to your life. And this is why as a pastor sometimes, it's like pulling teeth. You're like, please do this thing.

Please do that thing. Please come to church. Please do evangelism. Please fellowship. Please commune.

Please do these things. And some people respond by doing those things and others respond like, it's just something else

I gotta add to my life. Why? Because they're not being who they are. Well, what's the analogy for the Christian?

The analogy for the Christian is the apple tree. Where does the fruit come with the apple tree? It comes from within.

Why? Because their heart is made new and now they produce fruit. You don't hang fruit on their limbs. Their fruit comes out of them.

Why? Because Christ is in them. It's an important distinction. So what is the substance of this fruit?

What is the substance of light? What does it look like to walk as children of light? We see a brief parenthetical expression in verse nine.

I say that like mine is literally in parentheses, but Paul just kind of makes this little parenthetical expression in verse nine.

The fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

So here's the reality. The grace of God has been poured into our hearts. It's been planted in our hearts.

That's the metaphor here. Agricultural. Fruit. Light has been planted as it were and here is the type of tree that the light produces.

All that is good and right and true. Now notice something here about the

Apostle Paul. He's been giving us lists of threes. You say, why do preachers always preach in three points?

Well, we don't always preach in three points, but hey, there's a little bit of biblical example here.

Paul's been giving us a list of threes. Notice here in verse three. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness.

There's three. Verse four. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking. There's three.

Verse five. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous. That's three.

And so now, here's the contrast. Paul's given us a list of three for darkness, but here's the contrast for the light.

Verse nine. For the fruit of light is found in all that is, sorry, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

Goodness, righteousness, truth. You wanna be light in the world today?

You wanna be light in the dark world? You want to be a Christmas light as it were?

Then you cultivate these fruit. You understand the difference, by the way? A Christmas tree doesn't cultivate fruit.

It just hangs it on the limbs. The apple tree, you cultivate it.

Maybe you give a little miracle grow, a little fertilizer, a little water, sunlight. The Christian cultivates these fruits and lets these realities shine through them.

In Psalm 1, we won't turn there. But in Psalm 1, verse three, you remember where it says that he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season?

Actually, that might not be verse three. That might be down around verse five. Okay, Psalm 1, by the way, is an exhortation to us.

Psalm 1 is something we should do. We should be the man that meditates on the law of God day and night. But do you know who the perfect Psalm 1 man is?

Do you know? Who is the perfect Psalm 1 man? It's Christ. Do you know that? It's Christ.

And let me say this. Christ is like that tree in Psalm 1 that is bearing fruit.

And do you know what the fruit is that Christ bears? It is those who are in Him. It is believers.

If you are in Christ, it is you. The fruit that Christ is bearing, like that tree planted by streams of water that's bearing fruit, do you know the fruit that Christ is bearing?

It's believers. And His fruit is growing and shining through you. The fruit of what?

Goodness and righteousness and truth. Now, what is goodness? Goodness is to do good to others.

It is to show compassion and kindness. Charles Simeon says of goodness, there will be no trouble which we shall not labor to alleviate, no want which we shall not endeavor to supply.

To be good and do good, even like God Himself, will be the summit of our ambition and the very end of our lives.

God is good and those who are in Christ bear the fruit of goodness. John Gill notes that this goodness is a readiness to forgive and is using meekness when admonishing others.

So to be light in the world, we produce the fruit of goodness. Goodness, by the way, as God defines it.

We seek to show Christian goodness to those around us. It's not just goodness like a theoretical goodness or goodness like the world.

Like, world has a concept of goodness, but it's totally corrupt, right? No, we're talking about biblical goodness.

Goodness the way God defines it. For the fruit of light is found in all that is good. We're not talking, by the way, we're not talking about Southern politeness here.

We're not talking about cultural nicety. We're talking about Christian goodness.

This is objective, holy, godly standard of goodness which has as its object the glory of God.

We are good to others because we want to bring God glory. There are times, actually, that you don't need to be

Southern in the way that you interact with people. In fact, there are times that if you be Southern in the way that you interact with people, it's a sin.

But there is never a time that you don't need to be good. Because goodness is a fruit of light.

This will inevitably involve communicating the goodness of God in giving us

His Son for the forgiveness of sins, won't it? How can we say that we truly care for the good of our fellow man if we don't communicate this?

Listen, this is something that kind of bugs me about this time of year, but listen carefully. I'm not bashing it, but just listen.

Lots of people like to do good at Christmas. It makes them feel better.

They like to give a toy to a child in need. They like to feed a family that is hungry.

I'm not trying to crush your generosity and I'm not saying those are bad things, but I'm saying this, in addition to these things,

Christian goodness is more than worldly compassion. Christian goodness involves thinking of the highest good for our fellow man, which necessarily includes them knowing

God in Christ. So I'm not saying don't buy a toy. I'm not saying don't feed a family.

But what I am saying, to do true good, make sure and communicate why you are doing those things.

If you give a turkey to a family, but you don't tell them about Christ, what have we done?

If we give a toy to a child and we don't tell them about Christ, what have we done?

Oh, we let the world kind of dictate our goodness and our generosity this time of year, and I'm not trying to smash any of that.

I'm just saying, as we're generous in this time of year, let us do it for the glory of God and the sake of the name of Christ.

So be generous, give, and connect it to the generosity of God, 2

Corinthians 9, 15. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.

What is righteousness? Goodness, righteousness, truth, and all that is good and right and true.

John Gill notes, righteousness lies in living in obedience to the law of God, in attending the worship and service of Him, and in discharging our duty to our fellow creatures.

Can I say something that's obvious, but in our world today, it gets corrupt, and that is Christians practice righteous living.

Christians seek to live righteously because the fruit of light is found in what is right.

So we seek to live a righteous life. That's not being a Pharisee. That's not being legalistic.

Well, what is it then? If a Christian trying to live righteously is not being a Pharisee and is not being legalistic, what is it?

It's being a Christian. We want to live righteously.

Now, as believers, first, we need to remember that we've been credited with the righteousness of Christ, not by our good works, but by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone.

As Christians, God looks upon us as He looks upon His Son. Our only hope for heaven, friends, is the righteousness of Jesus.

So hear me clearly. We do not practice righteousness in order to merit the favor of God.

Even in your righteous deeds, even in the most righteous deed you've ever done, there's enough sin to condemn you.

But the point is, the fruit of light is doing what is right before God and man.

And how do we know what is right before God and man? How do you know in any situation what the right thing to do is?

Read the book. Verse 10 says, and we're gonna preach a whole sermon on this next week, try to discern what is pleasing to the

Lord. We read God's Word. We meditate on God's Word. We think about God's Word.

We hide God's Word in our heart, and then we seek to apply it so that we can live right. A true believer really seeks to live rightly before God.

And so we take this book, and we adjust our lives, and our worship, and our church, and our family, and we do everything as we can by the book.

Yesterday. Stephanie and I, we received a generous gift.

And yesterday, it was a dishwasher, and we're trying to put this in. See, my problem is

I named my dishwashers. Braden, Caleb, Ella, Piper hadn't. But then we were gifted a dishwasher.

And so we're putting it in. And we ran into a little snack. And you know what we had to do?

We had to humble ourselves. And we had to find the book. And we had to read it.

Friends, silly analogy, but let us apply this to our lives as believers. If we want to do what is right, if we want to do what is pleasing before God, we read the book.

We seek to adjust our lives, our worship, our church, our family, everything by what the book teaches.

This is our desire because we're children of light. Do you desire to please God? It is amazing, no, no, no, alarming.

It is alarming how many professing Christians go about their day and their daily choices, and they do not think to themselves 1

Corinthians 10 .31. And whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to what? The glory of God.

And yet so many decisions that you make about Sunday, about reading your

Bible, about finances, about your home, you do not seek to please

God. Friends, children of light live right.

We stumble at times. We all stumble. I stumble. We get it wrong at times. We all sin.

And what do we do in those times when we stumble or sin or seem to wander in darkness? We go to Christ.

We trust His forgiveness again. We rest in His grace. We believe His promises. We seek to adjust our lives in whatever way we need to because we want to live right before a dark world so that we might shine as children of light.

Okay, goodness, righteousness, truth. What is truth? Verse nine, truth. All that is good and right and true.

What is truth? Listen to this. The Christian lives an authentic life. That is, you're not one person on Sunday and another person on Tuesday.

We live a life of godly sincerity. I want you to ask yourself this question right now.

Am I real? Am I real? And whom I am right now, the way I feel right now in worshiping

God supposedly and listening to the sermon and singing the songs, is that how

I am out there in the world? The way that I talk to people? The way that I interact with people?

The way that I treat people? Am I authentic? Am I real? Am I true? And then let me say this.

Christians contend for the truth. Did you know that Christmas reminds us there really is a war for truth going on?

In John chapter 18, verse 37, Jesus says, for this purpose I was born. What?

What purpose were you born, Jesus? And for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Friends, does your life bear witness to the truth?

Does your life show forth to a dark world the truth that is conveyed in God's holy word? One of the greatest problems in the evangelical world today is that professing

Christians will not publicly bear witness to the truth. They may affirm the truth in their minds.

They may affirm the truth in a small group at church. They may affirm the truth on Sunday morning or in Sunday school.

But when you send them out into the world, to their job, to deer camp, to school, to the grocery store, they will not bear witness to the truth.

They'll hear falsehood and remain silent. They'll see falsehood and remain silent.

They'll hear error and remain silent. They won't bear witness to the truth. Beloved, this is not being light in the

Lord. This is hiding a lamp under a basket. What our world needs right now more than ever is for Christians to live authentically and to bear witness to the truth.

Let me say it this way. Christian, drive with your brights on. Not literally. I'm saying your life.

Turn the high beams on, leave them on and shine the light of Christ. We're in a war for truth, whether you like it or not.

I'm not into this stuff. No, no, no. It doesn't matter. You're already in a war for truth, whether you like it or not.

And if you stay silent, you're not actually being neutral. You're aiding and abetting the enemy.

So walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

This brings to my last point today. We've seen the source of light, Christ, the substance of light, all that is good, right, and true.

And now let us consider thirdly the supremacy, the supremacy of light. Verse 11, take no part, by the way, no, zero, zip, zilch, nada, in percentage term, zero percent.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.

For anything that becomes visible is light. Here's the point.

The darkness cannot overcome the light. And as we shine the light of Christ in the world, the light prevails, the light prevails.

We expose the fruitless deeds of darkness and the light wins. Christians are not afraid to call sin, sin.

Though we do it with gentleness and respect and love, it is good and right and true, the Bible says here, to expose the unfruitful works of darkness.

We don't let people laugh about hurting the weak or vulnerable. We don't let people argue that abortion is just a choice.

We don't let people degrade God's institution of marriage. We take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness.

A lot of people feel okay about that. Well, I'm not doing any of these things. I'm not taking part in the unfruitful works of darkness.

I'm not having an abortion. I'm not participating in homosexual marriage.

I'm not looking at things on the internet. So I'm not taking any part of the unfruitful works of darkness.

But that's not where the text stops. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead, what?

What? Expose them. It's not just don't do these things and then sit on your hands.

It's take no part in these things, and instead of taking part in these things, expose these things. Now, understand, this can be incredibly challenging around the holiday season.

You're gonna be with family. You're gonna have some folks that are living in darkness in your family.

It's your desire. You don't wanna cause a conflict, and you wanna keep the peace. And listen, don't misunderstand me.

I'm not saying to go out and be a confrontational person, right? Like, you don't wanna have the person that your reputation at your

Christmas gathering that, oh man, I don't even wanna look at that guy because he's fixing to assault me, right? However, let me say it this way.

I encourage you to look for the opportunity to have those private conversations in your family this

Christmas. When I say family, I'm hoping you're having these conversations all the time in your immediate family. I'm talking about the cousins coming in, right?

I'm talking about your aunt and uncle. I'm talking about your grandpa. I'm talking about people that you're not around all the time. Look for the opportunity to talk to them about Christ.

Now, many of you, here's your problem. I know because I'm involved. I have family too. Stephanie has family too.

And your issue is, well, all my family professes to know Christ. Yeah, right, 99 .9

% of Perry County, I'm sure, professes to know Christ. That's not what I'm talking about.

I'm not talking about anybody's version of Christianity. I'm talking about biblical Christianity, and I'm encouraging you to look for the opportunities to have those one -on -one conversations privately.

Or if someone says something blasphemous or something they shouldn't say about our Lord Jesus Christ, push back on that publicly.

Not to exalt yourself or your argument, but exalt Christ. If that opportunity presents itself and you can be humble, then you ought to take the opportunity to shine the light of Christ and expose the misdeeds of darkness.

Friends, this ought to be a season of hope, but if we don't shine as lights to expose the darkness, how will anyone realize there is hope at all?

That's like the firefly, right? You know why fireflies shine their light at night? They're looking for a mate, right?

And so the male firefly that says, I'm not gonna shine my light, then he's like, how come

I don't have a wife, right? Because you're not shining your light. The firefly that refuses to light up cannot wonder why he can't find a mate.

And the Christian who refuses to shine his light cannot wonder why the world is so dark.

So many believers, professing believers, bemoan the state of our country. Oh, I just hate the gas prices.

Oh, I just hate the debauchery and the immorality of our country, but they're not shining as lights.

Friends, we can't just bemoan the immorality of our country. We also have to expose the misdeeds of darkness.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them for it's shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

If Paul is writing today, he might have to say in secret or out in the open, right?

Because the things that used to be done in secret are now just done out in the open. We shouldn't talk about those things.

We shouldn't watch those things. Let me say this also. Sometimes conservatives get caught up in the wrong battles.

Now listen carefully on this. Do I want everyone in the universe to say Merry Christmas?

Yes, I do. I do. But listen, I'm not gonna lose sleep over whether or not

Target tells me Merry Christmas. Instead, I'm going to shine the light of Christ in the darkness of this world.

I'll pass out a track. They tell me happy holidays. I'll say, here you go, Merry Christmas. Read this track about our

Lord Jesus. I'll seek to do what is good and right and true. I'll let the light of Christ shine in the darkness because the darkness cannot overcome that.

And if you are in Christ, this is what you should do too. We have too many professing Christians that are more concerned about whether or not lost persons are gonna say

Merry Christmas or happy holidays, right? Instead of being concerned about Christians walking as children of light in the midst of this dark world.

In other words, be more concerned about holiness than happy holidays. Like if you're not reading your

Bible every day and seeking to cultivate what is good and right and true in your life, but you get bent out of shape because the unregenerate person in the target cashier's line says, happy holidays instead of Merry Christmas, you are the problem, not them.

Repent and let us seek to cultivate the light of Christ this

Christmas season. We let our lives and our words show forth the futility of remaining in darkness.

When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, verse 13 says. Like you know why people have security lights, right?

Because evil wants to do what? Remain hidden. But to be in the light is to be exposed, to be caught.

This is the supremacy of light. The Christian takes the supremacy of the light of Christ and exposes the darkness of the world in order to point sinners to our

King and to overcome the darkness as it were, pushing it back, defeating it as the kingdom of Christ expands.

Light is greater than darkness. The darkness of this world cannot ultimately overthrow the kingdom of light.

Let our lips and our lives engage in this war, so to speak, as we spread the light of Christ.

Okay, and then we have verse 14, where Paul says, therefore it says.

Now, pause there for a second. A lot of ink spilled on this. Where is Paul quoting? Is he quoting an old

Christian hymn or is he teasing out some of the fulfillment and application of Isaiah 60, verse one?

So our text says, Ephesians 5, 14, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Well, there's no verse in the Old Testament that specifically says it that way. Now, Isaiah 60, verse one says, arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the

Lord has risen upon you. This is kind of where I'm at, the camp I'm in, that Paul is just kind of teasing out some of the fulfillment and application of Isaiah 60, verse one.

Others think that he's talking about an old Christian hymn, quoting that. Either way,

I think the main point here is this. As we expose the darkness of the world, our purpose is not just to see darkness exposed, but sinners savingly converted to Christ.

Please hear me. The Christian's ultimate goal is not to have a squeaky -clean city. Although I want a squeaky -clean city, but that's not my ultimate goal.

My ultimate goal is to see sinners spiritually rise from the dead. Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

For example, if we could pass a law tomorrow that everyone in Perryville had to go to church on Sunday, we've accomplished nothing if people remain dead in their sins.

So listen carefully. Yes, Christians in America ought to be zealous about politics. Don't listen to persons like, oh,

Christians shouldn't worry about politics. Well, of course we should, right? Our theology ought to inform our politics.

We ought to be zealous about the culture war and all these things. We ought to push back the darkness.

We ought to call evil evil, and we must and should and it's necessary that we're involved in these things.

However, and this is very important, this is urgent. None of this can be separated from the primary goal of seeing individual sinners come to Christ.

Nations are changed, how? Not by laws, but by people. Nations are changed as people are changed, and here is the reality.

You cannot, probably you cannot, I don't want to underestimate your ability, but you cannot affect the whole nation.

We cannot affect the whole nation, but you know what we can do? We can affect our area of the world right here.

We can shine the light of Christ here in Perryville and central Arkansas. We can help people here see the supremacy of light.

We can take this message, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you to our area.

You might not be able to take it to the uttermost parts of the earth, though we give toward missionaries who do such things, but you can take it to your neighbor.

You can take it to Harps. You can take it to Casey's. You can take it to the school. You can take it to your teammates on the football team.

You can take it to your Aunt Sally who makes the terrible fruitcake. You can take the message of Christ to those in your influence right here.

Listen to what Calvin says about this text. Let us therefore endeavor as far as lies in our power to rouse the sleeping and dead that we may bring them to the light of Christ.

That's what John Calvin said. Now listen to this. If you believe like I do in the supreme and meticulous sovereignty of God over salvation, that God has chosen

His people before the foundation of the world, that God is working in our world today to bring sinners from death to life, and this is a plan that He began in eternity past.

If you believe God is sovereign over the salvation of men, you ought to be one of the most evangelistic people on the planet.

Taking the light of Christ to the areas that God has placed you.

And we leave God's sovereign prerogative to His own holy pleasure. But for us, we do what lies in our power according to the

Word of God to rouse the sleeping and dead that we may bring them to the light of Christ.

Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. This means we preach, we pray, we share, we proclaim, we write evangelistic letters.

We are not ashamed and we're unafraid because light is supreme. Light is greater than darkness.

The light wins. The darkness cannot and will not prevail. So we go, we sin, we take the message of Christ to our neighbors and to the nations.

And maybe you think the world is too big for our little church. Fine. We'll never win the world.

Perryville Second Baptist Church will never win the world. Fine. But what about Perry County?

Will you give your efforts for this place? Will you pray similar to John Knox? Oh God, give us

Perry County or we die. Give us this place.

Can God not do a great work through us here as a local church? By the way, let me just mention this one last, or this one analogy real quick.

Like coals in a fire wear lights right in the world. What happens to a coal when you take the tongs and you set it apart from the fire?

It goes out. So this understanding of being light in the world, you can't separate from the local church.

Why can you not give your life to seeing the light of Christ shine supremely upon this area of the world that God has called us to?

Think about the Christmas lights again. On my house, you shut off all the lights in my house, but you keep one little light on.

And you say, well, that's not doing anything. That little light's doing nothing.

It actually looks silly, that one little light shining. But what happens when all the lights shine together?

That one little light shines right where it's at. This is what the Lord calls us to do.

Not to be concerned so much, yes, we are concerned about the world, but to be concerned primarily shining here first.

Let's just shine right where we're at. Dear brother and sister, shine. That's what I'm saying. Take Christ in your workplace, your homes, your neighbors, your hobbies.

Shine the light of Christ. Push back the darkness where you're at. That's what I'm saying. You might not be able to go over to the

Middle East right now or whatever. Maybe one day you can, you can't do that right now, but you can get up early and you can meet with God in the morning and then you can go to your workplace and you can shine the light of Christ.

You can push back the darkness. You can show the world that Jesus is our King and there is hope in His name for those who repent and believe the gospel.

Be who you are, dear brother or sister, in Christ and shine the light of Christ. Now let me close with this.

I'll close with this and then we'll be done. Paul says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.

Friends, I love you all. But how can I preach this text and not talk about those who may be here this morning remaining in the darkness of their sins?

Is there any here today who are still darkness? Friends, children, youth, adults, who here remains in the darkness of their sins?

Who here remains lost and undone and ruined? Who here remains condemned?

I proclaim to you this text. Wake up, wake up.

Quit resting in your self -righteousness. Quit resting in your love and lust for the world and carnality.

Quit chasing after your sins. Wake up, wake up, arise from the dead and see the glory and beauty of Christ.

The text says He will shine on you, even you, even you. The gospel is enough for you, even you.

His mercy is greater than your sins. His grace is greater than all your misdeeds and transgressions.

Oh, today is not the day to hit the snooze. Today is not the day to stay asleep.

But wake up and see Christ. You can be forgiven if you repent and believe the gospel.

Wake up even now and see Christ alone as your only suitable and all -sufficient

Savior. He is beautiful, He is glorious. He really is our King and our Redeemer.

He's coming again and He bids us now in this room to repent and to follow

Him. Behold His glory. Turn from your sins even now and believe the gospel and shine with us, shine with us in this dark world.

Let's pray. Father, with the Holy Spirit even now, take Your Word and drive it home to our hearts.

May we be a people who seek to walk as children of light.

No matter what others in this community might say, no matter even if another church might say something or friends or family, we wanna shine as lights.

Give us that desire and let us walk in that truth.

Keep us near the cross. We pray in Christ's name, amen. Would you stand and let's sing.