How?

 "When Jesus spoke again to the people He said, '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...."The Pharisees looked straight at the Light of the world for three years yet not one ray of light reached their inner beings. Satan has no fear of light so long as he keeps his victims sightless." A.W. Tozer

I don't know how the Pharisees of Christ's day could be exposed again and again to His Presence, His Words, and His Light and yet not have any impression of Him at all upon their hearts. I don't know how, but I know that they did.

In the same way, I don't know how modern-day Pharisees and non-Pharisees alike can be exposed to His Light and Life and yet not have any of it reach their hearts. I don't know how, but nearly 40 years of ministry have proved to me that it doesn't, that it hasn't. It's a frightening reality to behold. The eternal consequences of this are deeply serious. 

If you're one who testifies to the saving grace of Jesus Christ in your life, you may feel that you could never be included in that above grouping. His Light did reach your heart. You did respond. You did come. Praise God for that. So did I. Now here's a question for you and me: Is there any place in our hearts where His rays of light are not reaching? Is there any truth He's spoken, any attitude or behavior that He's confronted in us that hasn't been heard or received because it bounced off the hardness of our heart in that particular area?

Every week and for many, several times a week, we come together in some form to hear from God. We sing songs, read Scripture, listen to biblical messages, and even pray. Yet every week, we leave in the same condition that we came. How can this be? How can we be exposed to His Truth and His Presence and yet not be changed by it? How can we be in the presence of His Light and not be affected by it? 

I heard someone say that the best way to defeat darkness is to turn on the light. Darkness is increasing everywhere, even in the church. That it is can only be attributed to one thing: the church hasn't been functioning fully as His Light. Father, forgive us. Father, convict us. Father, transform us. Father, make us shine with the Light of Jesus Christ.

The Bible speaks of the men of Issachar, who understood the conditions of the days they lived in and knew how they must respond to those conditions. May the Lord raise up a generation of men and women of Issachar who see and know as well. May He raise up a generation of Preacher/Prophets who confront the darkness and make no peace/compromise with it. May His Light burn so brightly in His church that it can't be contained by any building. Light that melts the hardest of hearts and the most rebellious of spirits. How does it start you ask? It starts with you and me.

Blessings,
Pastor O