Philippians 2:14-18

We're going to jump back into Philippians tonight.

Let's see.

For those of you who haven't really been with us throughout the study,

! Just to tell you where we've been in chapter 2.

Paul begins chapter 2 by exhorting the Philippians to not do things out of selfishness or rivalry,

but rather be united in love and humility towards one another.

And love and humility are the two things that actually hold the church together,

keeps them from dividing.

And then after verse 4, he gives you the ultimate example of sacrificial love and humility in the person of Christ

and how Christ left the glory of heaven and came as a man and lived a perfect life of obedience

and then died the most horrendous death on the cross.

And then God exalted him as a result.

But then last week, we talked about the mystery of how it is God who is at work in us,

supposed to work and will for his good pleasure,

and the mystery of our responsibility and how we're supposed to step forward and be obedient

and to labor and fight and strive.

But the whole time, it is God's power that works within us.

We learned about that mystery last week.

So with all this stuff in mind, with all this heavy doctrinal truth that we just read,

obviously Paul has in mind that there's application for life after this.

Remember that like no theology, no doctrine,

all theology is practical and all theology actually plays out into our lives.

It's not like we have the really easy theology that's like live this way and act that way,

and then we have the upper level thinking.

It all plays into how we live.

All of it does.

All of it.

And this is where we're going to go.

So in light of what they discussed in the previous verses,

Paul says live this way,

how we're to work out our salvation,

not work for our salvation,

but rather to press into the fullness of what is ours in Christ.

So we get to verse 14,

and we're going to jump around a little bit,

but first of all,

I want to just talk about the world that we live in,

okay,

the world that we live in.

And there's two things from this passage that we can note about the world that we live in.

The first one is,

can be seen in verse 15,

we live in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation,

or a crooked and perverse generation.

And definitely was true of Paul's days,

but it's definitely true of our day.

So we need to kind of address this.

And the word crooked here,

it means like scoliosis.

It means like something that is like bent out of shape,

and it's deviated from the intended path.

It's twisted and perverted,

and it kind of sums up the lost world around us.

And so perverse,

the other picture there,

being twisted,

it just means that we have taken the truth of God,

what is meant to be good and beautiful and right,

and we've twisted that and perverted that.

And even the good things that we have,

that's what we've done to them.

We've made them into ultimate things,

giving our lives to them and worshiping them,

that only God deserves our worship.

And so that we live in a society, though,

that doesn't just do evil,

but they actually like encourage each other to do evil,

and they give hearty approval to the ones who are acting in evil.

That's Romans 1.32.

It says they don't only do these evil things,

they give approval to those who practice them.

Proverbs 2.14 says this,

It kind of sums up this idea of how things are not the way they ought to be.

They're twisted and they're crooked.

A mess like the world that we live in

is a perversion of what God had.

And so that's something first to note,

is we live in a crooked and perverse generation.

Now, this is probably where we're going to be spending most of our time.

But something else to note,

as you see in verse 15,

it says that we're shining as lights in the world,

and light implies that darkness.

And it is a characteristic of the lost world around us

that it's also a generation that lives in darkness.

The world dwells in darkness.

And it's a characteristic of a sinful lost world.

And many dictionaries,

just English dictionaries,

if you look at it and you actually look up darkness,

guess what it says?

Like absence of light,

where there's no light.

That's like what it says.

The best definition of what darkness really is,

is an absence of light.

However, like God is not ever talking about physical darkness.

Like turn the lights off in here.

He's talking about a spiritual darkness

that haunts the souls of men

that lives in us,

that lives in the lost world around us.

And an oppressive spiritual darkness that crushes us.

And the people that live in darkness currently,

some of you might,

if you're without Christ,

that you still dwell in darkness.

They're aware of it.

They know like something's not right.

I knew that I did.

I knew that something was not right in my life.

I didn't really know what.

But I felt like I had darkness.

And so the people that we live around,

they feel that way.

And elsewhere in the world,

you see darkness in a variety of forms.

You see it like in a miscarriage of justice,

corrupted governments,

corrupted legal officials,

and how they use their power

to starve their people

and to abuse their people.

We see so many things.

We see sex trafficking.

We see that warlords seize the food

that's meant to feed the starving people.

We see all kinds of stuff,

a darkness that just prevails over the world.

And then just even in our own lives,

we feel like the darkness of separation

and loneliness and broken relationships

and sickness, death,

a big uncertainty.

One of the major characteristics about darkness

is you can't see where you're going.

And you have to think of that way spiritually.

All of you at one time,

and myself included,

and many of you know now,

they have no hope and no peace

and no joy about the future at all.

They have no idea

like what the future holds for them.

And that's why they only can live in the moment,

eat, drink, and be merry,

for tomorrow we die.

They don't know like what the future holds.

And so they,

it's very scary.

Knowing that,

knowing what I know now,

knowing that God is sovereign over my life

and He has a direction for my life

and that He only intends good

and the best for me,

that brings a peace that the world doesn't know.

Their lives are headed towards chaos.

And ultimately,

it will lead to spiritual death,

ultimate spiritual death

and separation from God.

Proverbs 4, 19 says,

the way of the wicked

is like deep darkness.

They do not know

where they are going

and they stumble.

And that's

what the wicked live in.

They live in

sheer darkness,

hopelessness,

and loneliness.

I know what this is like.

And the,

I had a,

when I was,

my first,

I think it was

sophomore year in college,

freshman,

sophomore year in college,

I lived in Gwinnett County

and I was just,

at that time,

I was probably early Christian

and I just had like a lot of zeal

but not like a lot of channeling

and right thinking

and what I was doing

but had good motives.

And I was a part of my

old youth ministry,

just kind of being

like a youth worker

and there was a kid

who was 13

named Tyler

and

Tyler grew up

very, very lonely

like teenager.

His parents

hated his guts.

He lived with his aunt

and

in school

he was

picked on

a lot

when he started

middle school.

He came around

every Wednesday

and we always

tried to hang out

with him

and he was a fun guy

to be around

but he also

did some very crazy things

just to get attention.

That's all he wanted

was like somebody

to be like,

hey,

just to look at him.

One time he actually

drove his bike

like down a hill

through like a major

intersection

just hoping that he

didn't get like hit

by the cars.

He was just trying

to get attention

from all his buddies.

Just very,

very lonely,

feeling unwanted.

just darkness

in his eyes.

No hope.

And I remember

actually being

in the hospital

getting a call

from a friend of mine

that said that he had

hung himself

the previous night

and that was the first

time I had experienced

something like that

and had to work

with all his friends,

all his middle school

buddies who just

didn't understand

like what happened.

Just sheer darkness

and this is what

it leads to.

The apex of that

is just wanting

not to go on living.

So,

a story that I mentioned

I think last year,

a story of a girl

called Judy Bucknell

and she lived

in California,

San Francisco Bay.

She worked really hard.

She exercised.

She was really well

respected in the community.

She was never in jail.

She never got in trouble

with the law.

And she,

but she was miserable.

She hosted parties

and designer clothes

and in 1980,

at the age of 38,

she became homicide

victim 106 in Miami.

And she was murdered

on a summer evening

and stabbed several times

and strangled.

And she kept a diary

of a very lonely life.

And this is something

that she wrote

at the age of 38.

At the age of 38,

I'm alone

and I want to share

something with somebody.

Where are the men

with the flowers

and the champagne

and the music?

Where are the men

who call and ask

for a genuine,

actual date?

Where are the men

who like

to share more than

my bed

and my food?

I would like to have

in my life once

before I pass through,

before I pass on,

the kind of sexual relationship

which is a part

of a loving relationship.

I see people together

and I'm so jealous

and I want to throw up.

What about me?

What about me?

Who is going to love

Judy Bucknell?

I feel so old,

unloved,

unwanted,

abandoned,

used up,

and I want to cry

in my sleep forever.

A picture of loneliness.

This girl's heart

had actually died

way before she died.

And Jesus said

in Matthew 6,

the eye is the lamp

of the body,

so if your eye

is healthy,

your whole body

will be full of light.

But if your eye

is bad,

your whole body

will be full of darkness.

If then the light

is in you,

the light in you

is darkness,

how great is that darkness?

There's something

about that.

We can,

you look in someone's eyes

and you're just emptiness.

I mean,

I know what that

looks like.

And so,

two characteristics

about the loss

of what we live in.

It's crooked,

it's perverse,

and it's,

it lives in darkness.

And I've,

been there,

and I hope that

if you have been there,

that you don't forget

what it was like

and to remind yourself

and it's surrounding you

every day

with your friends

and family.

So,

in this text,

we're going to look

at five verbs

that are going to change

into present participles.

You know what that is?

Too bad if you don't.

Come on,

North Georgia English.

Okay.

And,

and how we're to live

in the midst

of a world

like this.

And,

number one,

there's five.

Number one,

our doing.

Our doing.

And it comes from

verse 14

where it says,

do

all things

without grumbling

or questioning.

And,

the focus there

is on the manner

in which things

are to be done.

Not just in the doing,

but like the spirit

behind the doing.

And,

without complaining,

without grumbling,

or without questioning.

So,

it's a call

to be obedient,

the spirit of joy

and gladness

and not a grudging

kind of obedience.

So,

it's possible for us

to do the right thing

but do it in such a way

to where

it deprives us

of the joy

and angers

everyone around us.

Very possible

to do that.

an example.

So,

you can,

well,

some of you

probably could

say this now.

You're home

and your parents

give you a task

to do.

Clean something up.

Go mow the yard.

Go rake the leaves.

Clean the house.

Whatever.

And,

they're interrupting

your chilled out day

and your entertainment

that you want.

And,

it leads you

just to grumble.

And,

this word

for grumbling here,

it means like

muttering under

like a low voice.

This is a grumble

in your spirit

and it leads

to a questioning

which is,

why do I got to do this now?

Why do I got to do that

today?

Why can't I do it

my way

and not your way?

It leads to this

where you're questioning

and you're grumbling

about a specific task

that's been given to you.

So,

it's intellectual

and emotional

and so it

it gets to the point

where your

your parents

are just like,

look,

just

put the rake down

just go in your room

I'll do the dishes.

I'd rather

do it myself

than to watch

your mean-spirited

attempt at obedience.

Ever had that happen?

Like,

just forget about it.

Just get out of my sight.

I'm so

tired of hearing

this gruntled spirit

in you.

and it gets

to that point.

So,

if that's true

for our

earthly parents,

our earthly father,

how much more

our heavenly father?

Paul probably

has in mind

Exodus 15,

turn there.

This is,

keep your hand in Philippians.

Excuse me,

Exodus 16,

I was going to mention

verse 15,

chapter 15.

Exodus 16

and go to verse 6.

But just to give you

a context,

Israel has come

through the Red Sea.

They've been delivered

from the hands

of the Egyptians.

And in verse,

excuse me,

chapter 15,

you have the song

of Moses.

He's praising God

for what God has done.

And you have

his sister Miriam

going to town

on the tambourine,

kind of going,

you know,

going nuts

to the tambourine.

And then,

you get to chapter 16.

And just think

about what just happened.

They just were delivered,

taken through the Red Sea,

delivered out of bondage

in Egypt.

And God,

and they begin

to grumble.

They begin to grumble

at the beginning

of the chapter.

They're basically like,

we have more meat

in Egypt.

We have more

stuff to eat

in general

in Egypt.

And they're kind of

grumbling and moaning.

And then God,

graciously,

provides them

manna and quail

to eat.

And Moses

makes it clear,

though,

their complaint

is not against

him,

but against God.

And so we get

to chapter 16,

verse 6.

We'll just read

some of this.

So Moses and Aaron

said to all the people

of Israel,

At evening

you shall know

that it was the Lord

who brought you

out of the land

of Egypt.

And in the morning

you shall see

the glory of the Lord

because he has heard

your grumbling

against the Lord.

And it says,

For what

are we

that you

grumble

against us?

And Moses said,

When the Lord

gives you

in the evening

meat to eat

and in the morning

bread to the full

because the Lord

has heard your grumbling

that you grumble

against him,

what are we?

Your grumbling

is not against us

but against the Lord.

And then Moses

said to Aaron,

Say to the whole

congregation

of the people

of Israel,

Come near

before the Lord

for he has heard

your grumbling.

So of all people,

we're really quick

to do this

when we study

the Old Testament

and study

the people

of Israel.

You'd think,

they're crazy.

This got delivered

out of slavery

in Egypt

and seen these

awesome miracles

and they're grumbling.

We're really quick

to kind of point

their finger

at them.

You'd think,

they of all people

should be joyful

and glad

to be delivered.

And we are

very guilty ourselves.

Like you need to turn

like right around

and like point

to yourself.

They experienced

a worldly

deliverance

from physical slavery

but we have experienced

even greater

deliverance

from our spiritual

death

through what Christ

has done

and we still grumble.

we still grumble.

And you can say

like God,

you know,

why have you stuck

me in this place

in my life?

Why does everybody

else kind of

seem to get

what they want

and I don't?

Why is this thing

happening this way?

If you just gave me

this then I would

be happy.

We just grumble

and we complain

and we argue.

Even in our service

to God,

we argue

and we grumble.

I remember being

in Puerto Rico

I think

when I might have

been like 21

years old

and we were doing

some work

on the streets

and doing street work

painting curbs

and cleaning up

things as a means

to share the gospel

with the people

that were coming

around us

and there was

a lady

on my team

that,

man,

I just,

the prophet in me

just started coming

out towards

the end of that trip

but she was just

grumbling like

the whole time

like,

it's so hot

out here,

why do we have

to do this

right now?

Very,

every little thing

you can think of

and like,

I can't wait

to go to the beach

on this day

and just very,

it made me really

sad and angry

all at the same time.

Just a persistent

grumbling

the whole time

and just began

to rob people

like the joy

that was there

and so,

if we persist

in long term

grumbling

and questioning

God,

He'll discipline us,

He will,

like He'll say like,

I've had enough

of this

and He'll like

kindly

just knock us

down a little bit

and turn to

Lamentations

right after Jeremiah

and I'll show you

an example of this.

God actually did this

to Judah

and Jeremiah

who wrote Lamentations

recognized this.

Lamentations chapter 3

Lamentations 3:37

verse 37

There's just a few

other places

for you to turn

tonight.

Getting used to

flipping that Bible.

Lamentations chapter 3

Lamentations 3:37

verse 37

He says,

Who has spoken

and has come to pass

unless the Lord

has commanded it?

Is it not

from the mouth

of the Most High

that good

and bad come?

So,

He recognizes

right here

in this first verse

that God's

sovereign hand

is what brings

good

and allows evil.

He does both.

Like it doesn't just

God is in control

of all things.

Things don't just happen

even when

even when Satan

acts

is because God

has sovereignly

allowed him

to act

and he only operates

in the parameters

in which God

has set.

Then it goes on

and he says,

Why should

a living man

complain

a man

about the punishment

of his sins?

Let us test

and examine

our ways

and return

to the Lord.

Let us lift up

our hearts

and hands

to the God

of heaven.

Why should we

complain

and why should

we be grumbling?

If we have been

delivered

from our sin

and now we actually

continue to sin

against the Lord

and God disciplines

us,

why should we

grumble?

Like what's the

he's saying like

obviously God

would discipline

us

and let us

examine our ways

and return

to the Lord.

So,

that's the first

thing is in our

doing

we're to

live in such

a way

without grumbling

or complaining.

The second thing,

the second part

of the civil

year,

look at,

go back to

Philippians,

sorry.

Philippians,

it's going to be

in verse 15,

in our

becoming,

our becoming,

and in verse 15,

that you may

be blameless

and innocent

children of God

without blemish

in the midst

of a crooked

and twisted

generation.

That's verse 15.

So,

in our becoming,

we're to,

that you may be,

I'm just kind of

adding that on,

becoming,

be,

becoming,

children of God.

Not by physical

birth,

but as it says

in John 1,

by the power

of God,

by the spirit

of regeneration

the Holy Spirit

gives to us,

being born again.

So,

pure here

is not just

an external activity,

it has to do

with the fact

that,

that like,

precious metals

that are free

of all the alloys

that actually

would bring harm

to it,

a purity.

Purity is what

paves the way

for our intimacy

with God.

If we give

ourselves

and adulterate

ourselves out

to a thousand

different things,

we don't have

the purity

to actually enjoy

the Lord

as we could

enjoy the Lord.

So,

that's what

carves that out

and purity

is a shocking

thing

to anybody

in the world

we live in,

in any situation.

It's like

we actually

would keep

ourselves pure

for something.

It's mind-boggling

to the world.

It transcends

into the spiritual

world.

And notice

how it says

in their midst.

We're to be

in their midst,

not separating

ourselves

from the world,

but actually

being in it.

And while

we're in the midst

of it,

to be blameless.

And that just

means living

without fault.

Not perfect,

but not in such

a way to where

they're constantly

pointing out to us

the gap between

our mouths

and the way

we actually live.

We're to show

people that

this is real

and that we

believe with our

hearts and

our minds

that it goes

into our actions

and to live

upright and

clean.

Two other

places to turn.

This is one.

Titus chapter 2.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

Flip there

and I'm going

to show you

something here.

We don't want

any gaps to

exist between

what we say

or what we

claim to

believe

and then

actually

our actions.

We want

them to be

one.

Nothing brings

harm to the

gospel like

people who

talk a lot

but don't

really walk

that way

at all.

And remember

not perfectly

but we're

going to look

at Titus

Titus 2:7

chapter 2

verse 7

and Paul

writes to

them,

show yourself

in all

respects to

be a model

of good

works and

in your

teaching show

integrity and

dignity,

sound speech

that cannot

be condemned

so that an

opponent may

be put to

shame,

having nothing

evil to say

about us.

There's another

example of

that.

Listen to

this.

Slaves are

to be

submissive to

their own

masters and

everything.

They are to

be well

pleasing,

not

argumentative,

not

pilfering,

but showing

all good

faith.

And why?

Why all

this?

Why?

The last

part.

So that in

everything that

may adorn the

doctrine of

God our

Savior.

So when we

live in that

way, it

adorns

Christ.

It makes

Christ look

beautiful and

magnificent and

glorious like

He really is.

And that's the

purpose.

It's not just to

live that way,

just to live that

way.

It's to show

people this is

where our life

comes from,

where our joy

comes from.

And so they

would have

nothing really

evil to say

about us unless

they're lying.

We would have a

clean conscience

about how we

live.

So that's the

second one,

our becoming.

The third

one, back in

Philippians in

verse 15,

our shining,

our shining.

And verse 15,

in the midst of

a crooked and

twisted generation

among whom you

shine as lights

in the world.

And we've

talked a lot

about the

darkness that

exists in the

world before we

actually dove into

this.

So remember

that Christ is

the light of the

world.

He said in

John, I'm the

light of the

world.

whoever follows

me will not

walk in darkness

but will have

the light of

life.

So this is the

light that Christ

brought to the

world.

And so now

that Christ is

gone, through

Christ we become

children of the

light.

We have to have

Christ in our

life and we

become children

of the light.

Once we're born

again, his light

is given to us

and it dwells in

us.

And it's not a

light that we

produce or put

out on our

own.

We have no

light in and

of ourselves to

give anybody.

It's a light

that completely

comes by knowing

Christ.

And in

Ephesians 5

Ephesians 5:8

verse 8, this

is something Paul

says,

For at one

time you were

darkness, but

now you are the

light in the

Lord.

Walk as children

of light.

So we have

in this present

life, joy and

direction for

our lives because

we have that

light.

And we're to

shine in a

dark world.

And think

about this,

like the

moon, you

ever heard

like the light

of the moon?

The moon

doesn't have any

light, you know

that?

Like it doesn't

actually put out

light.

It reflects the

light off the

sun, does it

not?

And that's what

we see.

So we're to

position our

lives in such

a way to

where we

reflect the

glory of the

sun onto the

world around

us.

And people can

tell that the

light's not

coming from us

but from

something else.

And that's

being the

light of the

world.

And stars, if

we're to walk

outside, probably

around here, you

see the stars.

Out in the

country you can

see the stars.

stars in the

ancient times

were navigational

tools.

They didn't

have a lot of

the GPS stuff

we have now.

Like they had

the sailors and

mariners, they

had to decide

where to go

based on where

the stars were.

And they serve

as a guide.

And so our

lives are to

serve as a

navigational guide

to the people

who are lost

in darkness.

We're to show

them this is

where the light

is.

This is how

you should live.

This is where

to go and

we're to

point to

Christ because

he's the

source of

the light and

he's the

source of

life.

And I

think this is

the last

place.

I'm going to

have you

turn, but

look at

Matthew 5.

Awesome.

You can't

really skip

over this.

Matthew 5,

Summer on

the Mount,

verse 14.

Many people

around us do

not know the

way to go and

they need the

light of Christ.

So,

yeah,

Matthew 5,

Matthew 5:14

verse 14,

Jesus says

this,

You are the

light of the

world.

A city set

on a hill

cannot be

hidden,

nor do

people light

a lamp and

put it under

a basket,

but on a

stand,

and it

gives light

to all in

the house.

In the same

way, let

your light

shine before

others,

so that they

may see your

good works,

and give glory

to your Father

who is in

heaven.

Lights,

by nature,

shine.

They don't do

any other

thing.

That's what

they do.

They illuminate.

Light means

like illumination.

It means

purity,

clarity.

In a lot of

ways, it means

like goodness.

That's what

light means.

It's the

opposite of

darkness.

And when we

leave buildings

like this,

to put our

light away,

does the

world no

good.

It doesn't

do us any

good either.

and notice

how he

doesn't

command them

to shine.

He's like

basically saying,

you do

shine.

If Christ

is in you,

this is what

will happen.

You will

shine.

His light's

in the world.

It doesn't

say, get out

there and

shine.

It's not a

commandment.

He's saying

that you

shine.

Because they

possess Christ,

the light of

the world.

So it's not

a commandment.

It's something

that dwells in

us that comes

out.

So we're

to shine in

the world.

The fourth

thing is our

holding out.

This is in

verse 16

back in

Philippians.

Holding fast

to the word

of life.

So a

good rendering

of that would

be to hold

forth, to

hand something

out that way

to someone.

And so the

word of God

that is the

lamp unto our

feet, the

light unto our

paths, that

gives us

direction.

We're to

hold it

out.

We're to

hold the

gospel out

to others.

And that's

it.

You can't

save the

person.

You can't

change the

person.

We're to

be offering

it out to

them.

Here is

life.

Here is the

word of

life that

will bring

you salvation.

It's only

found in

Christ.

So that's

what we're

to do.

God enables

them to

lay hold

of it.

That one's

pretty fast.

Could go on

that forever.

But fifthly

and lastly,

our rejoicing.

Our rejoicing.

This is in

verse 16.

Paul says,

So that in

the day of

Christ I

may be

proud that I

do not run

in vain or

labor in

vain.

Even if I'm

being poured

out as a

drink offering

upon the

sacrificial

offering of

your faith,

I am glad

and I rejoice

with you all.

Likewise,

you also

should be

glad and

rejoice with

me.

You know,

like in a

lot of

relays,

what they

call fault

starts,

and the

person can

run a

long,

long way,

and I

think they're

doing good,

and get to

the end,

be like,

sorry,

fault start,

you didn't

actually make

this happen.

Paul wants

no fault

start.

He wants

to be able

to look at

the Philippians

and be able

to say,

you know,

this was

done right,

and I can

rejoice because

of that,

and I want

you to

rejoice with

me when we

get to that

finish line,

and to

share in

that joy,

a drink

offering,

Paul calls

himself a

drink offering,

to,

in the Old

Testament,

like,

wine was a

very valuable,

rare commodity,

and it was

poured out on

the altar where

animals were

sacrificed,

and it was,

it would create

this really nice

smelling aroma,

and it was

symbolic of

somebody's

devotion and

commitment to

God.

That's what the

wine offering

was,

the drink

offering,

and Paul

is saying

that I want

my life to

be this way,

I want it

to be poured

out as a

drink offering,

that's pleasing

to God,

and that the

Philippians would

be there as a

sign of that,

and they would

share in that

joy that

existed.

So,

this is a

life we're to

live in the

midst of a

dark and

crooked,

perverse

generation.

all these

things will

help us.

And lastly,

this is just

more of an

exhortation than

anything.

If you're

without Christ

tonight,

hear this

directly like

out of the

mouth of

Jesus himself,

and let this

be something

that spurs us

on as people

who know

Christ to

go after

and to

seek the

loss around

us.

John 12,

just go ahead

and turn there,

we're done

after this.

John 12,

this is right

out of the

mouth of

Christ.

John 12,

John 12:35

verse 35.

John 12,

John 12:35

verse 35,

says,

So Jesus

said to

them,

The light

is among

you for a

little while

longer.

Walk while

you have

the light,

lest darkness

overtake you.

The one who

walks in the

darkness does

not know

where he is

going.

While you

have the

light,

believe in

the light,

that you

may become

sons of

the light.

And Jesus

is saying

that like

I'm here

right now,

I'm the

light of

the world,

believe in

me while

I'm here.

And it

carries a

certain tone

as if like

the light

will not be

around forever

for people

to lay

hold of

and to

come out

of their

darkness.

So Christ

is all

that we

need to

live this

life.

And so

we're to

live in

the world

and all

we do

will be

without

grumbling,

we're to

be becoming

children of

God,

laying hold

of what's

ours in

Christ,

and to

be shining

in a dark

world.

This is,

I feel so

convicted when

I think about

this.

I'm not

doing this

as often

as I

ought,

but people

need to be

able to

look at

our lives

and see

something

is not

quite right,

something is

different about

how we

live.

We have

been given

the greatest

thing to

have hope

and to

have joy

in.

And if

we just

look like

the rest

of the

world,

there's

still

something

that's

not

right.

We're

either in

sin,

we're

rebelling

against

our

Father,

or we

don't

have

the

light

at all.

It

says that

you must

shine.

If Christ

is in

you,

it has

to come

out

somehow.

doesn't

just,

he just

said a

city on

a hill,

it shines

that light.

And that's

what we

want to

be for

people.

And

it,

to

those

who

God

is

working

in,

when they

actually

see that

light,

such

freedom

and such

joy

overtakes

them.

I remember

just a

temporal

experience

of this.

when I

was hiking

in

Scotland

this

summer,

it was

getting

late.

It was

really,

really

dark

outside.

And it

was

raining

and I

was

really

hungry.

I had

no food

on me

at the

time.

And

I just

didn't know

where we

were on

the trail.

I just

knew we

were on

the trail.

And I

was just

praying

like we

got to

the next

town

really

quick.

and just

wanted to

get a nice

shower and

go get

some food.

That kind

of feeling.

I'm

huffing and

puffing with

my lungs

going up

this last

hill.

I didn't

know how

far we

had to

go.

And we

finally

got up

there.

I could

see the

town down

that way.

It was

this big

bright light.

I was

like,

yes!

I could

just

brought

so much

freedom

and joy.

I felt

like I

was going

to make

it out

for a