Pastor Andy encourages us that we need to be assured that God is at work in all things (Romans 8:28). God has a plan! Let us understand the time we live in and the part God wants us to play. His plan is us, we are His church. Isaiah, a prophet was seeing things through The Spirit ahead of his time. Isaiah 60:1 (NIV) says “‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” This is key to the moment we are in now & how God wishes us to respond.
Arise and Shine means get up, don’t shrink in fear and purpose, and be the dawn, the break of day. Darkness will cover the earth comes from hebrew khoshekh meaning misery, destruction death, sorrow, unrighteousness. Thick Darkness here means a cloud of gloom. So Isaiah foresaw gloom over the earth but told the people of God it was time to let the light of Jesus shine. Isaiah 60:3 says that the people of this world, (gentiles & heathen) will be drawn towards the light we shine – when the church stops hiding, arguing and fighting and stands up to be the representation of Christ on earth. The unsaved will be drawn to something better they see in us – the holiness, beauty and reality of Kingdom life. These verses speak to us... His People, His church on earth! The Jesus who came and now lives in us is the Jesus who will shine.
In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 the bible speaks of us being one body, made of many parts, many cultures and nations (if one part hurts so do we all). The final statement here says that we are the body of Christ and each of us is a part of it. We are the body of Christ on earth and contain the spirit of God. He is here in us now on the earth wishing to express Himself to a confused world through the lives we live, not necessarily our words. We are called to stand out not blend in; we are called to be operating and responsive in a different spirit from those of the world - to be that breaking of dawn in these confusing times. John 13:35 tells us people will know us by how we love one another, a different love from that in the world. People of God choose unity over division or dissention (Proverbs 6:19 reminds us how God hates such things). We speak truth in love not deceptive thinking.
We understand the Word of God separates what is soul and what is spirit and how to respond. The world desperately needs us to be different to be the church, however we need to know what this means from a spiritual perspective. We are a called out people in this world but not of this world. Colossians 1:13 tells us we have been snatched out the kingdom of darkness & brought into the Kingdom of the Son of His love. We need to be true to this. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us how we are a chosen people called out of darkness to declare his praises. Once we had not received mercy but now we have! We are a people of Christ on earth, with no partiality to race, colour etc. We know each other only by how we are in Christ. We do not despise our cultures which we celebrate, but we are defined by who we are in God. 2 Corinthians 5:16 onwards speaks about the truth of who we now are. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation or species, a new variety of people belonging to God. There is no partiality of skin colour here. God expect us to respect each other as human to human. Let us see Jesus in each other and choose to be different. Then we can celebrate our differences not judge or despise them.
God looks for us His church to be different in the darkness of today’s world, to be a bright shining light. To accomplish this, our thinking, loving, forgiving, and graceful judging must be different. All this starts with how we treat each other in our own church. Our local culture can then impact the wider church. The church is not peripheral to the world but central. Ephesians 1:23 (MSG) tells us “He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the centre of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” The Bible tells us to understand Kingdom life in order that life around us can change. 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us to study The Lord and we shall be transformed into His image with ever increasing glory! Then we begin to shine and impact our own local church then indeed the church and the world over. This means living with no racism, judgement, division but seeing Jesus in each other. The devils plans will be ruined! We must see ourselves as reflected in the Word, how The Father sees us. Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV) teaches “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Whether reading the words of Isaiah or Jesus, the request is the same.
Pastor Andy shared a personal message he received during his devotions: God is about to move again through His church, His body on the earth. It is vital we know who we are and what we are here to do.
It is time to Arise and Shine.