The Light Of The World

God wanted His people (the Hebrews) to be a light in the world and draw the gentiles to Him. If we read what the Bible says, we see that the Jews were successful in this effort. In ancient, as well as New Testament times, we read that there were always those, outside the Jewish people, who were involved with the Jews to the extent that they often accepted the true God as their God. Many of those people, just as today, having received the knowledge of the true God would cling to the idols with which they were familiar. They never made the commitment to serve the Lord. How have you responded to the call of the Lord? Do you know who Jesus is and yet have never accepted Him as Lord of your life? Are you so caught up in your everyday life that you don’t find the time to devote your life to Him? “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we could be saved.”

The Jews’ mission, to bring the world to the Lord, had its ebbs and tides. When Jesus came to the earth it was at a time of ebb because the Jewish leaders had perverted God’s Word. It had become so bad that the Jewish leadership, although it was clearly spelled out in scripture, missed the coming of their Messiah. Their own importance had become so paramount that even though they studied the scriptures, they were blinded to the truth. Pride and self importance are two of Satan’s favorite tools. Are you deceived in the same ways the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the leaders of Israel were? Moses clearly explained this to the rich man in Hades: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” Well! Jesus did it! Do you believe?

Want some alone time? Try this – I know you can’t talk about Jesus to your co-workers during work hours, BUT, perhaps a moment on the parking lot when you are off the clock may provide just the right time. When the word spreads about you, after work each day you can watch the crowd scatter; thus a time of rest and contemplation. When the light is switched on, the roaches scatter.

Just as the high council of the Jews (71 people who were the elders, rulers, the teachers of the law along with the high priest, who caused Jesus to be killed) thought of the apostles as thorns in their flesh, we today (born again Christians) are the thorns in the flesh of those apostate teachers who have invaded our “church”. Who are these apostate teachers (false prophets) of today? We Christians are to be known by our fruits and theirs are rotten. Rick Warren for false teaching , Robert Schuller for ‘too much Jesus’ , Oprah Winfrey and the New Earth , Rob Bell – there is no hell , Jeremiah Wright for black liberation theology , Jim Wallace for false teaching , Kenneth Copeland for distorted teaching , are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to distorting the Word of God. The biggest problem with these people and others is that they are keeping people from being saved. Their destructive messages render people helpless for eternity. When it comes to being the light of the world, these guys go around turning off the switch. Today’s generation has become so biblically illiterate, we are less discerning of the truth and thus responsible for letting deception run rampant even in the body of Christ. We must not be deceived by the size of a group for appearances can also be deceiving. Many are called but few are chosen, and many will be mislead. The path to righteousness is narrow while the path to destruction is wide. The path to righteousness is paved by the Word of God.

We all are used to hearing about groups that are not Christian such as: transcendental meditation, Scientology, Mormonism, Christian Science, Unitarians, Jehovah’s Witness and others. There may even be some born again Christians in these groups. These are not bad people, but simply mislead. The biggest problem today are those who claim to be Christian and yet deny many, if not all, of the foundations of Christianity.

When authority figures condemn you for telling the truth, remember what Peter said: “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

When God calls, what is your answer? Adam said: “"I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." Moses said: “Here I am” . These were vastly different answers to the call of God. One represented fear because of sin, and the other represented submission to God. Adam lost paradise, whereas Moses gained the freedom of the Hebrew people. Are you on the path to destruction or the path to righteousness?

Jesus was the light of the world while He was here. The Bible says that we are to be the light of the world in His place. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we accomplish this. Just as Gamaliel said: “if it be of God it will prosper, if it is not of God it will fall” We, as individuals, must judge if we should be involved with these things or not. All things must be judged be the Word of God. Don’t be mislead, by the size of a congregation or the influence of the false teachers and leaders. The Devil has a lot of devotees. We need to pray for these people, it is after all, up to God to separate the wheat from the tares.

In the days when Jesus was here on earth and during the growth of the early church, just as today, there were many who practiced the ‘magic arts’, sorcery, divination, fortune telling and witchcraft. They were even able to conduct healings and exorcisms which is why the Jewish leaders asked Jesus by which power He did these things. We need to ascertain, by using the Word of God, by which power what we see happening is accomplished. We need to follow the light and reject the darkness.

I have come to believe that there are different levels of punishment for those who reject salvation through Jesus. The worst punishments are reserved for those false teachers, along with Satan and his bunch, who keep people from the saving knowledge of Jesus .

Rick Rahn