Light Up The World Part One by Pastor Phylip Morgan

Calon Church Podcast

This week, in his first sermon of the year, Pastor Phyl began his series "Light up the world". He started by talking about the different elements that we have, and discussed a personal fascination with the element of 'light', and the principle of 'light years' as a unit of measurement, often used in astronomy. It is used to try and give us an idea of distance for things that are incredibly far away; things that are so unsearchable that the only way we have to quantify them is to take the largest unit of measurement on earth and the fastest thing on earth and join them together.

Without light, we wouldn't have half of the things we have now, and we can thank God for light, because in Genesis 1:1, God spoke light into being. He then introduced us to ABC's "Verse for the year", taken from 2 Corinthians 4:6

" For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (KJV)

In this scripture, light is mentioned three times:

1. The light of the universe (God, which is a natural light)

2. The light of humanity (Christ, which is a spiritual light)

3. The light of the world (Us, which is a reflected light)

Jesus' light is in us. There are three dynamics that light has for us. Firstly, light allows us to see. In darkness, we stumble and fall, but in the light, we can see where we are going. 1 John 1:5 tells us that God can give us light for seeing. This is fundementally important to us. Secondly, light is good for observing. There is a difference between seeing and observing, just as there is in hearing and listening. God wants us to observe this year. Light reflects off us, into others' eyes. The power of seeing comes from the intake of information we have observed. There is a saying that there are none so blind as those who cannot see.

This year, we must ask God what he's trying to teach us.

What will be your observations this year?

In Genesis 4, it is said that there is light for seeing, for observing, and for seasons. This year, there will be light for seasons of your life. You will have trouble in the world, we know this because it is said in John 16:33. Our challenge is to observe and understand that God is in this. All of us have to look for God in the seasons of our lives, through the good times and the bad, through the wonderful and the terrible experiences. We must remember that "This, too, shall pass".

This year, we must put our hand in God's. We must trust Him with all we have.

In closing, Pastor Phyl encouraced us to commit this verse to memory, and to hold it in our hearts for the coming year.

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ"

2 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV)