Morning Message Text: 2Corinthians 4: 3-6
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
Morning Message:
I always find myself amazed at what people don’t see. It is so easy for someone who believes in God and follows the ways of my Savior to forget that without the light of Jesus things look so different. We are not immune to spiritual blindness just because we are Christians. We have the Holy Spirit inside of us to guide us back to God’s light. We act and think differently even when we wonder far away from our faith. Our perspective is forever changed by our encounter with the living Christ. I may have shared this story before. My mind is not what it once was, and my memory was never great in the first place. Even if you have heard this, I think it bears repeating.
An agnostic university professor was visiting the Fiji Islands and observed how influential the missionaries had been over the years. The professor said to the tribal chief, “I see schools and churches everywhere. It is a shame you have been duped by the missionaries. No one believes the Bible anymore. The story of Jesus dying on the cross for sin is worn out.” The tribal chief responded, “Do you see that rock over there? On that rock we smashed the heads of our victims before we ate them. Do you see that oven over there? That is where we roasted our victims before we ate them. Mr. Professor, were it not for those missionaries who brought us the cross of Jesus Christ and the love of God that changed us from cannibals into followers of Jesus, you would have been our supper by now!”
1Corinthians 1: 18 says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
What can we do in a world that is blinded from the light of God? The first thing that we must do is not forget what we were once like. Don’t forget everything about how you used to live and how you used to think. Remember the sinner you once were and always recognize how different you are now. Why is that important? Because it keeps you grounded, and it continually keeps you humble and thankful to God for the change that he brought about in your life.
One other thing that this attitude accomplishes, it keeps you aware of the danger of sin and the destruction the devil, the god of this world, is bringing upon this world. Satan is working tirelessly to blind the unsaved of this world from the light of Jesus. And he is working even harder to suppress the light of Jesus that you have inside of you. Too often we give the devil help in his mission to destroy our faith and suppress the light.
I know that some of you will leave here wondering why I am making such a big deal about this. After all, what could happen that would be so terrible? Let me give you an example of what can happen to a nation that forgets the importance of God and allows the light to be dimmed. In Rwanda in the 1990s one million people lost their lives in a three-month period. Most that died had their heads hacked off with machetes. Women were gang raped and homes were burned to the ground. They could not bury that many bodies, so corpses were sometimes stacked 20 feet high. Dogs consumed the human flesh. Eventually, the killing stopped, but human devices could not bring a peace. How did this happen? A few years ago the First Lady of Rwanda gave a sobering analysis of the three-step spiral that led to this genocide. I think that it is instructive for our situation in today’s American culture.
First step: The people went from referring to themselves as Rwandans to Hutu and Tutsis: the two big tribes. These names are very uncommon to us. Maybe we can’t really understand when we are talking about something so foreign to our minds. Maybe we should call them Republicans and Democrats, or maybe Liberals and Conservatives. That’s just silly, right? We are far too civilized for this to happen to us. Do you pay attention? Do you see how deep the divide has become in this nation? Remember, without the light what are we?
The second thing that happened is that each group adopted a divide and conquer mentality demonizing the other side. We are in an election year; the perfect time to point this out to you. I challenge you to listen closely during the campaigns. How much time will the candidates spend telling you what they can and will do to make your life better and to make this nation better? And, how much time will they spend running negative campaigns and ads, trying to demonize the other person in order to scare you away from them? It seems like we have stopped caring in this country about what is best, or who is best suited. Instead, because we are overwhelmed with negativity, we are forced to make our decisions based upon who we dislike the least. Common decency has been replaced with hate. Politicians who try to divide us in order to win an election are causing irreputable damage to our society. People rioting in the streets, looting, no regard for the property of others, and little to no regard for human life. Darkness; blinded from the light of God.
Listen! I hope I am not boring you with this.
Here is the third and last thing that the First Lady of Rwanda pointed to as the cause. Each side allowed hate to spew without arresting it in their own camp, and eventually it pushed some people over the edge, and they did the unthinkable. Like ordinary young men taking the head off of their favorite next door neighbor lady in whose house they had loved to play. Imagine this stark reality.
Then the First Lady asked this question: In your country could you be perpetuating genocide… killing, not with machetes, but with words and letting the unthinkable happen one day? The First Lady said, “We thought of ourselves as a Christian nation and did not think this could ever happen to us.” Do we think the same thing?
Now I pray that I have not overwhelmed you with all these details. I am well aware that I do not have the luxury of your full, undivided attention for long periods of time. This is Transfiguration Sunday, and we are getting ready to enter into the Season of Lent once again. This transfiguration which took place on that mountain top in front of three of the disciples was the glory of God shining through his son Jesus. This same glory, this wonderful Light of God, who first said let there be light in this world, shines through those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, if we allow it. Please, please, please, listen! We live in a world and a nation of souls who have been blinded from the light. Some may never find it, but there are still many who will. Satan, the god of this world, is working so hard to keep that light from the world and to keep that light from shining through you. He uses our fears to divide us, and every time we give in to the hatred and divisiveness, he wins. Maybe we all can choose to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I remember that I used to hear politicians talk about bringing us together. You don’t hear that much anymore. Without being right with God we will never be right with each other. Stand up Church, “He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.”
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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