Our focus will be particularly upon verses 11 to 14 of this passage, as we looked at 8 to 11 last Lord's Day. As we're thinking about the power of light, have you ever thought how incredibly powerful and significant light is? Even as we look out with our physical eyes, you can see me, I can see you, because there is light. So it must come to as no surprise that on day one of creation, God chose to create light. And so we read in Genesis 1 verse 3, then God said, let there be light and there was light. But just imagine that God hadn't done that. Just imagine that God also had chosen not to create the various lights on day four. What would life be like? Now, of course, God would have had to invent something else to sustain life because light is needed for life. But if it could exist without life, what would it be like? What would be our experience this morning? Well, I couldn't read my sermon. I have to do it all from memory. In fact, I couldn't have read my Bible to prepare for the sermon. Also, whoever was driving here this morning, they might have had great difficulty in driving with no light whatsoever. We wouldn't know who each other is. Might be able to just about work it out who we're sitting next to, but who's behind us? Not a clue. It will be hard to make things. It will be hard to do things. And we couldn't see the beauty of creation, could we? If we didn't have any light. Light is an incredibly powerful thing. So praise God that he made light. We take it for granted. Well, let's praise God that he made light. But what is true physically is much more so spiritually. From verses 8 to 11, our last law state, we were caused as Christians to see our spiritual position in Christ. Once we were darkness. Once we were rejecting and denying the truth of God. Once our hearts were hardened against him. Once we gave ourselves over to sin. But now, Christian, you are light in the Lord. You are light in the one who is the light of the world. You are now light, and you are able to see the truth of God, to possess a heart that loves God, and a will that wants to live for the glory of God. You are light. That is your position in Jesus Christ. And as such, you have been called to live as children of light, to bear the fruit of the Spirit. to have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness. We are light in the Lord and so are to live as light in this world because light is a powerful thing. Now as we live as light in this dark world, we might ask the question, what can light do? If a society could ever be described as one of darkness, it is the society in which we live. Of course there is nothing new under the sun but yet it seems to us that darkness is so heavy in our society. Our society is dark in its thinking and that darkness can be seen in all manner of ungodly ideologies. It can be seen in the pride of thinking we can achieve anything without God. We don't need God. We can do it. We can fix this planet without God. That's all behind this climate change thing, isn't it? We can save the planet, can't we? No, we can't. It's a pride of our society. We see the darkness in our thinking in terms of our society denying the truth of God and suppressing the truth of God. So with the theory of evolution, which has more holes than a Swiss cheese in it, That has become fact because the truth and the reality of God being creator is being suppressed. So we have atheism increasing in our society and the Christian message is sidelined as irrelevant. It doesn't even get a hearing, does it? You want a view on something? You don't ask a Christian. It's irrelevant. The truth is suppressed in darkness. The heart, as it were, of our society is dark. We look back, maybe with rose-tinted glasses, but we look back to the mid or early 20th century. At least there was some sort of tenderness of conscience towards God. Some sort of respect for God. At least a nod to him on certain Sundays. At least a time of prayer in time of danger, even in war. There was something of some heart of conscience and respect for God. But what we see now, a hardness of heart, a resistance to the things of God, to the truths of God, to the commands of God, to the ways of God, to the will of God, so that now God is only acknowledged as a swear word or to blame when things go wrong. That is the heart, the dark heart of our society. And then we see the will of our society is dark. We see various practices that our passage says is shameful to mention and some of those things we thought of earlier in the chapter. We see the brazen slaughter of the unborn. We find the get-rich-quick ethos at all costs and a life which revolves around self. That is the darkness of the will of our society around us. We live in a world of darkness. But Christian, you live as lights in that darkness. But be honest, does it feel so often that your light in the midst of all that darkness is like a tiny candle making its last flicker? And you think, we're just lost. in this world of darkness, we can make no impact whatsoever. We might be feeling that way, but Jesus urges us to let our light shine because of the power of light. He says in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 and verses 14 to 16, speaking of you Christian, you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Jesus is saying, your light is powerful. That light, that fruit of light, that fruit of the spirit of goodness and righteousness and truth, that is powerful! Because it causes people not just to see your good works, but to glorify God. It causes people to honour God for the light that is manifest in you. That is powerful, isn't it? That is not a small thing. Let your light so shine before men, Jesus says. But as we turn to verses 11 to 13 in Ephesians chapter 5, we have another aspect of the power of light as expressed in our lives. Here we see light exposes darkness. So if you're filling in the little sheets, kids, light exposes darkness is your first point. Your light makes manifest the deeds of darkness. So that whatever makes manifest is light. That is what verses 11 to 13 tell us. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light. For whatever makes manifest is light. We've already seen, haven't we, in the realm of nature. You can't ordinarily see the darkness, can you? You can't see it because it's dark. In fact, you can't even see anything in the darkness. Not even a sausage. Nothing you can see in the darkness. I think it was just once I've been in a cave deep underground. Very rarely you can go into a place which is completely dark. Maybe you've been into a cave, maybe you've been deep into a pit. All the lights are turned off. You can't see your hand. There's nothing. Absolutely nothing. Well, you might be clever and say, well, but night is dark, isn't it? Mom and dad say, don't go out in the dark. But you can still see some stuff. Well, you can only still see some stuff. Because there's some light to help you to see it. Physically, to see anything, you and I need the light. So, in the spiritual realm, if the deeds of darkness are to be seen for what they are, they need to be uncovered by that which is light. These verses are speaking of you, believer, as light. They are speaking of you, believer, as you are living as children of light. And as such, bearing the fruit of goodness, righteousness, and truth, you will, by your very lives, expose the deeds of darkness for what they are. You will reveal what sin is. You will bring conviction of that sin to those around you. That is what this passage is saying. You're light, and you will expose the darkness. the sin that is around you. Let's think of a few examples to drive this home as you seek to live a Christ-like life. In the workplace, if you refuse to swear, you will expose the vulgar mouth of those around you. at school, if you refuse to look at those impure internet sites, you will expose the baseness of those around you. Again in the workplace, if you act with integrity, being trustworthy in speech, you will expose the liar. If you are generous to others, Putting yourself out for others, you will reveal the selfishness of others. If you attend worship on the Lord's Day, you will expose your neighbor's laxity. If you walk in in the front of the building, that's why we encourage people to come in as far as is possible. You expose those who would view you, that they're not coming to worship. And the list could be endless as you think about your lives, as your day-to-day lives, as you live a Christ-like way. Your light will expose the darkness. Your light will show people their sin and never ever underestimate the power of your light. Don't underestimate and think it is a little flickering candle. No, it is a bright light showing up the darkness that is around. Now as we seek to do that, as we live as children of light in the midst of the darkness around us, it will always provoke a reaction. Often maybe it's unseen, but sometimes it will be seen. Oftentimes it may be a bad reaction, other times it may be good. Okay, it's a different context, a different illustration, but yet it brings the point home to us in 2 Corinthians 2, verses 14 to 16. Here we read, now, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphing Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. So the effect here of being the fragrance of Christ, of diffusing the knowledge of Christ wherever we go, To some, it will be a blessing to them. To some, they will turn away from it. It will be death to them. And so we have here, as we live as light, as children of light in this world, as we expose the deeds of darkness around us, some will hate us for it. You know what that's like? Some will hate you for it and they will hate your behaviour because it exposes their darkness. They may well persecute you for the sake of Christ as they are caused to consider their own sin. It has an impact. It may have a bad impact upon you, their reaction, but it has an impact on them. You're exposing their deeds of darkness. To others, of course, it may be a positive impact. They will think about their sin, they will consider the power of light, they will consider the power of a godly life, they will think about what Christ means to you, and they will be caused to think and consider their life before God. their behavior, their thinking, their attitude of heart. It has power. It has power in society. It has power in the church. It has power even within marriage. A constant day by day living as a child of light will have an effect on your husband or wife in that situation. So we need to heed the command to be as we are. To live as children of light. That is so important. It is a powerful, powerful thing. But though it is a powerful thing, there is a limit to the power of our light. To merely living as children of light. Yes, it does convict others of sin. It does cause some to glorify God. It does make others sympathetic to God. But what living as children of light can't do is to make them light. It cannot make them Christians. And we err if we think so. We err if we think that if we just live a life of light that people could be converted. No, they need something else. And that brings us to our second point. The light of Christ gives light. What we need is something or indeed someone more. And that is why Paul goes on to say, having expressed that the light exposes the darkness, it makes sin manifest. He goes on to say in verse 14, therefore he says, awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. We also, just not... We don't have to just live a Christ-like life, but we also need to proclaim the true light. We need to proclaim Christ himself. Isn't this what we see in John chapter 1 and verses 6 to 9? Here we have this wonderful description of the witness to that light. So in speaking about the word being that light, and we read in verse 6, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. We need to bear witness of the true light. Who is Christ? And that is what Paul is doing and really urging us to do in verse 14. As he uses the formula, he says, So here, presumably in all your translations, you have a quotation here in verse 14. He says, and then this quotation, to show what is needed. Now here there's a great debate with my friends on the bookshelves, it's a friendly debate, chatting away all night. What is this quote that Paul brings to us? Well some would argue it's an early Christian hymn. Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. Maybe a baptism hymn. Others would argue it is from scripture. Now, those who state it's from a hymn, well, to be honest, they're only guessing. Maybe an educated guess, but they're only guessing. Maybe they're thinking that the format indicates that it is an early Christian hymn, but of course, there is no known hymn with these words, so we cannot be sure of that. But what about Scripture? Well, again, we have to say there is no word-for-word actual reference with these exact words in Scripture. There is no verse that we can turn to and say specifically, awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. So where do we go from here? Well, let us start with he says. Very simple, isn't it? He says. Someone obviously has said it. So where has this phrase been used before in this letter? Well, previous occasion it was used is in chapter 4 and verse 8. Same format, therefore he says, when he ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. So here Paul is quoting from Psalm 68. and verse 18 ish it's not an exact word for word quotation from that verse. But when we looked at this passage a number of months ago now, what we saw was is that Paul was importing the meaning of the whole psalm into this phrase, therefore he says, when he ascended on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. He's thinking quite particularly upon verse 18 but he's importing into that he's summarizing the whole psalm and bringing the application to the church of christ in that quotation so it's not an exact quotation but it's a summary of what god is saying what he says through that Psalm and that particular verse. That's what he's doing there in that situation. It's a bit more clear if you would read Psalm 68 when you get home. And really that is what he is doing here in the following chapter in verse 14. Here He is taking the words of Isaiah chapter 60 and verses 1 to 2, and he's importing the whole context and applying it to Christ to convey its meaning. That is what he is doing. So it's not an exact quote, but he's summarizing what Isaiah 60 says and applies it to Christ in terms of its meaning and the situation that he's speaking to in Ephesus. Let me illustrate, of course, it's slightly different. There will be an end to this sermon, one day. When it's finished, you may well talk to somebody else about the sermon. And you might well say, Tony said, but who of you will remember an exact quote? you will summarize the essence of what is being taught, won't you? But you will say, Tony said, it always amazes me what I've said when you're at the house groups talking about the sermon, did I really say that? But it's summarizing. what I said, and that's really what Paul is doing here with Isaiah chapter 60 and verses 1 to 2. So let's go back to Isaiah and have a whistle-stop tour of Isaiah and Isaiah chapter 60. It won't take long as we're only summarizing what is going on. But through Isaiah, Judah's been challenged about her sin, about the darkness that is within. But the Christ, the one who is light, has been promised to her who will shine in the darkness. In Isaiah chapter 9 and verses 1 to 2, we think of the darkness within Judah and we think of the gloom that was brought about upon her with the threats of enemies. And so we read in Isaiah 9 verse 2, nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed as when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali and afterward more heavily oppressed by her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. This light is the Christ. And they're looking forward to that Christ who will shine in the darkness, in the darkness of their sin, in the darkness of Judah. But also woven into what some have called the Gospel of Isaiah is also the hope for the Gentile nations. But these nations too are described as being in darkness. Indeed, darkness covers the whole earth. So we read in verse 2 of Isaiah 60, For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people. This darkness is all around us. Every nation, no nation is exempt from the heart of sin and rebellion against God, but there is hope. For such, yes for Judah, but also for the Gentiles, for Jew and Gentile, there is light. The light of Christ can transform them and add them to his people to be light themselves. So the first three verses of Isaiah 60 we read. And so Paul encapsulates all of this with these words, awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. He is calling upon the people of darkness, those who are spiritually asleep, even dead, to wake up, arise, shine, he says. I remember my dad waking me up in the morning, just as due, not so gentle, not so kind. Wakey, wakey, rise and shine. The sun is scorching your eyeballs out. Go the curtains. And the light comes in. That's what Paul's saying here, spiritually, of course. Awake you who sleep. Wakey, wakey, arise from the dead. Christ the sun will give you light. He's calling upon those who through the light of our actions have had their sin exposed to come to the one who can not only give them light, but make them light. To the one who is the light, who will save and transform them by His glory and His work. That is what He is doing as He summarizes this chapter. As He summarizes, the glory of the Lord will rise over you and His glory will be seen in you. He's summarizing right at the end there. of chapter 60. This light, this Christ, is the one who can transform Gentiles into light. He is their only hope. So Christian, yes, live as children of light and your light will expose the deeds of darkness, but you also need to proclaim. You need to bear witness of the true light, just like John the Baptist of old. Point to the Lord Jesus Christ as the saviour. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Yes, we do need to expose sin, living as children of light. But if we just stop there, we've only done half the job. We need to point to Christ who can give them light. We need to call them to wake up and turn to him for salvation. This was the commission given to the apostles of old, the commission that is handed down to us today to tell people of Jesus the light. Will you do that? Living as light. and proclaiming the light because that is what the darkness needs. For the darkness cannot become light except for Christ who is the light. But maybe you're not a Christian here this morning. You've seen the light of people around you. It may be your husband or your wife. It may be your parents or your children or friends around you. You've seen their light. You've seen that there's something different. You realize that the wrongness in your own heart, your sin, the darkness that is within, you know that your life doesn't match the Christians around you. You might not like to admit it, but you know deep in your heart you're a sinner in your thinking. in your heart and in your action. And actually, if you're truly real and honest, you want to be delivered from this. You want to be rescued from the darkness. Don't look to Christians around you to be saved. They can't save you. You cannot be saved by merely being in a Christian family. Mom and dad can't save you. They can't. They're pretty good, but they can't save you. The faith of another person cannot save you. The work of another believer cannot save you. Being part of any church cannot save you. Only Christ, who is the light of the world, can save you. He said in John chapter eight and verse 12, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is a revelation of the glory of God. He is the one who imparts light and life. He is the one who dispels the darkness, giving the knowledge of God, giving a new heart and freedom from the guilt and the power of sin. He is the one that does it. And so Christians can rejoice in the words of Colossians 1, verse 12. Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ has done everything. He's given his own life upon the cross. He's shed his own blood for the forgiveness of sin. to free you from the guilt and power of sin, to dispel the darkness and to give you the hope of glory. He is the light, the truth of God. He is all that it means to be God. And as such, he is truly good, giving himself selflessly as that sacrifice for sin. He is that one who is the righteousness of God. And through his finished work, that righteousness is laid to the account of the believer so that they stand not guilty before God. So that they can say there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. This is all to be found in Jesus Christ. So will you have faith in the light of Christ? Will you wake up from the slumber and death of darkness and believe the gospel of Christ? Will you do that? Or will you stay in the darkness? In that terrible state? under the guilt and power of sin, to face that eternal judgment of God one day when the light of Christ returns to this world. My friends, today is the day of salvation. Now is the time you need to turn to the light. If you do so, He will give you light. Amen.