The Light of Jesus

All right. Well, as we get started — if you can see; yeah, you can; I’ll move down — we are going to be celebrating Advent. If you’re unfamiliar with Advent, it’s something that I did not grow up ever experiencing through Christmas. There are churches and traditions that practice Advent in a very traditional way. And as Jay and I were prepping for this Christmas season coming up — we have always ebbed and flowed on how we’re preaching what we’re preaching, and why we’re preaching what we’re preaching — I had mentioned a few times that I had purchased a She Reads Truth journal to take me through the Advent time. And as we talked about it more and more, we thought that we would like to walk through Advent together as a congregation.

We have made a daily reading plan available, and there are reflections. We want you to grab your journal, and we want to get in the Word together, especially in this time when there’s so much busyness.

Slowing down for Advent

But the reason we wanted to go through Advent together as a congregation is that we wanted to take a time to really reflect on the anticipation of the birth of Jesus. Advent has a focus each week, and this week we’re going to be talking about the hope of Jesus. And there are some practices, and I’m going to actually do it right now. Now, I’m new to this, so if you grew up having Advent as part of your tradition, bear with me.

What we’ll be doing every Sunday is lighting a candle. And really the purpose of this is to have us take time to reflect on the coming of Jesus. You know, Christmastime, the older I get, seems to be going faster and faster. And the reason we wanted to take some time to slow down and reflect on different aspects of the anticipation of Jesus coming is because that’s what this whole season is about.

Everything is always calling for our attention. But we decided that we wanted to journey together in these weeks leading up to Christmas to slow down and look for Jesus in the midst of this season. It’s about changing the rhythm of our hearts. It’s about pausing and allowing ourselves to put distractions aside to reflect on the beauty of this season.

Jesus, the light of men

Today, as I mentioned as I lit the first candle, we’re reflecting on hope — the hope that is found in Jesus, the light of the world. When you think about light, it’s amazing how much a little candle or a flashlight or any sort of light will illuminate, especially in darkness. Back in the olden days, when we didn’t have electricity, they would light candles, and there was this idea that it would light up a room.

We have our Christmas tree up, and this morning as I walked downstairs, it was so nice. It was dark in my house, but I could see this glimmer of light coming from our living room. It didn’t illuminate everything so brightly, but it definitely made it so I could see a lot better than if there was no light.

Since the beginning of time, Jesus has been our hope and our light. There has never been a time when He’s not been that very thing. In the darkest of times, Jesus always has been the light. We see in John chapter 1, verses 1 through 3 — and this is a familiar verse for many of us — it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

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. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” I didn’t give them all of that scripture, so I apologize.

But from the beginning, He was the light. The light found in Him is the light of men. It was, and is, the light of men to this day. And the light breaks through the darkness. The darkness cannot overtake the light of Jesus. As I was studying and praying and considering life, and what seems to be such an almost minuscule light — circumstances try to dictate our lives, but Jesus has come to overtake that, so we can find hope in Him, and He is what we hold on to.

Where was Jesus in that moment?

We’re going to just focus on two simple things today, talking about the hope and light in Jesus. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 2 says this: “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.”

I had a sense that there are those who are weary and feel like there is no hope. Circumstances would try to remind you how bleak the situation is, and tell you to just give up. But time and time again, as we see here and throughout Scripture, they had hope in the Messiah to come, and then when Jesus came, hope in Jesus changed circumstances. And today, if you’re here, He isn’t done with you. As we talk about the hope in Jesus — no matter what circumstances you’re facing, no matter where you find yourself — Jesus never fails us. His light cannot be comprehended by the darkest parts of the circumstances you’re facing.

As I lit this candle, as a simple reminder, as an act of remembrance: hope in Jesus will never fail us. He is not done with you. If your circumstances feel insurmountable, you are to have hope, and I’m here to remind you that Jesus has overcome the world. So hold on to hope in Him. Let the light be a reminder that in your darkest moments, we are to look for Jesus.

You know, oftentimes we hear people say, “Why would Jesus allow this to happen? Why would God allow this to happen?” And I think sometimes we stop looking for God in the circumstances. We stop looking for Jesus in the circumstances, and our eyes begin to look at the circumstances instead of looking for the hope of Jesus. Would we be a people that would start to look for the hope and light of Jesus everywhere we go and in every circumstance we face? Now, I’m not saying we have to walk around blindly in some ways. But there does have to come a point where we decide: where am I going to look? Where am I going to keep that wonder? Where am I going to look for Jesus in my circumstances?

I was reminded — one day I was walking through some things that had happened in my life previously, and I was talking with someone through this. We were walking through a very memorable moment. It was just one of these memories that I had, and I was sitting there crying over it. And I remember her saying, “Suzie, where’s Jesus? Where was Jesus in that moment? Look for Him. Where do you think He was?” Because everyone around me — so many times we will want to focus on the bad that is happening. And it’s not that the bad isn’t happening. But we are to look to Jesus, who’s the author and finisher of our faith, who is our protector, the one in whose shadow we are to find safety and hide — in the shadow of the Almighty.

Looking for Jesus in every season

What happens if, in this Advent season — Advent literally means, in Latin, “the coming” — in this time of the arrival we’re waiting for, we would look for Jesus in the midst of our circumstances? What if we started to look for the hope and light everywhere? In the bad times, would we look for Jesus? In the desperate times, would we look for Jesus? In the good times, would we look for Jesus? In the blessings, would we look for Jesus? What if we looked at our life and approached it with a curiosity and wonder about where Jesus can be found in the midst of whatever circumstance we find ourselves in?

Oftentimes, though, I feel like when we are going through desperate things, it’s a lot easier to look for Jesus. “Jesus, where are You? What is happening? Where can the hope be found?” And sometimes, in my own fleshly celebration of life, when things are going good, it’s so easy not to look with anticipation or curiosity for where Jesus can be found in the good. It’s just easy to celebrate the blessings and the good and life and cheer and all of those things, and equally forget about where Jesus can be found.

And I believe that as we’re walking through this season of going into Christmas, this season of looking for Jesus, we would look for Him no matter the circumstance. That we would have the curiosity and wonder of where He is. That in our waiting, we would look for Him. In our celebrating, we would look for Him. And I tell you, if we begin to change our focus and change our perspectives, our lives will be changed, because we will see the goodness and faithfulness of God in places we would easily overlook.

I believe that by looking for Jesus in the waiting, looking for Jesus in the good, looking for Jesus in the darkest times, our lives and perspectives can be changed. But we must be willing to look for the hope that is only found in Jesus. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That’s the assurance that we get. That’s the hope we hold on to. That in the midst of everything, we hold on to Him, the one who is unchanging, the one who cannot lie, the one who stands by His Word, the one who is faithful. This is what the Advent season is all about. It’s all about looking for the one who is faithful to His promise.

When we think about that — we read about it in Scripture — so many people missed Jesus because they weren’t looking for Jesus. They were looking for who they expected Him to be. But I wonder what would have happened if they had approached Jesus with curiosity and wonder — that maybe in Jesus showing up the way that He did, as a babe swaddled in cloths in a manger in a barn, there is more wonder to be found about who He is.

Elijah and a cloud the size of a hand

As I was praying, I had the most obscure place come to mind, and I thought, “This is not an Advent message. This is not an Advent place.” But I was reminded of a place in Scripture about what it looks like to be a people who hold on to the promises of God, who hold on looking for the light, and who hold on looking for the Lord. If you have your Bibles with you and want to turn, we’re going to go to First Kings chapter 18.

Let me give you a little bit of a recap of what is happening. Elijah is a prophet, and he has just prophesied to Israel that drought was coming. Up to this point, Israel had many kings who basically didn’t fear God and did evil in His sight. And so here is Elijah, and he’s prophesied that there’s a drought. What’s happening simultaneously is that Jezebel, and Ahab allowing it, is killing the prophets of God, and the people are serving Baal. There are no kings who fear the Lord. Israel has turned from God, and circumstances are dire. They’re serving an earthly god that’s satisfying their fleshly needs. And here comes Elijah. He has prophesied a drought, and Jezebel is killing the people of God. This doesn’t seem like a very great situation.

And on the word of the Lord, Elijah goes. We’re going to start in chapter 18, verses 1 and 2. It says, “And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, ‘Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.’ So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria.”

So here Elijah goes, after about three years, back to the very place where they are killing the prophets of God. But he’s going on the word of the Lord. He’s going into the dark place. He’s going carrying the light of the word, the promise that God has given him. God gives him a promise, and the circumstances have even looked worse. But he goes despite what the circumstances tell him. He goes because he knows that the one who is faithful has called him to go do something. So he walks into the dark place. He walks into this dire situation. He walks into this dangerous place carrying the word and promise of God.

In chapter 18, verse 41 — they went back and forth; he comes to Ahab; it’s this whole situation; read it — but for time’s sake, we’re going to pick up here. “Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.’” There is the sound of an abundance of rain. I’m going to tell you, it has not rained yet. But Elijah is saying it, and he’s holding on to the promise of God. “So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And seven times he said, ‘Go again.’”

Let me explain to you what is happening. In the midst of all of this, Elijah is holding on to a promise of God. He’s holding on to that light. He’s holding on to that hope that is only found in our anchor, in the one who is faithful to His promise. And he contends in prayer for a promise that God has already given him. He gets down and positions himself in humility. He positions himself in intercession. He positions himself in prayer. And he sends out his servant and says, “Go look for the hope. Go look for the light.” And he sends him seven times.

Are we willing to be people that hold on to the light after the first time, after the second time, after the third time, after the fourth time, after the fifth time, after the sixth time, after the seventh time? I didn’t even like counting up to seven right now. I thought, I’ll just start at one, they get the point. But no — that’s the point. When we hold on to the hope of Jesus Christ, when we hold on to the promises of God despite what the situation might look like in front of us, we look for the light. We look with expectation. We hold on to the hope, and we continue to learn how to pray, how to contend, and we hold on to the promises. That is the hope of Jesus Christ.

Well, let me tell you what happens after the seventh time. “Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!’” Let me tell you, it wasn’t this abundance of rain all of a sudden. No, he said a small cloud. There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea.

When I was meditating and praying, I was thinking about that visual — that the light of hope, the glimmer that we find in Jesus, sometimes seems so small. And if we’re not looking for Jesus, we’re going to miss it. If we’re looking for something extravagant to be the answer to prayer, I think sometimes we’re going to miss it. But when we’re looking for Jesus, when we’re looking for that light, when we’re looking for that hope — I’m going to tell you, would we be people that say, “I see it, Lord. I see the flickering. I see the hope. I see You in the midst of this. I see You. I’m going to keep going until circumstances change, despite what people around me tell me, despite what’s happening.” This is the hope that we find in Jesus. This is the hope that can only be found in Jesus.

And may we be a people of faith that would say, “I see it. I see God. I see You in this situation. I saw You over there. This is how I was able to bless this person there.” That we would be people who would hold on and contend, and that we would say, “We see it,” even if it’s as small as a man’s hand.

“There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” “So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, “Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.”’” Let me tell you, there’s a prophetic declaration. Elijah, who is a prophet of God, is speaking prophetically because of his hope in his God, not because of the circumstance. Because the circumstance at this point would not indicate that things would be so overwhelming that Ahab would not be able to go. And it says in verse 45, “Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

See, this is what happens, and this is what the Lord wants to do. This is what finding that hope and being reminded of that hope in this season is. But if we’re unable to change our posture and slow down and look for God, we’re going to miss Him. And we don’t want to miss Him, especially in this beautiful season that is quite literally about the gift of Jesus that was given to us. The darkness cannot overcome the light.

I’m here to remind you: keep looking for Jesus until the circumstances change. Keep declaring with your mouth until the circumstances change. “My hope is in You, Jesus. Help me find You. Help me see You.” Let us be a people who declare with our mouths the prophetic truths found in God’s Word, knowing He is faithful to His Word. He is faithful to His promises. And our job is to continue to contend and look for Him and posture ourselves just like Elijah — that we would come and submit ourselves in prayer, that as we’re reading through Scripture this month, as we are preparing for the arrival of the greatest gift, we would posture ourselves in a place where we wouldn’t miss the hope found in Jesus.

A prophetic mandate: prepare the way

The other place He reminded me of — and this is, I believe, a prophetic mandate for us. As I was reading, I realized — I have read it, especially because it’s in the first part of Luke, Luke chapter 1 — but I have missed this before. And as I was preparing this message, I felt like this was the other place, the prophetic mandate for us as we approach this Advent season, this place of reflecting on the hope found in Jesus. It’s not for nothing.

So, Luke chapter 1. As you may know, Zacharias and Elizabeth had John. When Zacharias was given the promise and told that he was going to have a son, he doubted, and he goes mute. He can’t speak. She gives birth, and everyone’s talking about what they should name him, and he had already been told what to name him. So he names him John. And this is the prophecy that he is speaking over John. But I want us to understand that I believe this is also a prophetic mandate in this season, period.

You don’t have to go there. Chapter 1, verse 67 says, “Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying…” Let me tell you, we have not talked about this enough, but the Holy Spirit wants to prophetically move through you. He wants to speak through you. He wants you prophetically speaking over people’s lives, speaking life. I’m going to continue to remind us of this, because I think one of the greatest gifts we have is the Holy Spirit — that we have been given gifts as believers for us to live a life that is full, that is hanging on to hope. And so I just love that it said he was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. Would we be filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesy?

But let me tell you — we’re going to skip down to verse 76. He’s speaking over John, but I believe that this is a word to be spoken over you and me. It says this: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Let me explain something to you. Nothing has changed. It has been planned from the beginning that we as people are to be declarers of the kingdom of God. That we are to be people who prepare the way. That we are to be people who go — and it says so beautifully here — that we would go before the face of God to prepare His way. Nothing has changed. We are the ones who are to prepare the way, who are to share the way, who are to share the tender mercies of God and the salvation that can only be found in Jesus. Yes, this is about John, but I want us to build our faith that we can walk in this promise.

Hope dealers and lightbearers

And we would be people who would be helping and ready, as people are ready and looking for Jesus. Because there are two times when most people are looking for Jesus, and one of them is during Christmas. People are surrounded and bombarded with the message of the gospel every day. If you’re listening to Christmas music, I’m telling you, the old hymns are filled with the gospel. When people are out, they’re seeing these nativity scenes. They’re seeing all this stuff around them. This time is being infiltrated with the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

Would we be people who have already set our face toward the Father, so that we would be ready to prepare the way, to declare to the people the knowledge of salvation that is only found in Jesus? That through the tender mercies of God, we would be people who would share the light of the world, so people are no longer sitting in darkness, so people are no longer sitting in the shadow of death.

And when I read that, I realized there are so many people who are literally sitting at death’s doorstep, who are just waiting to die, who are hoping to die, who cannot wait to die. And here we have a gospel message that says, “You no longer have to sit in the shadow of death. You no longer have to sit in the darkness. Jesus has come, because He is the light of the world. He has come so that you might have hope. He has come so you don’t have to be lost.” This is the hope that is found in Jesus Christ. This is what we are to be walking in.

That we would be people in this Christmas season who would not just hold on to hope for our own lives. That we would not be people who would only be looking for Jesus in our own lives, but we would be looking for Jesus in order to share the light and hope with those around us who are looking for Him. Let us walk through this Christmas season like we have a hope to give other people. Let us walk through this Christmas season like we have something to give. Let us walk in this Christmas season like there is a hope that we’re holding on to.

Let us walk alert. It says in Scripture that we would walk circumspectly, redeeming the time — to redeem the time for people who are sitting in darkness, in the shadow of death. Let us be a people who would set our feet and walk into peace. We would walk in the peace, knowing that despite our circumstances, we know the true hope that is only found in Jesus. Let us be hope dealers and lightbearers and light sharers.

As we’re ending today, as we’re gearing up for our week, would we be renewed with a hope that there’s so much more available for people? I am very excited. I don’t know if I should share this now, but in the new year we’re going to be studying together as a congregation the names of God and who He is. We’re gearing up and getting ready. And as we’ve been talking about this new year that’s coming up, I believe the reason that we need to be declaring who God is, is because there are people who don’t even know if it’s worth it. They don’t even know if God is real.

I have heard over and over different testimonies that build my faith, of people sharing their faith and how someone’s life has been transformed. My hope is that we would be a people who would be shaken to our core because we’ve been in the presence of God, and we cannot do anything but share the goodness of God.

Praying as lightbearers

So my prayer is simply — I’m going to pray this over you today, over you and me, because I am not immune to this. As I was studying, my faith was challenged. Like I said, I was like, “How have I never read this prophetic word over John? How have I just bypassed it?” But I’m going to tell you that God is so good, and He’s so faithful. And as I pray over you, would you just come into agreement with that? Would you come into agreement that you are going to be a person who’s going to take the time to slow down and reflect on the goodness of God in this season? And not only would you take time to reflect on the goodness of God, but that you would share this message with people. I mean, you could share this quite literal message, but I mean the message. All right?

So I’m going to pray. If you would bow your heads wherever you are — if you have kiddos by you, would you put your hands on them? Would you declare and allow this to be true? I think in Joel, where it talks about how in the last days the old and the young — I believe there’s a move God wants to have. And it’s not to pressure kids to perform. It really is just to set the atmosphere, to say, “Hey, what do you hear God speaking to you? What do you think Jesus is saying in you?” And to encourage them that they hear the voice of God now, that the Lord would speak through them and to them. We want to encourage that. We believe that to be true. There is no junior Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that’s in me is the Holy Spirit that’s in the littlest ones here. That’s the same Holy Spirit that’s in my kids. And while the maturing and growing is different for all of us, He’s still available to anyone who’s willing to just listen and walk in obedience.

So I’m going to pray over us. Would you bow your heads? Heavenly Father, I thank You. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, who was the light, who is the light. Lord, I thank You that circumstances do not get to dictate how the light shines in darkness, but we get to walk into circumstances knowing that we serve the God who has already overcome the world. And so with that, we come as lightbearers. We come bearing the light of Jesus in our lives. We come bearing the light of Jesus in our hearts. And we come looking for the light of Jesus in all of our circumstances.

We come looking for Jesus in the midst of whatever circumstances are trying to dictate. Whatever they’re trying to dictate, Jesus, we look for You. Would You open our eyes? We don’t want our eyes to be veiled. We don’t want our hearts to be hard. We want to see You in the midst of circumstances, God — in the good, in the desperate, in the bad times. Jesus, we say and we declare that we would look for You, the light of the world, the hope of our salvation. That we would look for a flickering of light. That we would know that You’ve never left us. You’ve never forsaken us. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

So God, we declare that in the midst of our circumstances we would look for You. Just like Elijah sent his servant seven times, and Elijah stayed there in prayer, looking — he knew that he could look for You. He sent him out with expectation to find You, because You had spoken a promise. That we would be people who would look with expectation for You, God. That we would look with expectation for You in our prayers, in the Scripture, and through our encounters with one another. God, we thank You that You are faithful.

And so I declare today that we here at Dwelling House are children of the Most High, that we will be called prophets of the Most High, that we are Your children who bear Your name, who bear Your inheritance, who bear Your promises. God, I pray that when we go before You, when we go before Your face, Lord, You would help us to learn what it means to prepare the way — how You want to prepare the way in us, and how You want to prepare the way through us.

Father, we thank You that You have given us the knowledge of salvation to be shared with people, which is only given through Your tender mercies. So God, we pray that in our times with You, we would encounter You — the living well, the hope, the spring of life. God, we come and we ask, and we come with expectation. And Lord, we declare, Jesus, that we would share that light with those who are sitting in darkness, with those who are in the shadow of death. That we would come and bear Your light in those places, Jesus. And we would testify of Your goodness. We would testify of Your hope. We would testify of Your peace. We would testify of Your joy. We would testify of Your love. And we would testify that Jesus came in the form of a baby, and came in an unlikely way, so that we would have hope and salvation.

God, we pray that this season would be filled with unlikely ways that we would see You move. That we would not be bound by our thoughts, that we would not be bound by how we think You ought to do it, but that we would be bound to knowing that our hope is in You, and You could do it in any way. God, we come with expectation in this season. We say, have Your way. Jesus, we love You. Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son. Thank You, Jesus, for being obedient. We thank You that the Holy Spirit is moving in and through us, and that we would be people who prophesy, and we would be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.