I'm reading this passage of scripture
tonight. To introduce the subject, we're
going to be looking at one of the many metaphors in the scripture
of Christ. You know that verse in Colossians
chapter three, where we ended our message last Sunday morning,
says Christ is all In all, Christ is all. He's everything to the
believer. He's our life. That is pointed
out to us in that chapter, when Christ, who is your life, shall
appear. He is our life. We have no life
apart from Christ. He's our food. His flesh, except
a man. He said, eat my flesh. He hath
no life. in him. He's our drink, except
we drink his blood. He's everything to us. He's everything
to a child of God. Christ is all and in all. He's
in all the scripture, all the prophecies, all the promises. They're all yea and amen in Jesus
Christ. But I want us to begin tonight
reading a few verses here in Luke chapter 2 with verse 21. And when eight days were accomplished
for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which
was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished, They brought
him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written
in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall
be called holy to the Lord and offer sacrifice according to
that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves
or two young pigeons. The Lord Jesus Christ was at
this point about six weeks old. He was circumcised according
to the law on the eighth day. But now Mary, the days of her
purification were accomplished, which were 40 days, having had
a male son. And we can tell by the sacrifice
that Joseph and her offered here, a pair of turtle doves or two
young pigeons. We can tell that their home was
a poor home because the law commanded that a lamb normally be offered
for her purification. But in case of the poor, they
could offer these birds. There was a man in Jerusalem.
His name was Simeon, verse 25. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem
whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost was
upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that
he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of
the law, and that was to present him to the Lord. That's what
they would do for him, to present him to the Lord. It's important to notice that
the sacrifice was not for the Lord Jesus Christ, it was for
his mother, Mary. But this man came in, God had
told him and revealed to him that before he died, he would
see the consolation of Israel. The consolation of Israel. What
we're going to see in his words here, four things that he does
when he sees the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, he took him up
in his arms and blessed God. That's the first thing he did.
He blessed God. Do you know how to bless God? Do you bless God? Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do we bless God? We can't
add anything to God. We know that. We bless God by
speaking back to him what he has revealed to us about himself. He blessed God. That's the first
thing he did. He blessed God. And he blessed God because He
had seen the consolation of Israel. The second thing he did, he prayed.
He prayed to God, asking, and this is how we are to pray. This
is another lesson to us on prayer. He prayed to God, asking God
to do what he said he would do, to fulfill his word. How many
times have I mentioned this in messages over the years? The
best way for us to pray is to take God's promises in our prayers
and tell God, Lord, this is what you've said. Now do it. This
is what you've told me in your word. And that's what this man
did. If you notice in verse 29, Lord,
now let us thou thy servant depart in peace according to the word. What was his word? We'll look
back in verse 25. And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and
devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost
was upon him. And here's his word. It was revealed
unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before
he had seen the Lord's Christ. Now he's seen the Lord's Christ.
Lord, fulfill your word. Third, and this is so important,
he confessed that God's salvation is in a person. Verse 30 and
31, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. He didn't see God's
salvation in the Roman road. He didn't see God's salvation
in the five points of Calvinism. He didn't see God's salvation
in any ceremonies that men have come up with, or even those ceremonies
and types that God had ordained. No, he saw God's salvation in
the face of Jesus Christ. Salvation is in a person, it's
knowing him. He said, this is life eternal,
that they might know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent. No one knows the true God, apart
from his son, Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and
the life, and no man comes unto him except by the Father. But the fourth thing he did,
he prophesied. Actually, he quotes the prophecy
in verse 32. A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel. I want us to speak about Christ
as the light under this symbol, this metaphor of a light. We
read that passage in John chapter one just a few minutes ago, which
said that was the true light, which lighted every man that
cometh into the world. We're told John was not that
light, but he was sent to bear witness of the light. When you
read that verse of scripture, it shows us how dead we are. Doesn't it? Can you imagine if a person has
eyes and he's alive at noonday, the sun's shining bright, you'd
say, look there, there's the sun. Behold the sun. You don't have to point the light
out to a person who has sight. But to those of us who are spiritually
blind, the light must be pointed out to us. John said, behold,
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. John
chapter three and verse 19, the Lord Jesus Christ said, light
is coming to the world. Light is coming to the world.
Well, light came into the world in the week of creation, didn't
it? God said, let there be light. And light was. But no, this is
speaking about a person, light. Light is coming to the world.
Jesus has come into the world. John chapter eight, he said,
I am the light of the world. I want to point out six things
about light which remind us or picture to us the Lord Jesus
Christ. The first thing is light is pure. Light is pure. You cannot contaminate
light. Light is pure. A reminder that
the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, knew no sin. You know, light may shine through
a dirty window. On one side of the window, the
light is shining. It comes through that dirty window,
but it doesn't pick up any of that dirt, does it? It's just
as pure on this side of the window as it was on the other side of
the window. Light is pure. It is just as clean and pure
shining through a dirty window as it was when it entered that
window. It's not possible to make light
any less pure than it is. The same is true of our Savior. He was a pure Son of God while
here upon earth and as pure as God is in heaven when he was
here upon the face of the earth. Romans 8 in verse 3, the apostle
said, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. He was in the likeness of sinful
flesh, but he was not in sinful flesh. He was pure. And for sin,
condemn sin in the flesh. He had to be as pure, as holy
as God is pure and holy to mediate from God to us or with God for
us. If but a shadow, just a shadow
of sin had been true of him, then he needed an atonement. It could not have been our atoning
sacrifice if he had just a shadow of sin. No, he was pure, just
like light is pure. Look with me in 1 John chapter
3. And I apologize for the coughing and all of that. Bear with me, I'll be short.
1 John 3. The apostle said, Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be. But we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Light is pure. Christ is pure. I was thinking on that verse
this past week, and I thought to myself, what would it be like,
what will it be like, to never ever again have one impure thought? Can you imagine that? That's
what it's gonna be, isn't it? If we're gonna be like him, and
that's what the verse tells us, when we see him, we shall know
him, and we'll be like him, we'll be as pure as he is pure, never
having any more impure thought, any jealousy, any envy, any malice,
any hatred, In his sharpness, stubbornness, pure, pure. I started to say it's the driven
snow, but no, he's pure. The light is purer than the driven
snow. The second thing, light is bright.
Not only is light pure, but light is bright. A reminder of that
verse in Hebrews 1 and verse 3, Brother Lance quoted that
passage this morning in Hebrews 1, but the verse I'm thinking
of being the brightness of his glory. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the brightness of his glory. The brightness of sun at midday,
the brightness of his glory. When you look at Christ and study
Christ, his life as it's recorded in the Word of God. And especially,
I think, as we see him hanging upon the tree on the cross, we
see all of the attributes of God shining forth. When he was
transfigured, you know, on the mountain, one of the gospel writers
said his face was shining like the sun. Someone said, that time
is the brightest time. in which the Lord is nearest. That page is the brightest page
in which most of Christ is found. That sermon is the brightest
sermon in which most of Christ is heard. That life is the brightest
life in which most of Christ is seen. So light is pure, so
is Christ, Light is bright, so is Christ, the brightness of
His glory, that is, of God's glory. The third thing, light
is lovely. There could be no beauty, there
could be no beauty if there were no light. There has to be light
for anything to be manifested as beautiful. You know, the psalmist,
he said this about Christ, thou art fairer than the children
of men. He's the rose of Sharon, he's
the lily of the valleys. The bride in the Song of Solomon
described her beloved, that is Christ. She said, he's altogether
lovely. I love that passage when those
women asked the bride, what is your beloved more than another
beloved? And she begins to explain, begins
to tell. And that's part of what she said.
He's altogether lovely. Altogether. There's no tiny part
of him that is not lovely. This, she said, this is my beloved
and this is my friend. None is so lovely. None can compare
to Christ to a poor law center. I mean, when God the Holy Spirit
convicts a person and we're enabled to see what we really are before
God Almighty, how we've broken his law, how we've spit in God's
face, so to speak, none so lovely. None can compare
to Christ, to a poor lost sinner. He's a bath. He's a bath. A bath in which I may bathe and
wash all my sins away. He's a garment in which I may
dress and in his righteousness be accepted with God. He's bread
to satisfy my hunger and water to quench my thirst. He is altogether
lovely. In Isaiah 61 and verse 3, we
read that he gives unto us beauty for ashes. It is his beauty that
he gives unto us, beauty for ashes. And the fourth thing about
light that may picture Christ, light brings fruitfulness. In
the natural world, many of us, we like to have our little gardens. But I tell you what, if there
was no sun shining, you could forget about ever having any
fruit. You've got to have light. You've got to have the sun shining,
don't you? And the soul, any soul, every
soul apart from the Lord Jesus Christ cannot bring forth any
spiritual fruit. He said, without me, you can
do nothing, nothing. Turn to me, turn with me rather
to John 15. Gospel of John chapter 15. In
this passage that deals with fruitfulness. John 15 beginning with verse
one. I am the true vine. My father
is a husband. Every branch in me that beareth
not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now
you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you except
you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Why is it that any
person, any Christian brings forth much spiritual fruit? Love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, Kindness, temperance, these things that
we read are the fruit of the Spirit. Why? Why is it that some
people bring forth fruit and some people don't? We've got
to abide in Him, except we abide in Him. It's just like a plant
without the sun. The light brings fruitfulness.
In Hosea, there's a verse there that says, from me is thy fruit
found, from me. And just like the branch and
the vine, the sap and the root, Christ is the root and we're
members of that vine. And because we're members of
him, we are enabled then to bring forth fruit. If a man abide not
in me, he's cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather
them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide
in me, how do we abide in Christ? We abide in his word. We abide
in his word and thus we abide in him. If you abide in me and
my words abide in you, there it is, my words, the word of
God, you shall bring, you shall ask what you will and it shall
be done unto you. Herein is my father glorified
that you bear much fruit. So shall you be my disciples. So shall it be manifested that
you're my disciples, that you bring forth much fruit. A fifth
thing about light. So we've got the light is pure,
the light is bright, the light is lovely, the light brings forth
fruitfulness, and the light brings heat, heat. When the Lord Jesus comes into
the heart, he brings heat. What does that mean? Love. He
that is begotten loves him that beget. We read that in 1 John
chapter 5 this morning. Who does the begetting? Who bursts
a person into the kingdom of God? The Spirit of God. God does. We're not born of the
flesh nor of the will of man or the will of the flesh, but
of God. And everyone who is born of God
loves those others who are born of God. What love among God's
people. I watch a program sometimes that's
filmed in Alaska. And there is in Alaska what they
call permafrost. Permafrost. And I've seen them
use those big excavators. and they can't hardly get through
that permafrost. I mean, that permafrost is so
hard, the ground is frozen down three or four feet. Sometimes
they have to take a pick and a shovel and try to break through
that permafrost. That's the heart of a lost man,
isn't it? It's hard, it's cold. It's obdurate,
but when heat comes, when Christ comes, the heart is warmed, warmed
with the things about Christ. And the last thing about light,
it's free. It's free. The government has
not found out how to, figured out any way to tax light, have
they? I mean, it's free. It's there. God created it, and it's free. Free! The light is free. Oh, what a picture, right? Of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't try to buy Him. Yes, the
scripture speaks about buying, but it's buying without money
and without price. Buying wine and milk, wine to
cleanse and milk to strengthen us spiritually. Light is free,
and the Lord Jesus Christ is God's free grace gift. He is the unspeakable gift. He cannot be bought. He cannot
be merited. This is one of the most difficult
things, I believe, for any person to really grasp. that salvation
is 100% by grace. It's free. It's free. It's free. It's all in Christ, isn't it?
But just like the light is free, so it is free. I wanna close
with a story that I've read. You know, Charles Spurgeon, I've
been reading autobiography of a pastor by the name of James
Smith. He pastored the church, New Park
Street Church in London before Charles Spurgeon went there as
a pastor. Everybody's familiar with Charles
Spurgeon. God used him greatly in London. But he was preaching a series
of meetings in a town with another preacher on one occasion and
the other preacher told a story. And Charles Spurgeon liked that
story so much, he made that preacher, he got that preacher, tell it
tonight, tell it tomorrow night, tell it the next, every night
they had a service, he had that other preacher tell the story.
It just impressed him so much. But the story was of a man who
had, an older man, he ended his life, he was just kind of a roustabout
type of guy, I guess, they had the common there, where people
had animals, He just kind of watched over people's animals
on a common ground. And I guess they gave him what
they wanted to. And the story was Spurgeon said
he probably had not been in church since he was a little boy. But
as he got older and he was old and began to lose his eyesight,
and so they put him in what they called a workhouse. It was a
place where He would be kept, you know, didn't have any family
much to speak of. And blind, he did have a granddaughter. And his granddaughter, because
the man was so old, they let his granddaughter come in and
read the Bible to him every day. And she came in and was reading
the scripture to him, and days went by. And one day she read
this verse, part of this verse, in 1 John chapter 1 and verse
7. The blood of Jesus Christ, his
son, cleanseth us from all sin. He said, wait, what did you say? Read that again. The blood of
Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. Read that again. And so his granddaughter read
that over again and he said, are you sure? Are you sure that's
what it says? And she said, yes, granddad,
that's what it says. He said, take my finger and put
it on that verse. and read that verse to me again. The blood of Jesus Christ, his
son, cleanseth us from all sin. He said, sweetheart, you can
tell anyone that asks that I'm dying in the faith of that verse. The blood of Jesus Christ, his
son, cleanseth us from all sin. That's all my salvation. That's
all my hope. Light is free. Salvation is free. It doesn't cost us anything,
but it cost him a lot, didn't it? It cost him his life. And
yet he was willing to give his life that we might have life. All right, David.