The Sermon That Sunrise Preaches Every Day

Light is a precious thing. A few years ago Jill and I went on a cave tour in the mountains. We went deep into the caverns as we were educated about the rock formations and biodiversity along the way. After squeezing through some tight spots and resisting the urge to hyperventilate from claustrophobia (did I mention I had a 1 yr old strapped to my chest?) we finally reached the deepest point. The guide then said, "We want everyone to stand completely still. For just a few seconds, we’re going to turn out the lights and let you experience total darkness. I may have immediately put my hands on my wallet... I've seen this scam before.

It was so dark you could feel it. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face and there was no adjusting to it. My eyes couldn't begin to process what was happening. The guide went on to tell us that a person would only be able to last for a few days in this kind of darkness before their eyes would no longer be able to function. Just a few days of complete darkness and permanent blindness can set in. But what is most interesting is you wouldn’t know it because your brain would make you think you’re seeing things. You would literally go mad.

THE WORD

“This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

- 1 John 1:5-7

I had the honor of sharing the word at our local community's sunrise service this past Sunday on Easter. It was cold and rainy. The sun was UP but not OUT. But it was still such a special time. I love the sunrise. I proposed to Jill at sunrise on Wrightsville Beach. I’m an early riser, so I often get up and walk our neighborhood in the mornings just before the sun comes up. It’s a powerful thing. Every time the sun rises it puts darkness in its place. That’s what Easter is about: Jesus rising from the grave and putting darkness in its place. Not just three days of darkness, but centuries of darkness since sin entered the world and evil entered the hearts of man.

The arrival of day and night is more than just the rotation of the earth and the result of our solar system. The rising of the sun every morning is a representation of our faith, our souls, and the Gospel by which we are saved. And I mean that quite literally. It is a RE-PRESENTATION. Each morning the sun rises to preach our salvation to us all over again and remind us of God’s grace.

LIGHT IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF GOD'S PRESENCE

Genesis says in the beginning the earth was "formless and empty and DARKNESS hovered over the waters." But then God said, “let there be… LIGHT.” And suddenly every middle-aged dad had something to say every time he flips on a light switch (just kidding).

No, suddenly light filled the earth. Genesis 1 tells us that the sun and the stars weren't created until day four, yet there was light on day one. How is that possible? Because God IS light. When He said let there be light, He was announcing His presence. All throughout the Bible, wherever you see God, you see light:

- When He introduced Himself to Moses, He did so in the form of a burning bush.

- When He led His people out of Egypt, He did so as a pillar of fire by night.

- When Moses builds the tabernacle God instructs Him to never let the fire on the altar go out, because that fire was His presence

- When He sent His son into the world He hung a light in the sky for the magi to follow.

- The Book of James says “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of heavenly lights.”

- The Gospel of John says that “In Christ is life and that life is the light of all mankind."

- Jesus even goes as far as saying,“YOU are the light of the world.” So you and I are an announcement to the world that God is near and present.

I think you get the picture. God IS light.

LYING TO OURSELVES

But when mankind sinned, we fell into darkness. Our sin separated us from God, and therefore from light itself. And so we began to live in darkness and even worse, in the ILLUSION of light. Darkness is a tricky thing. Our eyes adjust to darkness, and therefore even the darkest room becomes manageable.

1 John 1:6 says "If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth." Without Christ, we are ALL walking around in darkness. But who would want to live that way? The answer is simple: those who have never experienced the light.

Have you ever gone to the movies in the middle of the day? You sit in a dark room, in your comfy seat eating buttery popcorn, and then you come out of the theater and the sun seems 20 times brighter than when you went in. It’s the same sun but when you’ve experienced darkness it seems brighter.

Just like our cave experience, those who have yet to know the light of Christ often have no clue they're in darkness. They’re deceived. When you’re sitting in that movie theater, you’re not usually thinking about how dark it is. You hardly think about it at all until you come into the light.

I NEED A LIGHT!

Several years ago I was preparing to go on my first mission trip to Africa. In prepping for the trip someone handed me a headlamp to pack (it's basically a headband with a bright light that sits on your forehead so you can see what you're looking at without having to hold a flashlight). I gladly accepted it, but in my mind I was thinking, "I’m not wearing this thing, I'll look like a coal miner."

When we arrived in the small nation of Eswatini we set up camp in the middle of a field as the sun began to go down. I remember one of the Africans reaching down into the grass and picking up a rabbit-sized snail who's shell was the size of their palm. Pretty soon after, a debate broke out about a huge insect that had crawled out of a hole, as to whether or not it was a type of spider or ant. All of this to say, these are the type of things we're sharing our living quarters with for the next two weeks.

As I took my first trek across the field to the restroom (a hollowed out shack with a hole in it) I cringed thinking about what my feet were stepping IN and ON. It wasn't long before I plowed through my bag, found that headlamp, and popped that joker on my forehead. I didn’t care how I looked, I didn’t care if I was shining it in other peoples' eyes – I NEEDED A LIGHT!

So much of the world today is struggling in darkness. Trying to convince themselves and everyone else that they can see just fine, when in reality, they're lying to themselves. Whether it's depression, addiction, loneliness, anxiety, pain, or bitterness... you need the light.

THERE IS NO DARKNESS HERE

1 John 1:7 says, ”But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

Coming into the light means coming into Christ. When Jesus walked out of the grave it was a declaration that through Him we can walk out of our place of darkness. If the tomb couldn't keep Him bound, our sin, our addiction, our depression, our pain, our darkness cannot keep us bound either. THIS is the gospel. The good news. Jesus RAN into the dark so that we could be born into the light.

I’ll end with this story:

I was reading a book a while back by Gene Edwards who lived in Jerusalem for a few years studying archeology. One day, in the 1950s or so, as he visited the tomb where they believe Jesus' body was laid he could hear people inside, weeping and praying. That wasn’t uncommon, it’s a very popular site for tourists. So he reverently waited outside. As the people began to shuffle out, to his surprise, he watched as none other than Helen Keller was being led out of the tomb.

If you don’t know who Hellen Keller is, she was an absolute miracle of God. She was born both blind and deaf, yet learned to communicate by having someone sign into her palm. She went on to write books, speak all over the world, and became an activist. On this particular day she just so happened to be visiting the tomb of Jesus as well. As she came out, one hand was lifted with tears in her eyes. Gene sat mesmerized and listened as she repeatedly said one thing, “There is no darkness here.”

CONCLUSION

Light isn't just illumination, it's the presence of peace, purpose, and meaning. I don't know what the weather is like on the day you're reading this, but I know the sun has risen. Even if it's not OUT, it's UP and regardless of what the day looks like it's shining just as bright as ever on the other side of those clouds. Every day the sun accomplishes its mission to remind us a light has dawned for the redemption of the hearts of man and God is present among us. Jesus is alive and our hope is found in Him!