1. Be Full of LIGHT with Eye fixed on Obeying God
If you seek spiritual blessing, this message is for you. Perhaps you desire more of God, to know His purpose for your life, to get ahold of His Heavenly blessings. What you need is spiritual light. Jesus taught his disciples to be full of light. Spiritual light is entirely distinct from worldly light. One reveals the glory of Heaven, and the other shows the glory of this Earth. One reveals the wisdom and ways of God, the other shows the wisdom and ways of men. Many so-called Christians say they seek God, but are really captured by the world’s riches. They think they are filled with spiritual light, but are truly filled with darkness. Why is this? It is because their very eye is evil. Jesus said in Matthew 6:22-23, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Your eye is the entry point to your mind and your person. The key to what fills you is your eye. If your eye is evil, you will be filled with darkness. If your eye is good, you will be filled with light. The secret to be full of light is an eye fixed on obeying God.
2. Children of LIGHT have Fruit of SPIRIT
God created spiritual light on the very first day of creation. This light is the holy spirit—it is truth, it is goodness of obeying God, it is what gives spiritual life to our soul. Genesis 1:3-5 says, "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light…and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and morning were the first day." Upon creation, God straightaway separates spiritual light from spiritual darkness—there is no mixing between them. Christ Jesus (who was known as God the Word in the Old Testament) is the keeper of the light our soul needs to be made spiritually alive. John 1:4-5 says, "In him [God the Word] was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." Ephesians 5:14 says, "…Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Christ is the custodian and giver of the light that gives our soul spiritual life.
Opposite to light is darkness—it is deception, it is evil of disobeying God, it is spiritual death of the soul. Children of darkness are those who continue in committing sin and are spiritually dead. Spiritual light and darkness will not have fellowship. In John 3:20-21 Jesus said, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Truth does not have communion with deception. Goodness does not mix with evil. And the spiritually alive do not keep friendship with the spiritually dead. Those who do evil desire to remain in darkness and deception. They hate the light as it reveals the truth of what they are—filthy unrepentant sinners—and they detest reproof or correction.
In contrast, children of light turn away from prior sinful ways, and now follow the leading of the holy spirit to do what is good, righteous, and truthful. Ephesians 5:4,6-10 says, "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you…Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord." Children of light are NOT separated from children of darkness by what they claim to believe or by their dedication to church tradition. Children of light are separated by obedience to God. Their walk of life proves they obey Lord Jesus’s commandments. They do not continue in committing filthy sin, such as taking part in sexual immorality or going after other people’s belongings. They no longer keep fellowship with deceivers and unrepentant sinners. Children of light have fruit of the spirit—deeds of goodness, righteousness and truth.
3. Receive Light versus FULL of Light
To receive light is easy. To become full of light requires effort and growth. When repentant sinners cry out to God for help, Christ gifts them with the holy spirit. In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, "…how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Ephesians 5:14-15 says, "…Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise…" This light makes the soul alive to become a spiritual newborn. The strength of the holy spirit starts off dim and weak, as candlelight. If we ignore its’ guidance and foolishly return to past sinful flesh ways, we may quench the light and return to spiritual death. Scripture cautions to walk in wisdom—to carefully follow the spirit’s lead, to grow in righteousness and holiness by obeying Jesus’s commandments and teaching.
Romans 8:13-14 says, "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Putting to death the sinful deeds of our own flesh body requires effort, suffering, and sacrifice. As the flesh body decreases, the spirit body increases. If we diligently strive to obey the will of God, we grow in spirit from an immature child of God to a mature son of God. The spirit increases in power from that of mere candle’s light to the tremendous strength of the Sun’s light. This is what it means to be full of light. Matthew 13:43 says, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Those who grow in spirit from a child of God to a son of God qualify to inherit their heavenly Father’s kingdom where their glorified spirit body will shine as the Sun. To receive the light of the holy spirit is easy, to become filled with light requires hard work.
4. Light in you be NOT Darkness
But Jesus warned there is something that seems to be light that is actually darkness. That is, there are things that appear to be good, but are actually evil and ungodly. To be filled with true light, we must cut off from the enticing shining deception (which actually is darkness). In Luke 11:34-36 Jesus said, "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light." Jesus said "take heed", that is, be careful. Be careful that what you think is light within you, is not darkness appearing as false light. The holy spirit’s candlelight cannot grow to fill you with bright shining of light, until there is "no part dark" within you. True light and the deceptive light of darkness are contrary to one another. If our eye is not solely focused to obey God, then it takes in the deceptive light which pollutes us from even seeing the bright shining of spiritual light.
To understand this battle of lights, think of true spiritual light as Heavenly star-light (as seen on the left), and think of false deceptive light as Worldly city-light (as seen on the right). I’ve lived in towns filled with city light. When walking the streets at night, I see the shining of street lamps, lit windows of skyscraper buildings, head beams from cars, flashing signs for movies and restaurants, and so on. As my eye takes in the charming city lights, I look up to the night sky wishing to also see the shining beauty of the heavenly stars. Despite my wish and despite my looking up, I cannot see the starlight. It is the battle of lights. The pollution of artificial city light obstructs my eye’s view of the natural star-light. What to do? I may get in my car and drive miles out to the rural country side. Here there are no lit-up city attractions. But when I turn my gaze to the night sky, I now see the glimmering shining beauty of hundreds of stars. It is only as we remove the pollution of worldly city-light, that our eye may see the brilliance of heavenly star-light.
So also, only when we eliminate the pollution of darkness’s deceptive light, only then can we perceive the holy spirit’s bright shining. Religious Christians are full of light pollution which truly is darkness. Although they claim to wish for heavenly glory, their eye is not solely fixed on obeying God. Rather they look to gain earthly glory, so their eye is evil and their whole person is filled with darkness. In Matthew 6:23-24 Jesus said, "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Mammon is the riches and prosperity of this world. Jesus said we cannot serve God and mammon— we choose one or the other. Church leaders lie and pretend as if these two go together hand in hand. But Jesus said you will love and hold unto one, and hate and despise the other. If your eye is on this world’s glory, you are blind heaven’s glory. So, when you must choose between gaining worldly riches or obeying God, you will disobey God because you are filled with darkness. The key to what fills us is our eye.
5. Eye be SINGLE in Obeying God, to be FULL of Light
We instinctively gaze and move toward what we admire and desire. It is not just literally what our eye looks at each and every moment. There are also those matters we’ve perceived, that enter us to become part of our mind’s eye, that we continually ponder and desire. What we truly love and value guides where our heart and soul will end up. The trick is knowing we cannot look to gain this world’s treasure and look to gain heaven’s treasure. They are conflicting goals. Jesus counseled that even the greatest earthly treasure is temporary—it cannot be kept, it will fall apart, it will be lost. He advises to lay up heavenly treasure, which will not be taken away and will last forever. In Matthew 6:19-22 Jesus said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."
Despite what Jesus preached, most religious churchgoers believe their lying pastors and think they are filled with the spirit as they seek this earth’s glory. They are blind to realizing that what appears to be good can actually be ungodly. This is because their eye is not single, it is evil. So, they compromise true goodness (which is obeying God), in pursuit of this world’s riches. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve to live in the Garden of Eden. He gave them one commandment—to not touch nor eat from the Tree of Good and Evil, everything else in His garden they could take and enjoy. Let’s see how Eve was deceived to disobey God. Genesis 3:2-6 says, "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat…" Please notice Eve clearly knew what God commanded and knew God’s punishment for disobedience was death. Yet, when Satan as the serpent shifted the focus by removing fear of God and pointing out what she could gain, Eve eye was not fixed on obeying God. Her eyes, mind, and heart saw "the tree was good for food…pleasant to the eyes, and…to be desired to make one wise." Her eye was evil, so, she was filled with darkness and disobeyed God. Satan is a Deceiver; although Eve and Adam physically lived in the flesh for hundreds more years, the day they disobeyed God their souls spiritually died. God kicked them out of His Garden, which is now the third part of Heaven known as Paradise.
6. Spiritual Blessing requires doing Good WORK
Do not be deceived by lying pastors who are Satan’s servants. If your eye is focused on seeking the world’s riches, you are not filled with the holy spirit. And without even realizing you are filled with great darkness, you will compromise on living in truth, goodness, and righteousness. If filled with the spirit, it will be evident by fruits, works, deeds of obeying God in your walk of life. In Colossians 1:9-11 Apostle Paul wrote to spiritual believers, "…we also…do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness…" To be full of light, your eye must fix on obeying God over all else. Then God grants His power to your spirit to overcome sin. It takes patience and perseverance to grow from the strength of a candle’s light to the strength of the Sun. But the greatest spiritual blessing your soul can run after is knowing God, doing His will, and getting ahold of Heavenly Glory.
The greatest spiritual blessing is to be full of light. I leave my spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ with the following. Ephesians 1:3, 17-19 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:…That…the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power…" May you receive the holy spirit. May you have a single eye to do works of obeying Lord Jesus Christ. May you be full of light. God bless you.