1 Peter 1:20-25
John 1:1-9
Genesis 1:1-4
Revelation 21:22-25
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
Colossians 1:11-17
“We British pray that God will help Britain, not because she is Britain, but because she is righteous.” Henry Scott Holland
In Germany, most sermons were directed against Britain as its people were told by their rulers that it was Britain who masterminded the attack against them – it was the publics belief that they were the victim, not the aggressors. Pastors preached everywhere that Germany was the victim of Britain’s lies and jealousy, but that God was on the side of truth. Almost everywhere in Europe the immediate consequence of war was an outbreak of apparent social unity.” World War One and the Churches of Europe (Heather Hastie)
Pastor Charles Silvester Home (ROMANCE OF PREACHING)
“The preacher, who is the messenger of God, is the real master of society; not elected by society to be its ruler, but elect of God to form its ideals and through them to guide and rule its life. Show me the man who, in the midst of a community however secularized in manners, can compel it to think with him, can kindle its enthusiasm, revive its faith, cleanse its passions, purify its ambitions, and give steadfastness to its will, and I will show you the real master of society, no matter what party may nominally hold the reins of government, no matter what figurehead may occupy the ostensible place of authority. The real romance of history is this romance of the preacher: the sublime miracle of the God-intoxicated soul with vision of an eternal Will, and sense of an Empire to which all continents, tongues, races belong. This man stands serene amid the clash of arms and the foolish braggadocio of Force, asking only for the SWORD NAMED TRUTH, for the harness of Righteousness, and the spirit of Peace. This is the world’s unconquerable and irresistible Hero. All its most enduring victories are his.”
Chuck Swindoll in his Study Bible writes: “Unjust suffering is one of the great problems that grips the hearts of people today. We struggle with frustration, anger, and uncertainty when strange or unexpected trials land on our doorsteps. Too often in those difficult moments of our lives, confusion reigns while contentment wanes, and questions arise while prayer diminishes. How do you react when suffering comes? Many people crumble at the mere thought of another pain or trial. Others rise to the occasion. Most of us are probably somewhere in between. Peter’s encouragement to his Christian readers is one of perseverance in faith. It isn’t enough for us to simply get up every morning and trudge through each day; neither is it advisable to paste smiles on our faces and ignore troubles. Instead, the lesson of 1 Peter is that we should push through our trials, both recognizing their presence in our lives and walking in holiness as people of faith. So press on! It is in the darkest times that our collective light shines brightest.
WHERE DID THIS LIGHT COME FROM? It came from God “Elohim” as He spoke the words. “y-hi or”
This means that God’s command is really an expression of His person. We can find the same truth in Revelation 21:22-25.
Gary Stearman “God’s Primeval Light”
“For milliennia, the sages of Israel have taught that the Primeval Light of God is spiritual in nature and is, therefore, reserved for His own righteous people. The essence of it is as follows: At the beginning of the original creation, God caused everything to be ILLUMINATED with this great Primeval Light – a sort of spiritual light. But then, He acknowledged that only a very few among the mass of humanity would be worthy of enjoying it. So, He concealed it. And where did He hide it? The Jewish answer is that He hid it in the Torah – the scroll that makes up the first five books of the Bible. In this way, God’s light is available to the student of Scripture. Through diligent study and ceaseless pursuit of understanding, coupled with obedience to Scripture, God’s wisdom is revealed. This, they say, is the Primeval Light! Of course, this is only a metaphoric idea. But it can bring understanding to the believer. We would add that, today, all Scripture is imbued with that Light.”
“In the Genesis narrative, God allows him (Satan) to test the woman. And what does he offer her? Significantly, he offer her illumination! In one of the greatest of historical ironies, the serpent of darkness offers the woman a glimpse of the LIGHT. ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ This “opening of your eyes” promised by the serpent is nothing more or less than the original mystical illumination, forbidden by God in the garden, and ever since. It is the use of the mind to probe the prohibited regions of the damned. The world of the dead and the demonized; the environs of the preternatural, of astrology and enchantment are the promise of Satan. He calls them LIGHT, but they are really darkness.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead.
These, the so-called “black arts” are the hidden, occult fields of dark knowledge. They are darkness personified. Yet they promise ‘enlightenment’ and ‘illumination.’ And thus it is with Satan, whose spells promise a great light. And to some, for a time, they seem to produce light. Yet in the end, they are only darkness…forever. To this day, Satan is still promoting a broken dream of twisted night images that contain the distant memories of the true light which once graced the so called ‘bright-star.’ His legendary promises are riches and power to those who will follow him.”
R.C. Sproul (commentary on 1 and 2 Peter)
“We are living in strange times in terms of how the church functions. We have been caught up with a fierce desire to find a way to relate to a culture that has been immunized to Christianity. We try to find new methods to reach the lost. The motivation is righteous, because we should have compassion for the lost. The danger comes when we ask the lost how they want to come into the kingdom of God, how they want to worship God, and how they want to hear God’s Word, and then tailor our method to their tastes and preferences. That is fatal.
Sooner or later the church must come back to confidence in God’s way of doing God’s work, because the Bible does give us a blueprint for evangelism. It is accomplished by the method of PROCLAIMING THE WORD OF GOD, which, as Peter says here, changes lives and purifies souls through the power of the Holy Spirit. God has established a church, a fellowship of communion of believers, to gather for mutual support, edification, and encouragement. The church is to be a group which, when assembled, experiences an extraordinary kind of love. The way to the heart is through the mind, so mindless Christianity never really produces purification of the soul. The purification of the soul comes through obeying the truth of the Word of God through the Spirit of God. There are no substitutes or shortcuts for that. There is no such thing as sanctification in three easy lessons.”
As Christians, we are born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD WHICH LIVES AND ABIDES FOREVER.