INTRODUCTION:

1. The word light is used in many ways in the Bible. Oftentimes, it refers to the Word of God. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).
2. The entrance of thy words giveth light (Ps. 119:130).
3. The "candlestick" in Luke 11:33 represents the Gospel light, which the Jewish leaders bitterly resented and opposed.
4. They were so spiritually blind they couldn't see the light. They even accused our Lord of being in league with Satan (11:15).
5. In the Bible, light represents the state of the believer after he leaves Satan s kingdom of darkness. Our Lord told the apostle Paul that his preaching would open the eyes of lost sinners, and "turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God" (Acts 26:18).
6. Walking in the light means to walk in godliness and holiness. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (I John 1:7).
7. The songwriter put it this way:

No more I'll wander in the dreadful night of sin and shame,

I'm walking in the light, I'm walking in the light;

I'm on the road to heaven -- O the truth I must proclaim,

I'm walking in the Saviour's light.
Walking in the light, Walking in the light,
Walking on to glory where there is no night;
I'm singing hallelujah as I travel on my way,
Walking in the Savior's light.  --  John W. Peterson

8. In John 8:12, our Lord said, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
9. Walter Wilson said, In some strange way the entrance of Christ into the life and heart enables the mind to become intelligent and intellectual. Only where Christ Jesus is loved and His Word is preached do we find minds active for the blessing of others, and alert in inventing that which will be a blessing to mankind.
10. Tonight we will look at the lesson of the lighted candle (Luke 11:33-36).

 

I. AN IMPORTANT LESSON

1. There are some important lessons here. First of all, we are reminded that a candle is lighted in order to be displayed (11:33).
2. A candle is useless if it is hidden in a secret place, or placed under a bushel (11:33).
3. Our Lord said in Matthew 5:16, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
4. H.A. Ironside told a story about a young lumberjack he once knew. Right before the young man left for the summer to cut timber, Ironside said to him, You will find yourself among the ungodly, and may the Lord help you to stand firm in your testimony.
5. The young man said he would be all right. He came back after three months, and Ironside said to him, I am glad to see you. How did you get along this summer; did you find any other Christians there?
6. The young man said, I was the only one, but I did not have any difficulty with the unsaved men. As a matter of fact, I managed to keep it so quiet that no one ever found out that I was a Christian.
7. Ironside then said, "That is hiding your light, and that is the very thing the Lord tells us we are not to do. If I know Christ as my Saviour, instead of keeping quiet about it I am to speak for Him, speaking not only with my lips but with my life as well. If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount to much" (Luke).
8. So when our light is shining, God is glorified. But if our light is hidden or obscured, God is not glorified.
9. But even a brightly lit candle will do no good if the man entering the room is blind. The Jews in Jesus day had the light but nevertheless they stumbled about in darkness because they were spiritually blind.
10. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).
11. When our Lord was arrested, He said to the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness (Luke 22:53).
12. Those who walk in the light have eternal life, and will spend eternity in heaven. Revelation 22:5 says, And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
13. P.P. Bliss put it this way:
          No need of the sunlight
          In Heaven we re told;
          The Light of the world is Jesus!
          The Lamb is the Light
          In the city of gold,
          The Light of the world is Jesus!
14. But those who love darkness rather than light will spend eternity in hell, described by our Lord as a place of outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:13).
15. Beloved, this world is in great spiritual darkness -- Islamic terrorism, homosexuality, sex-change operations, pornography, drugs and alcohol, occultism, etc.
16. Our young people are being seduced by Satan, through drugs, rap music, promiscuity, false teaching, the occult world, etc.
17. We need to reach our young people for Christ before the devil gets them. It is a great privilege to proclaim the Gospel.
18. Matthew Henry said, "It is a great privilege that the light of the gospel is put on a candlestick, so that all that come in may see it, and may see by it where they are and whither they are going, and what is the true, and sure, and only way to happiness.
19. The light of the body is the eye (11:34), which receives the light of the candle when it is brought into the room.
20. The light of the soul is understanding and judgment, and the power to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.
21. At times it may seem difficult for one to discern God s will. But if your eye is single, the Lord will direct your steps.
22. "Single" here means, whole, good, sound, healthy, "fulfilling its office" (Greek Lexicon)
23. The single eye is fixed on Christ and Christ alone, and our Lord said then the body will be filled with light (11:34).
24. Proverbs 3:5 is very clear Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
25. If we are trusting in Christ and depending upon Him, and relying on Him and only Him He will direct our steps.
26. "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Pro. 3:5, 6).
27. This is what it means to have a single eye.
28. This is what it means to full of light (Luke 11:34).

 

II. AN IMPORTANT WARNING

1. The Lord said in Luke 11:34, 35, 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.
2. Spurgeon said, "The eye of the soul may be viewed as the understanding, the conscience, the motive, or the heart...I venture to call it, 'the intent of the mind.'...The worst of it is that men have no will to see the light of God their foolish heart is darkened, and therefore they do not understand."
3. The Jews in our Lord s day were blinded by the traditions of the rabbis. Today multitudes of people are blinded by false religion.
4. Some people are blinded by drugs, alcohol, and immorality.
5. Young people are blinded by horrible rock and rap music. (Young men, don't come around here wearing ear rings!)
6. If the eye of the body be evil
7. If man s judgment is distorted and confused by the corrupt dispositions of his mind,
8. Or by the love of the world and sensual pleasures,
9. Or if his understanding is prejudiced against the truth of God s Word,
10. Then the whole body will be "full of darkness" (11:34).
11. A man cannot receive instruction, information, guidance, or comfort, from the gospel, if he wilfully closes his eyes against it.
12. Our Lord says, Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness (11:35).
13. Take heed that the eye be not blinded by pride, and worldliness, and false doctrine.
14. Matthew Henry said, Be sincere in your enquiries after truth, and ready to receive it in the light, and love, and power of it; and not as the men of this generation to whom Christ preached, who never sincerely desired to know God s will, nor designed to do it, and therefore no wonder that they walked on in darkness, wandered endlessly, and perished eternally.
15. Our Lord offers light when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light (11:34).
16. The Bible teaches that sinners who reject the light "shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).

 

III. AN IMPORTANT BLESSING (11:36)

1. If we receive the Gospel in its full light, then the whole soul shall be full of light, and full of holiness and comfort.
2. Before conversion, it was full of darkness. But now there is a glorious, shining light, as when the bright shining of a candle gives light (11:36).
3. This is what the apostle Paul means in Ephesians 5:8, when he says, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.
4. C.H. Mackintosh said, Now, if my body is full of light, can my mind be full of perplexity? Impossible. The two things are wholly incompatible; and hence, when one is plunged in dark uncertainty, it is very plain his eye is not single."
5. Make sure your eye is single! That is, whole, good, sound, healthy.
6. God delights in guiding the humble, obedient believer as he walks in the light. But on the other hand, if we do not walk according to the light we have been given, we shall stumble into darkness.
7. That is why our Lord warned in Matthew 6:23, If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
8. Light not acted upon becomes darkness, and it is extremely dangerous to tamper and to trifle with the light which God gives.
9. It will eventually lead to the most disastrous consequences. Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness (Luke 11:35).
10. This warning is given all throughout the Word of God (cf. Jeremiah 13:15, 16).
11. William Bell Riley was a great preacher. He was saved at the age of 18 in a revival meeting. There were several other fellows his age that got saved at these revival meetings, but one boy though he was under great conviction would not repent and turn to Christ.
12. Interestingly, this particular young man was related to the preacher. After the revival meetings ended, the young man went back to his worldly ways of sin and dissipation.
13. Years later, Pastor Riley heard the man was dying of cancer. One of his old schoolmates who was saved at that revival meeting was able to go and visit him. His face was filled with misery and despair. His dying words were, I know that I am going; and oh, it is so dark! (Cf. Luke 11:35)
14. This man foolishly turned away from the light, and his life (and death) was filled with the darkness of sin and unbelief, misery and despair.
15. Again, I will quote C.H. Mackintosh, This is deeply solemn. What a contrast between a man having a single eye, and a man not acting on the light which God has given him! The one has his body full of light; the other has his body full of darkness. The one has no part dark; the other is plunged in gross darkness. The one is a light-bearer for others; the other is a stumbling block in the way. We know nothing more solemn than the judicial acting of God, in actually turning our light into darkness, because we have refused to act on the light which He has been pleased to impart.

 

CONCLUSION:

1. Moshe Dayan, the Israeli military leader and politician, was blind in one eye and wore an eye patch.
2. He lost his eye in battle in 1941 when a sniper bullet hit his binoculars.
3. One day, a police officer stopped him for speeding. Moshe Dayan said to the officer, I have only one eye. What do you want me to watch the speedometer or the road?
4. Well, that's a nice story, but God wants us to have a "single eye" always focused on Him.