Light Be | Russ Kalenberg
 
Recap
 
The Living Word congregation was blessed to hear special guest minister Russ Kalenberg preach his message entitled, “Light Be.” In the beginning, Genesis says the world was a chaotic mess, a scene of disorder and confusion. Does that sound familiar? The world today is very much a chaotic mess, a scene of disorder and confusion. What is the answer? It’s the same as it was in the beginning! “Light be!”
 
Dive Deeper
 
The title of this message is “Light Be.” In the Book of beginnings, Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created.” Many people don’t believe the first five words of the Bible. They don’t believe that God created the world. They believe we evolved. However, we are “created” beings.
 
Genesis goes on to say that God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep. The earth was a chaotic mess, a scene of disorder and confusion.
 
Does that sound familiar? The world today is very much a chaotic mess, a scene of disorder and confusion.
 
What is the answer? It’s the same as it was in the beginning!
 
Genesis goes on to say the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. Then God says, “Light be! And there was light.”
 
Notice God did not rebuke the darkness. You might try to rebuke the darkness, but it’s not going to leave. But if you bring the light, darkness has no choice but to leave.
 
When you walk into a dark room, what do you do? You turn on the light switch. What happens? The darkness leaves the room. How many times does that work? Every time!
 
Light is greater than darkness. The answer to chaotic mess, a scene of disorder and confusion is to bring light to the situation!
 
Psalm 36:9 says, “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.”
 
Pastor Russ said, “I heard this statement many years ago and it’s always stuck with me: Light is given not just to see, but to walk in.”
 
When the light comes on, you can say, “Now I see.” It’s one thing “to see,” but it’s another thing to “walk in that light.” You can see the light, but are you walking in that light? Meaning, the light of the Word.
 
The Passion translation of Psalm 36:9 says, “The fountain of life flows from you to satisfy me. In your light of holiness, we receive the light of revelation.” In Christ, we are separated from the world. In Christ, we are separated from darkness. We are now in the kingdom of light, the kingdom of holiness. As we continue to walk this path, revelation never ceases.
 
Psalm 112:4 says, “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness. He is gracious and full of compassion and righteous.” Also, Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp into my feet and a light into my path.”
 
The Word of God is light. Light and the Word of God are synonymous terms. When you have the Word of God, you have light. Without the Word of God, there is no light of life.
 
The Word of God is a lamp unto our feet. What does that mean? It means that the lamp unto my feet shows me where I’m at today. The Word of God show us where we are today. The Word also gives us direction we need to take in life.
 
The Spirit of God shows us where we are and where we need to go. If you need to make any course corrections to stay on the path, you better make them… if you want to stay on the path of light.
 
Psalm 119:130 says, “The entrance of Your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.”
Proverbs 4:18–19 out of the Passion translation says, “The lovers of God walk on the highway of light if I truly love him. Because to God it’s more than words.”
 
It’s important to say “I love you” to the Lord, but God is looking for more than words. Jesus said, “If you love me, you’ll do what I say.” That’s the true test: Doing what He says!  
 
“The lovers of God walk on the highway of light.” Sadly, there are believers that exit off the highway of light. That’s called deception. It can be subtle. It can be a small compromise at first. The Spirit of God will illuminate to you when you are off path. Don’t ignore that illumination.
 
Exiting the highway of light will take you to a place where you will regret ever having taken that exit.
 
Read About It
 
Gen. 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
 
Psalm 36:9, “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.”
 
Psalm 112:4 “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.”
 
Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
 
Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of Your words gives light.”
 
Discussion Questions
Why can’t you rebuke darkness to get it to leave?
In the beginning, the world was… what?
God is the Creator. What does that say about evolution?
 

These sermon notes are from the opening minutes of this weekend’s message. If you would like to hear the entire message, click on the link above.

Recent Sermon Notes

Strategies of Deceit | Mac Hammond

we were blessed to have Pastor Mac back in the pulpit with a brand-new series entitled, “Strategies of Deceit.” Over the years, believers have expressed their frustration that their lives are filled with bad, and sometimes evil, things. Even though they pray and live their lives by faith, they can’t seem to make an end of the bad things. They don’t know how to deal with the situation in which they find themselves. Pastor Mac explains the hard truth that the enemy cannot just arbitrarily bring death and cursing into your life. There’s a reason why the enemy has access into your life!

Finding Your Voice in Prayer | Ken Olson

Pastor Ken Olson shared with us a message on “Finding Your Voice in Prayer.” Noting that our nation’s Declaration of Independence declares that we, as citizens, have the right to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He further added, “There’s nothing more empowering, more enabling to pursue life, liberty, and happiness and so many other things that God has planned for our lives than a pursuit of a lifelong relationship through prayer with our Heavenly Father.” Heaven isn’t just a place. Heaven is a divine flow!

Dr. James Tan | Power and Fire, Part 3

Dr. James Tan was our special guest speaker. He spoke about the supernatural power people receive when they experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Entitled, “Power and Fire,” Dr. James taught all three weekend services on the basic fundamental truths concerning a believer’s encounter with Holy Ghost power! He stressed how important it is for all believers to have their own personal encounters with God the Holy Ghost for themselves. “You can’t live off someone else’s testimony,” he said. “You have to get your own experiences about encountering the power of the Holy Spirit for yourself.”

GRACE UNVEILED, #37: Tongues: The Fire Is Still Burning | Jim Hammond

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you don’t know how to pray or what to pray… where you don’t have the words to express to God what you need from Him? It’s a place in which all born again believers have found themselves. This is the subject matter Pastor Jim taught us in his 37th installment of his ongoing series on the book of Romans—“Grace Unveiled.” It is the Holy Spirit that makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered in articulate language. About tongues, Pastor Jim said, “I do this for myself. You should pray in tongues for yourself. It’s a mistake not to!”

When Grace Sprinted | Jim Hammond

When Jesus walked the earth, one of His missions was to reveal the Father God’s love for us. And one of the ways He did that was through the telling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. When teaching on this parable, most preachers focus all their attention on the Prodigal Son, and how he repented. However, the whole point of this parable is to reveal the Father’s love. Pastor Jim said, “This may be one of the most-preached messages in history. And I know you think you know what this parable is all about… Well, we shall see.”