Walk While You Have Light
by Gene
Easley
“Then Jesus
said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you.
Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he
that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be children
of light” (John 12:35-36a).
Is there any
hope for the backslidden church? Jesus
said, “Walk while ye have light.”
We must have the light of Christ renewed in our lives.
How futile it is to seek new programs to revive us rather than
seeking God and an outpouring of His Spirit!
Jesus
continued in
Churches
that once preached a strong message of salvation, of “repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Acts 20:21b) today walk
in darkness. They hardly
require more than a shake of the pastor’s hand and filling out a
membership card to receive new members.
Real salvation has been lost to the darkness.
Churches
that once were accustomed to having the outpouring of God’s Spirit in
their services preached the message greatly emphasizing our need to be
baptized in the Holy Spirit. Those
same churches now are left with little more than adherence to a doctrine
concerning the Holy Spirit. The
experience has been lost in the darkness.
We cannot survive with doctrine alone!
Congregations which once prayed for the sick and witnessed miracles of
healing are now prayerless and powerless.
Prayer for healing is little more than a ritual, and they sit in
darkness, wondering if God really wants to heal.
How sad a state we are in when our sick and helpless can find no
relief!
The light in many churches and in individual Christian lives has gone out slowly but surely. Congregations that once had revival are now sitting lifeless and dry. They have lost God’s presence and power. The joy of the Lord has gradually been replaced with entertainment of the world. And because they dwell in darkness, they really cannot find their way back. Jesus said, “He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.”
We have
allowed the darkness of this present world to be brought right into the
front of the church. It claims
to be a new enlightenment, but it is only the same old darkness.
It is a darkness that consumes the leadership, blinds both the
leader and the follower, and will cause both to fall by the wayside.
We need the
lights turned on once again in the church with hard-hitting, Holy Ghost,
Bible-based preaching. We need
the lights turned on with saints lingering around the altars of prayer,
“praying in the Holy Ghost” (Jude 20), building up their “most holy
faith.” We need the lights
turned on again with Christians living separated lives, lives that are
separated from the world and dedicated unto God.
And a
greater darkness is coming upon this world.
Jesus said that false Christs and false prophets are coming and
that, if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived (Matthew
24:24). The Apostle Paul wrote
in 2 Thessalonians of a wicked one that will be revealed.
He will come with power, signs, and lying wonders.
Those who reject the light of God’s truth will believe the lies
of this wicked one. There will
be a darkness so great upon earth that John said that “all the world”
will wonder after this greatest of imposters (Revelation 13:3).
The spiritual darkness that will allow the Antichrist to become
such a dominate power during the time of the tribulation is already in the
world. Some who call
themselves Christians are even now succumbing to that darkness.
If you have the light of God in your heart today, it is imperative to walk in that light. Covet it above everything else you possess. One day you will dwell in that Eternal Light in your new home in Heaven where darkness shall no more enter. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). This is not the hour for parties and entertainment. It is the hour for laboring in God’s vineyard. While it is day, let us work and walk in the light that God has given us.
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