People always come up and they ask “Why do we ‘celebrate’
Halloween?” Yes, Halloween is the darkest night of the year and it is called
“Devil’s Night”. Yes, Halloween came from a pagan culture and witchcraft. And we could argue our
opinions to no end, but even the Bible speaks of that as foolishness for we are
not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and
authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and
against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). If you really think about it, you walk out into
a world of darkness every single day.
The Bible says that there is an enemy after us and he is out to kill,
steal, and destroy us (John 10:10), and if we are not careful we will help this
enemy accomplish his mission.
Halloween is a dark night, and if we as Christians shut off
our lights, close our doors, lock up our houses, we are basically saying to the
devil “there’s a WORLD out there, accomplish your mission, we will not
participate for we are hiding”. And
we’ve let the devil reign on Halloween night for years and years and
years. I don’t know about you, but I’m
angry… I’m tired of the devil in my family, I’m tired of the devil in my
church, I’m tired of the devil stealing away and robbing us of our
freedoms. And I’m not going to sit and
let the devil do this every single year…
I don’t know about you, but I want to be like Jonathan who
looked up into the high place and saw that the enemy had taken over the high
place, instead of hiding, Jonathan and his armor-bearer climbed up and defeated
the enemies! (I Samuel 14) Our purpose
is not to hide, but to further the Kingdom
of God, and that does not
stop on one night of the year. Isaiah
60:1 says this, “Arise Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to
see! For the glory of the Lord is shining upon you.”
According to Scripture, the Word of God is a lamp unto my
feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).
Do you see this flashlight here? When we accept Jesus into our hearts,
we accept the Light of the World into our lives, which means we receive a
light. But if we only once in awhile
pick up the Word of God, guess what? Our light will not work, so you continue
to walk in darkness. Let’s say you read
your Word, but it only stays head knowledge it never reveals in your life, so
you can quote Scriptures, but those Words you are speaking out don’t match up
with your actions, guess what? That’s like putting batteries in my flashlight
the wrong way, and my light will not shine.
But if I pick up the Word of God, I read it, I let it manifest itself in
my life, and I realize that my thoughts are not God’s thoughts and that my ways
are not God’s ways and I follow the words that I read, guess what? My life is
going to reflect the Light of the World, for my path and for others to see
Jesus in me!
This really hit me hard this week and I started researching
out the word “light” in the Bible and to my surprise that single word is found
in almost every Book of the Bible and it appears many, many, many times! Now, I want to ask you this question… “Why do
we NEED to celebrate Halloween?” And the answer is found in Scriptures…
- Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father.”
- John 1:5 says, “The light shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
- Acts 13:47 says, “For this is as the Lord commanded us, ‘I have made you a light to the world, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”
- A lighthouse stands out by itself. Sometimes in ministry, it feels like we are standing alone when surrounded with many different personalities, beliefs, opinions, and we are trying to tell them about Jesus and they are wanting to do a myriad of other things. But as you stand there with a message to deliver… you are shining out like a beacon!
- A lighthouse watches out for those in trouble, in distress, heading in the wrong direction … how many times in caring for others do you do exactly that, especially if you have little ones? And perhaps it isn’t pleasant to be the one to correct, instruct, remind and remind again… but it is necessary. A lighthouse is necessary!
- A lighthouse gives light when conditions are foggy, or hazy, or stormy, or just simply dark. They make a pathway at a time when visibility is difficult. You do that. You really do. So many times in families’ lives things get foggy and hazy. They need you – they need all of us – to shine our light steady and true, unwaveringly, to help them through these times. A lighthouse is a sign of refuge, safety and redemption!
- A lighthouse adds beauty. And that you do. Your smile, your love, your commitment to Jesus and to this church and the community in particular adds beauty to everyone who gets to witness it – whether they realize it or not.
A lighthouse has a light in its tower and it revolves on a
time interval. The reason it revolves on
a time interval is so that no matter where you are standing the light that you
see is BRILLIANT, it’s not a weak light.
If we are a lighthouse that is stagnant, we need to start picking up our
Swords, the Word of God, and asking Jesus what needs to be removed in our
life. When Jesus was on the earth, He
was not a stagnant light; He was constantly moving, spreading the Word and
giving life to the darkness. Luke 11:36
says it like this, “If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then
your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you.”
Here’s an illustration... When I got married the most important part of
my wedding that I cherish the most was the lighting of the unity candle. See she has a light in her, and he has a
light in him… and see, when 2 or more are gathered in Jesus’ name He is there
amidst them. When these two combine
their lights together, something radical happens… the light GROWS! It becomes
more brilliant, more radiant.
Now think of this, if we are all housing a light in us, what
do you think will happen when we decide to bond together and create one BIG
lighthouse? I need 3 volunteers. As
these people bond together with their lights in hand and they become one
lighthouse and they become an example of Christ moving as He did, the light
grows, the light is brilliant, and it lays out a pathway for all those needing
and wanting the light to come to.
Everybody take a moment and feel under your chair and pull
out the star that’s stuck to your chair.
Stars are like lighthouses too, since the earth rotates, the star always
appears brilliant and it twinkles… but no matter where you are in the world,
that same star shines bright. This star
is a reminder that you have been brought to life by God and He lights up your
darkness. This star is a reminder that
it can NEVER be extinguished by the darkness, because even if the godly fall
down seven times, they always get up (Proverbs 24:16). This star is a reminder that God is jealous
over you and He’s jealous of those walking in darkness because He wants to free
them, just like He freed you! It’s time we stop hiding our light and step out
like Jonathan and take a stand!
Halloween is no longer Devil’s Night! The devil is no longer
going to keep us in hiding so he can continue to steal, kill and destroy in the
darkness… because we are going to be a beacon of light, shining a path for
those who want redemption, freedom and salvation!
So, again I ask, “Why do we NEED to celebrate Halloween?”
Because there are people out there that were just as lost as you at one time,
that need the light that is in you to guide them to the Savior, Jesus Christ. Keep your star and let it remind you that God
made you a light to the world to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the
earth.
