Tim Timberlake - Chasing Light
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Summary:
In this message from the «The Night Before» series titled «Chasing Light,» the preacher uses the story of the Magi following the star in Matthew 2:1-2 to illustrate how the wise men chased the light of Christ for years with unwavering desire and expectation, even through dark and uncertain times. The core idea is that in seasons of darkness—like much of 2020—we must actively pursue Jesus as the true Light who illuminates our path, purifies our lives, and draws miracles through our desire, humility, and worship. The conclusion encourages believers to keep chasing His light with expectation, knowing He goes ahead and behind us, flooding every dark place with His presence and preparing greater things ahead.
Series Introduction and Title
We’ve been in a series entitled «The Night Before,» and the purpose of this series is to help us build expectation and anticipation for what we are believing to see God do. Today, we’re going to continue with the subject matter «Chasing Light.» Everybody say, «Chasing Light.» If you’re watching online, put that in the chat: «Chasing Light.»
Scripture Reading
Matthew chapter 2, beginning at verse 1, says, «After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, the Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'» Let’s pray:
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you, God, for dwelling with us. We thank you, God, for all that you have done, and we know that you’re not finished yet. So we thank you. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Chasing the Light
Somebody say, «Chasing Light.» As I began to read this passage of scripture and study for this series, mapping out where God desired for us to go, I came to an understanding of where He wanted us to land. He began to lead me through the story of the birth of Jesus in a manner and in a way that I had not seen before. If we can remember and reflect on what we’ve heard about 2020, we know that people associate 2020 with vision. Whenever you hear «2020» outside of the year 2020, you think of perfect vision. We’ve heard people say that this year would be a year of focus, clarity, and vision. This year has absolutely been that.
But here’s what I’ve learned about this year: It is impossible to see with focus without following the light. It is impossible to see with clarity without having light. About three weeks ago, Jen, Max, and I were in the car as the sun was going down, and it was a beautiful scene. I said, «Let’s chase this sunset.» So we started going through these back roads and would look over to our right to see the sun going down over the trees. I said, «There has to be an opening over the water.» Finally, we found this opening in a little cubbyhole that I had been going to for years. We got out of our vehicle, walked down toward the water, and began to see the sunset. As the sunset progressed, we lost light, but we chased after the light. We didn’t have a GPS; nobody was giving us directions. The only thing that was leading us was the light.
The Magi, or the wise men, in this passage of scripture didn’t have a Garmin GPS telling them where Jesus was. The only thing they had was the light. They didn’t have an angel guiding them, telling them they were going in the right direction. The only thing they had was the light. Ecclesiastes chapter 11, verse 8 says, «People should enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live, but they should also remember there will be many dark days.» What type of dark days have you encountered in 2020? Dark days of confusion? Dark days of conflict? Dark days of need? Dark days of lack? Dark days of sickness? Dark days of desperation? I don’t know what your dark days have been, but I am a firm believer in what the word of God tells us in 1 John chapter 1, verse 5. The team is going to throw it up on the screen: «God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all.» This does not negate the fact that there will be darkness around you, but when you are in Him, there is no darkness. When He is in you, there is no darkness, and He positions His light in you to be a light for the world.
The wise men are chasing light. Historians and theologians believe that the Magi were on this chase for two years. How driven do you have to be to go after something that you can’t see for two years? How desperate do you have to be to pursue something that you think is possible for two years? How many of you agree this has been a year—a whole year? We aren’t even finished yet, but can you imagine two years of uncertainty, two years of the unknown, two years of wondering, two years of searching for something that you believe is there but you’re really not sure? They understood that God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all.
I love what it says in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1: «In the beginning, God.» We can put a period right there! He was there in the beginning, and He’ll be there in the end because He is God. «In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,» and God said, «Let there be light,» and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. In John chapter 12, I’m just building my case here, verse 46 says, «Jesus said, 'I have come as a light to shine in this dark world so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in darkness.'»
The Desire of the Wise Men
There’s something that sticks out to me in this passage of scripture we find in Matthew chapter 2 about these wise men that I just can’t shake. They had a desire like no other. They hadn’t met Jesus; they hadn’t heard the voice of Jesus. All they knew was that a promise had been fulfilled because they saw His star in the sky. In Matthew chapter 2, it’s very descriptive; it says that the wise men saw His star in the sky—not just a star, not some star, not a random star. They saw His star in the sky, and it built desire within them. If you are going to worship Jesus as your Savior, the first thing you have to do is have a desire. You have to have a desire. Life has a tendency to strip us of our desire.
Desire is a prophecy that what you are going after is possible. Never put in front of you what you’re not willing to put inside of you. The wise men had in front of them His star because they understood that not only would He be in front of us, but we desired that He would fill us. I’m telling you, we’ve spent a lot of time this year putting stuff in front of us that can’t fill us. I don’t want anything in front of me that can’t fill me. I don’t want anything in front of me that can’t change me. I don’t want anything in front of me that can’t regulate situations and circumstances. I need to follow light when I can’t see! When I can’t hear, I have to have a desire to search for the light.
We’ve seen darkness in our world this year like we haven’t seen in a long time, but we’ve also seen the light of Jesus shine radiantly like we haven’t seen in a very long time. The enemy thought that if he could push people out of buildings and into their homes, surely the church would crumble and fall. But the church is stronger now than it’s ever been. The enemy thought that if he could push marriages into their homes and they couldn’t have their own free space, surely we’d see more divorces than we’ve ever seen before. But the enemy has lost again. The enemy thought, surely, if he could push parents into their homes with their kids, their kids would drive them crazy. But surely the enemy has lost because we are chasing light.
What do you do when you can’t see? What do you do when you can’t hear? You build up your desire. When you build up your desire, God shows up because He is the light.
Point 1: Light Illuminates
Number one, if you’re taking notes, this is what light does: Light will illuminate. If there ever comes a point in time where you need God to revolutionize something, drag it into the light because light always illuminates. Where there is desire, God shows up with light, and light exposes and illuminates. See, when you have a strong enough desire, it will determine who you listen to. It says the wise men made a stop before they got to Bethlehem. They stopped at King Herod’s place and asked him, «Where is the king of the Jews?»
They couldn’t get all the concrete answers they had hoped for, but they had a desire. What I’ve come to learn is that desire determines who you listen to. When you get a desire deep down in your spirit, you don’t listen to the voices that tell you it’s impossible. You get a desire deep down in your spirit; you don’t listen to the voices that tell you it’s never been done before. You get a desire deep down in your spirit; nothing or no one can shake you off what God has called you to do. The wise men had a desire. They didn’t know what Jesus looked like; they didn’t know what Jesus sounded like. All they knew was that the King of Kings and the Lord above all had been born, and there’s a desire in us to worship and bless Him. I wonder, am I talking to anybody today that says, «I may not be able to see straight; I may not even be able to hear straight, but I have a desire that I can’t shake to worship Jesus.»
I believe that as I release worship, He begins to release His light. Desire determines who you listen to. I’m stubborn when it comes to faith! There is no one or nothing that can tell me that it’s not possible when God shows me and tells me it is possible. As a matter of fact, He says all is possible to those that believe. When I have a desire rooted deeply in my spirit, there’s no obstacle, no enemy, no hurdle, no wall too tall for me to climb because I understand and know what’s possible when I place it in the hands of Jesus.
A desire lets you know who you listen to. A desire also teaches you who to trust. See, I’m a firm believer that the way you treat people when you have everything is an indicator of how you treated people when you had nothing. When you have a desire deep down inside of you, it determines who you trust. You can’t trust everybody with your vision. You can’t trust everybody with your purpose. Your purpose placed in the wrong hands can be manipulated. The wise men understood they were on purpose. They may have to travel one year; they may have to travel two years; they may even have to travel five years. But they wouldn’t allow their purpose to be left in the hands of King Herod. So no matter what they heard in that castle, they would continue to pursue the light that Jesus was showing them.
You have to have your mind made up that no matter what you have heard, you will continue to pursue the light. You will continue to chase the light. You will continue to go after Jesus. You will continue to have the mindset that when you go after Jesus, He also comes after you. There is nothing that you have done that He cannot erase out of your life and set a new destiny ahead of you. These wise men are chasing after light. They have a desire because they understand they’re headed somewhere.
The only reason you get lost is because you lose sight of where you’re headed. The only reason you let down your guard, the only reason you fail, the only reason you drop the ball is because you lose sight of where you’re headed. Don’t lose sight of what Jesus has in front of you. Don’t allow life to take your eyes off the light. Don’t allow life to take your eyes off what you are supposed to be focused on. Don’t lose the light; you’ve got to chase it because life has a tendency to put blinders on us so that we can’t see what Jesus has done, what Jesus is doing, and what Jesus will do.
These wise men had a desire, and they had an expectation. This is what I’ve come to learn: Expectations are the magnets that attract my miracle. Expectations are the magnets that attract my miracle. How many of you need a miracle right now? How many of you watching online need a miracle right now? It’s expectations that are the magnets drawing your miracle closer to you. It’s not that Jesus has not already released it; it’s that your expectation has to go out and get it. In the Old Testament, He says that as I release a word, my word cannot return unto me void, which means that as He has released it and it has not returned, my «yes» is in this atmosphere, and my expectations have to go out and grab it. My «yes» lingers until my expectations meet it.
The wise men would have wandered in the desert for years and years and years without a desire and an expectation. But I wonder, am I talking to anybody that, like the wise men, has a desire and an expectation to encounter the Almighty Savior in a manner and in a way like you’ve never had before? When you have an expectation, it attracts your miracle. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 13 says, «Light makes all things easy to see.» In John chapter 8, verse 12, He says, «I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t stumble through darkness, for living light will flood your path.» I want you to hear that—living light will flood your path. He desires to flood your life with His light.
Point 2: Light Purifies
Write this down: Point number two: Light purifies. Light purifies. Light not only illuminates, but light purifies. 1 John chapter 1, verse 6 says, «If we claim to have a relationship with God but continue living in darkness, we lie and aren’t following the truth. But if we live in the light as God is in the light, then we can have real fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without any sin, we’re only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, God is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong.» How many people are grateful that His light has purified us from our sins? Come on! His light not only illuminates, but His light purifies.
These wise men understand there’s something He has that we need, and so we will chase after Him. The light illuminates; the light purifies. It shows me where I need to go, and it shows me who I am. This light of Jesus purifies. In 2 Samuel chapter 22, verse 29, it says, «You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.» Ephesians chapter 5, verse 8 says, «In the past, your life was full of darkness, but now you are full of the light in the Lord. Now you can live like children of light, and God’s light brings every kind of goodness, right living, and truth.» As long as you pursue the light, He will illuminate the path, but as long as you pursue your wants, you’re content to search in the dark.
Keep chasing light. The wise men pursued Christ; they went after the light and found where Jesus lay. It says that when they came into the presence of Jesus—the most radiant light of all—they dropped to their knees, bowed their faces, and worshiped. In order to chase the light, you have to be like the wise men and operate from a place of humility. When you come before the Light of the World, the King of Kings, come with the posture of worship.
Not only did they bow their knees, not only did they bow their faces, not only did they worship Jesus, but it says they brought Jesus a gift that was worth something to them. Today, I just wonder: What is it that you have that Jesus desires for you to give back to Him right now in this moment? I’m not talking about money; I’m not talking about your possessions; I’m talking about your breath. See, if we lose sight, it stifles our ability to speak confidently, but when you get a glimpse of the light, it gives you the confidence to speak boldly, even when what you believe has not manifested in the flesh. You have a knowing, you have an understanding that eyes may not have seen nor ears may not have heard, but God has something in store for you.
So I want to encourage you today to continue to chase the light. The thing I want to remind you of is that no matter how far the wise men walked, the star was always in front of them. I want you to know right now that Jesus has already gone ahead of you. Jesus is already in your 2021; He’s already gone ahead of you. Jesus is already in your 2022; He’s already gone ahead of you. And not only has He gone ahead of you, but He also goes behind you. So everything that did not look like Him, everything that did not represent Him, everything that did not model Him, Jesus goes behind and cleans up and brings back new again. Jesus is good, and He goes ahead of us, and He goes behind us, and He surrounds us with His love because that’s who He is.
Closing Worship and Prayer
Stand to your feet, stretch those hands toward heaven, and let your light shine right now through worship. Come on, release a sound in this place. Release the sound in your home. Just say, «God, thank you for being the Light of the World. Lord, thank you for your Son Jesus.» Come on, somebody release a worship in this place and in your homes. I’m not going to coach you; I’m not going to tell you what to say. He’s your God; He’s your King; He’s your Prince of Peace; He’s your Lord above all. Somebody speak kindly of your Lord.
So God, we come in this place, and we ask you to shine bright in us and to shine bright around us. You are the Light of the World, and we will chase after You. God, every shadow, every piece of darkness, every place in our lives that does not have Your light, we ask God that You would overshadow it, God, that You would overtake it, God, that You would flood it with Your light. And so God, we thank you right now that each and every place we go has Your light and Your presence. In the name of Jesus, we pray. We give you the glory, we give you the honor, we give you the praise. In Jesus' name.