Elma Masano took the pulpit on the 08th June 2019 the lesson 10 of 2nd quarter to preach on the Women Ministry Emphasis Sabbath Day. It also marked the start of the Women Ministry Preachers to continue to July Harvest Program in Nadi District.

Introduction

Our scripture this morning begins with Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee” (KJV). Isaiah calls us to arise and shine because the “light is come.”

Ellen White defines that call, using the imagery of “arise and shine,” in a powerful message: “If ever there was a time in the history of Seventh-day Adventists when they should arise and shine, it is now. No voice should be restrained from proclaiming the third angel’s message [and this proclamation is part of our service to the world]. Let none, for fear of losing prestige with the world, obscure one ray of light coming from the Source of all light. It requires moral courage to do the work of God for these last days, but let us not be led by the spirit of human wisdom. The truth should be everything to us. Let those who want to make a name with the world go with the world.”[1]

Arise and Shine for your light has come, says the prophet Isaiah.

The word arise means “to get up or to stand up as from a lying or sitting position,” “to come into notice,” “to be recognized,” “to ascend.” This means you should expect today to get up, stand up, ascend, and come into notice (to be recognized). To arise also means to move on to the next level, a higher level. 

Have we moved on to the next higher level? We live in a world that has shrunk to our fingertips: laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Facebook and Twitter. Does high-speed, high-tech performance indicate humanity is rising to high levels of civilization? Some say it is.

However, in the midst of so much progress in knowledge and communication, there is a darkness that is repulsive and frightening; a darkness that cuts across nationality, age, education, culture, and profession; a darkness that challenges the humanity of each one of us and diminishes the spirituality of all of us, particularly those of us who have taken the name Christian or Seventh-day Adventist.

What is this darkness I am talking about? Take a look at the world around you. Consider your church. Examine your workplace. Inspect your own home, your college, and your surroundings. Is there darkness in any of these areas?

As a woman, and as one involved in women’s ministry, I suggest to you:

• That as long as one in three women continues to experience some kind of abuse in her life, darkness is in the world.
• That as long as women are subjected to genital mutilation, childhood marriages, dowry oppression, honor killings, rape, physical and verbal abuse, workplace discrimination—appallingly, even in our pastors’ homes and in our colleges—darkness is in the world.
• That as long as 1.2 million children are trafficked around the world every year, darkness is in the world.

Yes, there is darkness—gross darkness, defiling darkness, and defying darkness. To us living in that world of darkness—the darkness outside, the darkness inside—and to us who want to minister to our daughters and sisters, to mothers and wives, comes Isaiah’s call: “Arise [and] shine, for your light has come! … For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1, 2, NKJV).

Isaiah is addressing a nation that will go into the darkness of Babylon’s bondage some 120 years after the prophet’s ministry. He knows that Israel has suffered many a dark period in the past, such as the Egyptian bondage and the Assyrian assaults. To a people so used to living in the fear of darkness, to a people who seemed to have lost all hope, the prophet predicts freedom from fear, hope in the midst of despair. He seems to be telling them: Darkness shall come, but it need not envelop you forever; the night of hopelessness must give way to the bright and glorious dawn of sunrise. The promise and the challenge of God is a simple one: “Arise and shine.” Arise. Come out of fear. Let darkness of abuse flee. Shine in the glory of the light that comes from God and Him alone.

It is so easy for us to ignore what Isaiah says. Yet, if we want to weather the storms ahead of us, to face the moral, social, and cultural threats that overwhelm us, we must learn to allow God’s Word to speak to us.

So what does Isaiah say?

A clear message

First, a clear message: God Himself is the light. The psalmist has already given us that assurance: “The Lord is my light…whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1, NKJV). But Israel, as often happens with all of us, was mistaken in its own strength and saw within itself a light that seemed sufficient for the journey ahead. And that self-centered approach only led to bondage. It is to these imprisoned people, people in self-made chains, that the promise from the Word of God comes: “Arise from your self-delusion and look yonder: there is the Lord your light. With that light in your hand and in your heart, arise and shine” (Isaiah 60:1, 2, paraphrased by author).

When Israel shines that light—God’s light—the nations around will come to experience the “brightness of your rising” (v. 3, NKJV) the brilliance of the dawn, the radiance of a new day that has come upon you. But that new day is not one of self-glory; it is a mighty event of global witness. God not only liberates Israel from the darkness of bondage; He makes Israel a medium of light. This is the means of letting nations know that God, who Himself is light, will banish every form of darkness and let His light shine brightly. His light will confront all human darkness.

Now, let us move that prophetic promise to a present reality. The meaning is as relevant today as it was in Isaiah’s time. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before men, that they may … glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16, NKJV). “Jesus does not bid the Christian to strive to shine, but just to let his light clearly shine distinct rays to the world.”[2]

That is the crux of the matter. If we know we are called to be the light, we will choose to let that light shine. Through our life, acts, and ministry, the radiance of the Father’s glory will dispel the social, the relational, and the abusive darkness that surrounds us in the world today.

But what does it mean for us to be God’s light in the world? How does the light of Jesus shine through us?

The light of Jesus shines through our recognition that all human beings are created in God’s image, and all of us are children of God. As members of His family, we must recognize the oneness of the entire human spectrum: north and south, east and west, white and black, male and female, young and old. When that unity is recognized, the light that shines in us and through us will dispel every shadowy corner of darkness, including the darkness of abuse and hatred.

The light of Jesus shines through our acts of love and grace. As the called ones of the Lord, we are the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision. Given that context, Jesus designates us as His light, reflecting the radiance that streams from Him. He calls us to a life of meekness. He bids us to hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice. He expects us to reflect Him through our mercy, our purity of heart, our quick efforts to reconcile with adversaries, our sexual fidelity, our truthfulness, our refusal to take vengeance, our prayer and fasting. These are obedient works reflecting the light of Jesus that shines through us into the darkness surrounding us.

The light of Jesus shines through us when we produce the fruits of the Spirit. Those fruits are: love in a world of hate; joy in times of sorrow; peace in times of conflict; patience in the face of irritation; kindness when life is so rough; goodness that overcomes evil; faithfulness that dispels dishonesty; gentleness in a terrain of roughness; and self-control in a world of selfishness.[3]

A wholistic message

Second, Isaiah points to the wholistic nature of the light that shines upon us. When the light of God dispels the darkness of our hearts, it brings about a total transformation of life.

Our spirit is transformed by the Spirit of God, so that we are no longer our own, but His: to do His will, to walk His way, to witness His glory, to embrace our brothers and sisters, and to shed light in order to dispel all darkness that surrounds us.

Our mind is freed from the shackles of sin and darkness. The seat of our thoughts is free to embrace God’s vision for life, to face the darkness of the world, and to cultivate the renewing of our minds so that we may reveal “what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Our body comes under the renovating power of the Spirit. We recognize the sacredness of the body as God’s temple. The responsibility of guarding that sanctity extends not only to our own bodies, but also to those of every human being with whom we come in contact.

Our passions ascend from the abyss of darkness to embrace the pure and sanctified life God has set for us. The light so transmutes our emotions that we shun the forbidden zone in interpersonal relationships and stay within the confines of God’s love and care.

Our relationships are no longer defined by the benefits that may derive from them, but by the transforming warm-heartedness of God’s light. Our relationships are not governed by the blood in our veins, but by the blood of Jesus that makes us all His children.

Yes, as bearers of light we must expose darkness. We are the light when we stand for justice and truth in the public square, at work, in our homes, in churches. We dim that light when we indulge in pride, jealousy, strife, abuse, and immorality. If we hate our brothers and sisters, if we indulge in abuse, we are no longer light and can no longer walk in light.

A message to serve

Third, Isaiah urges a life of service. The idea of light is often understood as something distinctively glorious appearing in great, powerful demonstration. But the prophet teaches us that true light appears in service.

Service is a profound and frequent theme in Scripture. Isaiah already anticipated in chapters 42 and 53 that the Messiah would come as a servant, with no outward splendor. His appearance would be like the least of those around. Yet hidden in that normality was the true power of the Christ: the power of love, the power of humility, the power of self-sacrificing service.

Jesus lived among the poor, worked among the downtrodden and rejected, lifted the afflicted and the abused, and finally died on a cross. The most glorious manifestation of divine power was demonstrated with no outward form of glory. The greatest manifestation of power and glory was revealed in darkness and ugliness. This is why the gospel was foolishness to the Greeks, scandalous to the Jews, and a joke to the Romans. None of them could understand the meaning of the servanthood of Jesus, nor could they comprehend the redemptive grace that flows from the cross.

The true light of Jesus appears in service. The call to arise and shine is linked to light that comes with the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is light that dispels darkness. It is light that implies an invitation to serve, to rise to what we are created to be. Since the first promise of God to Abraham that the faith community is to be a channel of blessing to the nations, God’s people are to be an example. If we lived up to the calling of being servants, we would be blessed. And in our obedience, the world would be blessed. The erosion of darkness would be significant.

A message of challenge

Fourth, Isaiah’s message challenges us to be light that shines through darkness, that dispels darkness. Jesus charges us: “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV).

Paul reminds us: “For you were once darkness, but now are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10, NIV). This is our calling, and we must discover ways to live out that call as His community of disciples.

The commission

We are commissioned by Jesus to illuminate the darkness [let your light so shine] and to expose evil. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 8:11, NIV).

Clearly, our task is to carry our lamps into the shadowy corners of the world and to brighten the corners exposing darkness. Ellen White encourages us to make a difference in our communities, even when we face great personal difficulty in illuminating the darkness. “God has scattered His children in various communities that the light of truth may be kept shining amid the moral darkness that enshrouds the earth. The deeper the darkness around us, the greater the need that our light should shine for God. We may be placed in circumstances of great difficulty and trial, but this does not prove that we are not in the very position assigned us by Providence.”[4]

The challenge for us as women is to make time to “make a difference.” What small difference can we make? What spark might we kindle that will ignite God’s light to shine through the darkness in which our daughters, sisters, and wives are subjected to live? What is the task today of those involved in women’s ministry?

The six challenge issues of Adventist women in ministry

“Touch a heart, reach my world” is the motto of Adventist women’s ministry. Our vision is to help those in need. We seek to accomplish this by addressing six major challenge issues that afflict women globally: abuse, illiteracy, workload, poverty, health, and education.

Abuse and violence: Global statistics show that one in three women experiences physical and sexual violence in her lifetime. Of the 1.2 million children trafficked every year, 80 percent are girls. As a result of the global outcry on this issue, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and the Department of Women’s Ministries launched the enditnow^® advocacy campaign in October 2009 to stop violence against women and girls.

Since that time, seven departments of the world church formed a coalition for ensuring that enditnow^® remains an active and vital initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. These departments include Children’s Ministries, Education, Family Ministries, Health Ministries, Ministerial Association, Women’s Ministries, and Youth Ministries. Today our challenge is enditnow^®.

Poverty. Of the 1.2 billion people around the world living in poverty,70 percent are women. Poverty seems to have put on a feminine face. To remove that scar is our challenge today.

Threats to health. Hazards to women’s health include emotional, social, and physical threats brought about by social, political, and economic factors. The quality of a woman’s health directly impacts her life and her family’s wellbeing. Poor health undermines a woman’s ability to be a fully productive participant in God’s work. About one in five women develop depression at some point in life. According to the World Health Organization, depression is projected to become the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease by 2020. To remove that unacceptable burden is our challenge today.

Workload. Women around the world, in all cultures, face the problem of work overload. Women are faced with the challenge of doing two thirds of the world’s work, resulting in long workdays, low wages, high hours of housework and childcare, leaving little time for personal devotion, rest and recreation, and social and spiritual growth. To balance work and leisure, to equalize home and workplace, to offer time for growth of the mind and solace of the Holy Spirit is our challenge today.

Education. Education for all is a basic human right. For women to achieve better health, nutrition, and quality of life for themselves and their families, they need equal access to education. To see that girls have access to education at all levels is our challenge today.

Illiteracy. Of 163 million illiterate young people in the world, 63 percent are women. Even in affluent countries, girls receive less education and training than boys. Illiteracy is powerfully linked to low social status, poverty, and poor health. Lack of literacy skills traps women in the cycle of poverty, with limited options for economic improvement, sentencing them and their children to chronic poverty. More importantly, literacy skills provide women the gift of reading the Bible. To provide each woman the key to the world of literacy and self-development is our challenge today.

To confront these challenges, to arise and shine in the midst of this darkness that afflicts women, to open wide the vista of a new world in Jesus, to free our homes, church, workplace, and community of abuse—this is the task and responsibility of every Adventist today.

Conclusion

We are the light of the world. We will dim that light, even obscure the light, when we indulge in pride, jealousy, strife, abuse, and immorality. We are called to go far and wide to shine in the dark places; but we are to carry our own lamps, we are not to mingle with other lamps.

Each one of us individually reflects the glory of God. We are challenged to leave our comfort zones and illuminate the world—as we stand for justice, grace and truth in the public square, at work, in our homes, in churches. Your time has come, Arise and Shine!

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