John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 

Key thought: Discipleship is a place where our lives are unmasked by the light of God and He works gracefully and purposefully in our lives

Our response to God’s search light is important on our journey of transformation.

• Our reaction can be push God away
  • Defending ourselves is natural instinct, we tend to push away experiences that are uncomfortable  
  • "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"
• Our reaction can be to move away
  • We choose to disobey – running away from God
  • Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So, he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. 
• Our reaction can be to justify our weakness
  • We tend to convince ourselves by our own lies that God is not seeing
  • Acts 5:8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 
  • Sapphira was judged because she joined her husbands lies instead of confessing and receiving forgiveness.
• Our reaction can be outright rejection of God’s counsel and conviction
  • Jesus healed a sick person and confronted the Pharisees on their double standards and lack of compassion
  • Mark 3:6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. 
• The best reaction is to submit and allow God to expose and work on every form of darkness
  • Something radical happened in the life of Zacchaeus
  • His life was transformed and the evidence was his willingness to restitute
  • The place of God’s light unmasking us is a place of transformation, this transformation can be manifested in the following ways

1.  Enlightenment brings empowerment
   • Sometimes we get to know to do things better through our failures
2.  Enlightenment brings correction
   • God unmasks our weaknesses so that we can become put in alignment with his will
   • Luke 9:55 AMP but He turned and rebuked them [and He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are;
   • As we walk with Jesus, he brings to light hidden faults and weakness so that they may be corrected.
3. Enlightenment enables accountability
   • Accountability is critical in our relationship with God, the discipleship setting creates atmosphere to being responsible and accountable  2 Kings 5:25  
   • Accountability is an important virtue in our journey of faith and discipleship.
4. 4. Enlightenment enables us to trust God
   • Pride and self-sufficiency are pitfalls of humanity, and God will time and again expose this weakness so that we learn to trust.
   • Even the best of us sometimes can be overtaken by the glorification of self.  
   • 2 Corinthians 12:7
5. 5. Enlightenment ushers multiplication
   • Our fruitfulness lies in our pruning, when God takes away out flaws so that we become more productive
   • John 15:2 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

Conclusion

What is our reaction when God confronts and unmasks us