A Light In The Darkness Series

A young boy went with his parents touring around Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited each cathedral he was impressed by the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples and of other saints. He stood amazed, as the sunlight poured into those huge but empty halls shining through the beautiful stained glass windows.

When he returned home, he was asked by his Sunday School teacher about his vacation and what he liked the most. He thought for a moment of those massive churches and their grand windows and he said, "I loved the sense of awe and the hugeness of who God must be, and I loved the stained glass windows with their images of the saints."

"And what is a saint?" his teacher asked. His mind went back to those beautiful windows and he said, "A saint is a person who lets the light shine through."

(From a sermon by David Moore, It’s Better To Light A Candle Than Curse The Darkness, 6/9/2010)

That is a good definition of what a saint of God is supposed to look like. We seem to have created a new definition of what a saint is. For most, a saint is a person who is in their 80s or 90s and who serve the Lord daily. A saint is any person who has received Jesus and surrendered to Him. Like the young man said; “A saint is someone who lets the light shine through.” We have no light of our own, but like those stained glass windows, we are to allow the light of Jesus to pass through us and shine on a lost and dying world.

This week I want us to learn one more thing about being “the light.”

Look at verses 14-15 again.

What I really each of us to see is that our witness/light is unavoidable.

Two things are said about the city, in this passage:

1. This city sits on a hill and

2. This city cannot be hidden.

Two things are said about the candle, as well:

1. The candle is put in a prominent place and

2. The candle gives light to all that are in the house.

I really want you to get this.

The light of every believer is IN THE WORLD… IT’S ON A HILL…and IT’S IN THE HOUSE.

In plain English…wherever YOU are your light is there!!

Several lessons can be learned from this passage.

1. We’ve already seen that Believers are shine as lights in their part of the world.

If we completely blacked out this room and lit one candle what would happen?

But what if each of us had our own candle, burning bright, what do you think would happen?

But there are a few things that I have learned about each of those lights.

2. Each light has different strengths.

It can be strong or weak, bright or dim. In fact, for some it may be so dim and provide so little light that a person could stumble and fall. (Hold up Streamlight & D cell flashlight) There nothing I can do to make the D cell light a Streamlight because that is how they were made… But you are not a flashlight and God made you to shine. Maybe you are supposed to shine brighter than you are. Maybe you’re as bright as you’re supposed to be.

You may not shine as bright as someone else but SHINE. You may not be using all of your potential because your battery is weak and needs to be recharged… PLUG IN.

You may never stand in front of thousands to preach or stand in a lecture hall, filled with learners to teach.

BUT YOU SHINE AS BRIGHT AS GOD MADE YOU TO RIGHT WHERE HE PLACED YOU TO BE HIS LIGHT…

3. Some places in the world are brightly lit; while others are dimly lit.

Some cities have many bright lights, other cities have only a few bright lights. Some homes have strong light, while other homes have weak light.

Every city, every home, and every business, every place on this earth where there is a witness of a Christian believer--has some light. It may be weak or it may be strong but there is light. Sometimes I wonder if God puts the brightest lights in the darkest places. If that is you then ask yourself this question, “Am I shining to the best of my ability?” Maybe we’re like those stained glass windows but the light can’t get through because someone forgot to keep the glass clean. Maybe we need to wash our windows so His light can penetrate the darkness around us.

4. A light can become weak and useless. I had a spot light that would light up the tops of the tallest tree around but it quit. It didn’t quit suddenly but over time it gave up. There was nothing wrong with the bulb and I couldn’t really blame the battery.