Be The Light Series

INTRODUCTION

Be the light!

Praise the Lord! We greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus. Welcome to our New Year Service. In a few minutes, we are going to say goodbye to this year and a great year is awaiting us. Let’s thank God for 2022. God has been faithful. Seasons have come and gone but God has been good to us. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He will lead us successfully in 2020.

If God has brought us to the end of this year, God has a purpose for you in 2023. You Are Here, right now for a Purpose, to be the light of the world. I want to introduce you to the theme of this year –

BE HIS LIGHT | MATTHEW 5: 13 – 16

You and I are in the context of living in a dark work, ministering in a dark place, in a dark context. You can pick anything in this world, and it is dark. Whether it is family disintegration or financial disintegration, whether it is in the corporate world or the society around us. We can pick anything and we can find a dark cloud surrounding it in the day in which we live.

THE QUESTION IS:

Is there hope in the middle of this darkness?

Is there light in the middle of this seemingly hopeless world?

How can we be the light of the world?

Matthew 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

BACKGROUND

This section is from the sermon on the mount. Jesus’ audiences were the disciples of Jesus and the crowd, who were the future disciples of Jesus. They were weighing the cost of following Jesus.

Jesus told them repentance is the key to entering the kingdom of heaven. Mt. 4:17

WHO CAN ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

Matthew 5:3-6

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

ATTITUDE OF A KINGDOM PERSON – BE THE LIGHT

Matthew 5:7-9

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

HOW THE WORLD TREATS A KINGDOM CITIZEN

Matthew 5:11

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

REWARDS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD – BE THE LIGHT

Matthew 5:12

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

SUMMARY

We are the citizens of Heaven, ambassadors of Christ, heir of the kingdom of God. That is because of the work of Jesus on the cross and our faith and belief in Jesus.

THE PURPOSE OR INFLUENCE OF A KINGDOM PERSON – YOU ARE THE SALT AND LIGHT – BE THE LIGHT

Matthew 5:13

“You are the salt of the earth.

Matthew 5:15

“You are the light of the world.

ILLUSTRATION

Once there was a major power failure in the whole of Bangalore north. The street lights were not on, there was darkness all around. When we came to the church, there was full electricity. Everything is working as normal. The church invested in a generator that generated power. Even when there was utter darkness all around, we could function as normal and give light.

Today darkness reigns on the earth. The question is how do we find amid darkness, light that keeps us moving on, going on, and ministering on?

Jesus is saying that you all, the community of Jesus, and the church together are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

THIS IS ABOUT OUR IDENTITY IN JESUS – BE THE LIGHT

It is not about you trying to be something but it is what you are in Jesus and His kingdom.

The beauty of the gospel is that God makes us his people and gives us a new identity and a new purpose and God calls us to figure out how to work out that identity in the world. So our identity is in Christ who is the salt of the earth and the light of the world and we in our identity become that in the world.