Brilliance On Display

Brilliance on Display

Intro: 2 guys were carpenters, and 1 always was teasing the other, not repudiated to be very smart. One night he shined his flashlight up to the 2nd story of a house and said, ‘would you mind climbing up this light beam and get my hammer for me?’ The nitwit said, ‘hah, how dumb do think I am?’ ‘I’m sorry,’ he replied. ‘You’d better be, I know you too well…you’d let me get halfway up and then turn the light off!’ [Jerry Shirley, SC]

-Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. “Why,” he exclaimed, “when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things, I always went in the dark.” “Yes,” the hired man said wryly,” and look at what you got!” Some people change their ways when they see the light, others only when they feel the heat [Jeffery Anselmi, SC].

-Today, as you may have guessed, we will be talking about light. A few months ago we talked about when Jesus boldly stated, “I AM the light of the world.” In today’s text, Jesus used the same terminology for His followers.

-Matthew 5:14-16 14 "You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

-The main thought I’d like to talk about today is this:

Prop: Because our lives are on display, we must let God’s light shine through us.

TS: Let’s look at some basic truths about light and see how it applies to us.

I. You’ve Got Light

-If you are a follower of Jesus, you have light, and as Jesus said, you are the light of the world. You are not the source of light – Jesus is. However, His light is in you and He wants it to shine out from you.

-What can we observe about light?

Light is Visible

Light is Compelling- draws people

Light makes a difference in its surroundings.

Light reduces darkness

Light reveals dangers

Light illumines the path and helps us see

Light is required for growth (plants, people)

Light gives warmth

-Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

-Some of you can remember your dark days before you met Jesus and started a relationship with Him. Your life was not going in the right direction. Perhaps you were into some really bad things – way over your head in sin and darkness. But then along came Jesus – the Light of the world – and things changed. Your darkness became light. The darkness in your heart and mind gave way to the brightness of God’s love for you. Now you are light. You have the light of Jesus in you. What a world of difference! I still love to hear and see how people’s lives are changed by the love and forgiveness of God! It never gets old because it is a new miraculous, exciting work brought about by the Creator of Light.

-So that’s you! You are light. That’s your story – or at least it can be.

-TS: Let’s look at another side of it for a moment.

II. The World Needs Light

-Darkness hides the true nature of a thing. Light reveals how things really are. Some people like to hide in the dark. Some love the dark for the secrecy it allows them. They can get away with their deeds undetected. Some love the dark because it gives them a place to hide the shame from their past.

-Jesus talked about light in the book of John.

John 3:19-21 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

-This world can be a very dark place. If light represents hope, a lot of people are living in darkness. If light represents joy, a lot of people can’t see the light of day. If light represents what is good and right, then many people have a very dreary existence. If light represents hearing and understanding that Jesus loves them and has a future for them, many people are stumbling blindly through life.