Learning To Be The Light
In the past two Sundays, we've talked about finding out
Who we are...and knowing where we are going
This morning I would like to challenge everyone..
To learn to be the light in all situations along the way!
Gal. 5:13-15 MSG
13-15 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?
Isn't that the truth..
Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—
in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?
Learning to be the light in your world and loving on people,
And sharing the Love of God with others...
At times it's not an easy task
Did you know that some people are hard to Love?
Did you know..that sometimes you are hard to Love?
In both instances..it's usually because the flesh..
Gets in the way.
Who me? My flesh?
It affects everyone..it's called human nature..
I don't think there is anyone, who has never mumbled the words...
Oh..the nerve of some people
I can't believe my ears..and to think they
would say such a thing..after all I have done for them
That's the flesh, on both parts..raising it's ugly head
TBS. In Psalms 119:105 NKJ
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Sometimes we take things to personnel..
and we forget that it says..
That it's His Word..and it's His Light that does the work!
Our job is only to share it.. Amen?
If Gods Word and His Light are shared..they are More than capable of doing the work, they are released to do.
Our job is to release and share the gospel! Amen?
This little light of mine..
Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I'm going to let it Shine!
Everybody knows the song..
How's come no one wants to be the light?
Listen up church..
What we have, the knowledge we possess
Of the truth, the life and the way!
Is a valuable treasure and it's meant to be shared..
Not buried, hoarded and only kept to ourselves! Amen?
Matthew 5:14-16 MSG
14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
The treasure we have is to be shared..the light you possess
Is to be turned on and left on! Amen?
You might think no one will see it..
But if you leave it on, I'm going to speak some faith over your life and tell you..
Someone will see it..if you shine your light
in the tunnel of the world..that so desperately needs to see the light at the end of that tunnel..
Someone is going to see it!
Illus. by David Dewitt
In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere.
Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.
But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system.
At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn.
At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.
And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth."
The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.
So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone with 8-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who is not willing to be the light!
Matt. 13:44 NKJ
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Gods kingdom, Gods favor, Gods Mercy..
Everything about God is a valuable treasure!
Everyone is always on the look out for a good deal..and usually someone has a hard time, when they find one,
not telling someone about it, before they become the owner of it.
Bible History tells us, that such a find wouldn’t have been unusual in Israel.
You see, Palestine was a land bridge between Egypt and other great empires of the north and as a result they were often repeatedly invaded.
Because of this constant danger of invading armies and of common thieves, plus the fact there were no local banks.
Everyone would bury their treasure in the ground,
Has anyone ever hid something, only to have a hard time remembering where it was hidden, let alone finding it again?
In those days, the owners of the treasure would have to leave home in a hurry and never maybe never return.
As a result, family treasures could be forgotten or lost for centuries.
On the farm where I grew up, there was a story of lost gold and fortune.
old man Moore..had reportedly hid a box, buried under a rock, with $300 worth of gold in it at the time.
You could only imagine, $300 worth of gold at lets say at today’s value, at $1,500 per ounce.
Now we didn’t spend everything we had looking for it, but I will tell you, my dad was real keen on picking up rocks, out of the fields.
We never did find the treasure, but I will tell you, we had the biggest pile of rocks I've ever seen.
Notice the theme of Jesus’ parable
A man finds a treasure in a field
And so he sells all that he has to get the field – so he can get the treasure
And he does this joyfully.
He surrenders everything - because the value of ALL of his possessions pales in comparison to what he has found.l
It’s called the Kingdom of Heaven.
It’s the offer of salvation and promise of forgiveness of sins.
But it’s even more than that: It’s a chance to have an intimate relationship with an almighty God, through His son Jesus, who loves us very much!
TBS. Rom. 8:31-32 MSG.
31-32. So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?
Paul believed in this concept whole heartedly, so strongly that (in his letter to the Philippian church)
he tells of all the advantages he had BEFORE he became a Christian.
· He was a man of great education, power and influence.
· He had friends in high places.
Paul like a lot of people..
Thought he had it all
But until he saw the light..until he saw
And realized who the light of the world was..
He came to the realization..that he had nothing at all..
Until he had Jesus in his life! Amen?
There are those..who might think they do, but the truth is..None of us do!
Phil. 3:7-8 NKJ.
7. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
This is recurring theme throughout Scripture: the greatest treasure you and I can ever have is our relationship with Jesus Christ.
And the greatest thing we can ever do..is to be a light to this world In which we live..and to share the source of the light we possess!
Amen?
Everything else in this world will pass away…But Gods Love is Eternal!
It will never pass away!
TBS. “Nothing can ever separate us from the love of Christ”
Matt 6:19-21 MSG.
19-21"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or— worshr, e stolen by burglars.j
Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it?
The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
The whole world it seems, is obcessed with having enough, everyone is concerned about their piece of the pie!
That’s why Paul addressed it when he did, back in his day.
We don’t have to be concerned with ever having enough, because when we focus on God,
He will always make sure we have more than enough provision to see us through!
Matt:6-24-25 MSG.
25-26"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
If we just focus on building our relationship with Jesus and what He can do, instead of what were capable of.
Which if were honest about it, isn't all that much.
But With Jesus, the results are unlimited!
Walking in His marvelous Light and experiencing His unearned, unmerited favor, can in an instant transform and change your life,
Just like He did in Paul's life..the moment he saw the light! Amen?
He can do for you, in one moment of His favor, what you couldn’t have achieved in a hundred lifetimes on your own!
There never has been, or ever will be anyone else,
that wants to bless you, like your Heavenly father
wants to bless and take care of you!
Deut. 1:11 NIV. says
“May the Lord God of your fathers increase you a thousand times”
Our finite minds can comprehend 10, 15, or even 20% earnings.
But can you imagine, being a thousand times more blessed than you are?
A hundred fold blessing is like having a 10,000% return back to you.
That means increasing you a 1,000 times is like having a 100,000% return back to you.
That's Gods Amazing Favor on your life..
With His Light and Love Shinning on your Life! Amen?
And the Best part is..
that there's enough Light and Love..
to go around for everyones life..
That was, has, or ever will be!
While that may be impossible to fathom, its not impossible for God!
He’s the God of HUGE POSSIBILITIES!!!
He wants to increase you, promote you, and pour out His favor upon you, all day long, every day of the week!
And it doesn’t just mean material things — it means;
a thousand times more joy,
a thousand times more peace,
a thousand times more wisdom,
a thousand times more of everything in your life,
on you and your household.
The scripture talks about how you’ll live in houses that you didn’t build.
You’ll reap from vineyards that you didn’t plant.
I know it to be true first hand..
Because I have experienced it in my own life!
Unlike a treasure buried in the ground that has determined value it will achieve,
The treasure that’s laid up in the kingdom of God,
just keeps growing in value.
Keep your heart and mind open for what God wants to do in your life.
Be determined..
That no matter what, you're going to let His light shine
and reflect His image to others
and reflect His goodness in the world!
Illus. A. Todd Coget
Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between a spotlight and a laser beam?
How can a medium-powered laser burn through steel in a matter of seconds, while the most powerful spotlight can only make it warm?
Both may have the same electrical power requirements.
The difference is unity.
A laser can be simply described as a medium of excited molecules with mirrors at each end.
Some of the excited molecules naturally decay into a less excited state.
In the decay process they release a photon, a particle of light.
It is here that the unique process of the laser begins.
The photon moves along and “tickles” another molecule, inviting another photon to join him on his journey.
Then these two photons “tickle” two more molecules and invite two more photons to join the parade.
Soon there is a huge army of photons marching in step with each other.
It is this unity that gives the laser its power.
A spotlight may have just as many photons, but each is going its own independent way, occasionally interfering with other photons.
As a result, much of its power is wasted and cannot be focused to do any useful work.
However, the laser, because of its unity, is like an army marching in tight formation and is able to focus all its power on its objective.
We can touch our families, our communities and our world..
If we will just learn to be the light!
Amen!
