YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!
Matthew 5:14-16
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: YOUNG PREACHER TONGUE TIED
1. Preaching his first sermon, the seminary student had written a thoughtful line in his sermon, “God called me to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out the devil.”
2. But in his nervousness, it came out like this: “God called me to heal the dead, cast out the sick, and raise the devil.”
3. He got three glad “Amens;” one from an overworked mortician, an HMO exec, and a hippie.
B. TEXT
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither 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. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.
C. THESIS
1. Robert Lewis Stevenson, as a boy, was looking out the window watching a workman come by and light the gas lights along the street. When asked what he was watching, the young boy said, “I see a man making holes in the darkness.”
2. In John 9:5 Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” But Jesus couldn’t stay here, so He has appointed US to be the ‘light of the world’ in His place.
3. The title of this message is, “You are the Light of the World!” The Lord commands that WE be light in three ways:
I. SHINE TO GUIDE (v. 14)
A. A METAPHOR OF THE TRUTH
1. Light is a very common metaphor in the Bible. Along with darkness, light is often used to contrast knowledge and ignorance.
2. Here, it almost certainly stands for the world’s opportunity to perceive the truth about Jesus. The world is “in the dark” about God, but Christians “turn on the light.”
3. Light allows people to see. We can’t see without light. Christians show the world how much God loves them and what Jesus has done to restore their relationship with him.
B. LIGHT ILLUMINATES THE WAY
1. We are meant to be conspicuous to others; “A city set on a hill cannot be hid.” Other’s eyes are to be upon us. A light bulb has no other purpose, nor do we! God takes obscure men & women, dignifies them with His character and puts them on display.
2. Lights are used to mark streets. Ever been through a town when the power was out? It’s very confusing and unnerving. Airport runways are marked with landing lights. Ports have their channels marked by channel markers.
3. All these lights show the way to the desired destination. In the same way we Christians are to mark the way to heaven/ Jesus. If people follow our example, they should be able to please God.
C. TAKING THE MORAL LEAD
1. Christians must set the example. Suppose there is a group of people and someone suggests some they do some bad things. Unless someone speaks up and protests, the wrong action will be acted upon.
2. But if someone rises and says, “I will not be a party to that,” then another may rise to say, Neither will I.” Christians must take the lead and not remain silent.
3. Many people in this world do not have the moral strength to take a stand by themselves, but if someone shows them the way, they will follow. It’s the Christian’s duty to take a stand.
D. EVEN DIM LIGHTS STAND OUT
1. One of the great things about camping out in the country is that you can get away from the city lights and really see the stars. Away from the city, a full moon is bright enough to find your way around in the dark. The sky is full of light from the stars.
2. In a world of darkness, we are those who reflect the light we have found in Jesus. But Jesus’ point is that we aren’t just to shine our lights in our own little circle of influence, but we are to shine them so that every place of darkness is either brought to the light or is exposed for what it is.
3. “Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life” Phip. 2:14-16.
E. OUR LIGHT: ONLY HOPE FOR THE WORLD
1. G. Campbell Morgan said that “the church did the most for the world when the church was the least like the world.” Today, many churches have the idea they must imitate the world in order to reach the world.
2. A nation will not decay and collapse because of the people who peddle pornography or illicit drugs, but because of Christians who are no longer as salt and light. Sinners will act like sinners.
3. When saints begin acting like sinners, their compromise hurts not only themselves and their families and churches, but also contributes to the decay of the entire nation. Are you convicted yet?
4. A second purpose of light is to:
II. SHINE TO WARN (v. 15)
A. WARNING LIGHTS
1. Lights are often used to warn us that danger is ahead. Intersections are marked with flashing yellow or red lights. When vehicles break down, we put flares in the road. Police cars, wreckers, fire trucks and ambulances are covered with warning lights. For airplanes, there are warning lights on top of all the tall structures so the pilots are alerted to the danger.
2. We Christians are to be the warning lights to unbelievers. This doesn’t mean we’re to be standing around with a flashing light, rather we’re to “speak the truth in love” Eph. 4:15.
3. It’s the Christian’s duty to warn those around us. This is often hard to do it in a way which will not do more harm than good.
4. It was said of Florence Allshorn, the famous teacher and principal, that if she ever had occasion to rebuke her students, she did it “with her arm around about them.” If our warnings are given – not in anger, or irritation, or criticism, or condemnation, but in love, they will be effective.
B. SCRIPTURAL ENCOURAGEMENTS
1. “Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt” Lev. 19:17.
2. “Better is open rebuke than hidden love” Prov. 27:5.
3. “He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue” Prov. 28:23
4. “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” Rev. 3:19
5. We are told not to put our light under a bowl: not to conceal the light. Don’t hide your Christianity! Light exposes things that are hidden in darkness. We too are to speak in those moments when we become aware of wrongdoing. We are charged with warning the unruly, 1 Thess. 5:14; Col. 1:28.
C. DANGER OF INSUFFICIENT WARNING
1. One dark night a man was driving through Amish country when he suddenly encountered a black horse-drawn carriage slowly clattering down the road, half on the shoulder and half on the blacktop
2. Only a swaying kerosene lantern glowed in the back to warn him of its presence. He had only moments to swerve into the unoccupied lane in order to avoid an accident. As he drove past he realized how easily he might have smashed into the rear of the carriage and killed its occupants.
3. He concluded that since Amish drivers have never driven automobiles, they don’t understand the danger that high speed vehicles pose to them in the dark. Many around us don’t know the danger they’re in, so our job is to give them warning.
III. SHINE TO GLORIFY GOD (v. 16)
A. WITNESS BY WORKS
1. It is not only our words that should teach the Gospel, but also our actions/ lifestyle. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words.” His point was that it should NOT be our words that preach the Gospel, but our actions!
2. In a world filled with non-stop rhetoric, actions speak louder than words! People will not be convinced by our words (“talk is cheap”), they’ll be convinced of Christ’s reality by our good works.
B. WHAT ARE GOOD DEEDS?
1. First, “good works” means doing the right thing and not the wrong thing in every circumstance.
2. Secondly, “exemplary actions” to lost people would mean doing the sacrificial thing, preferring others before yourself. If both of you arrive at the parking spot at the same time, let the other person have it. If people are waiting to enter a clogged lane, let one in ahead of you. One A/G pastor used to always say, “You can really tell how Christian someone is when they’re driving.”
3. Thirdly, be a giver instead of a taker. If you see someone in need, give them some money. If they need food, take them to the store I buy some for them. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be [recognized as] sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” Luke 6:35.
4. Fourth, be a server. Serve people. If we have no other way of doing good – say, if we’re poor & uneducated, we still can do good by our lives. No sincere and humble Christian lives in vain. The feeblest light at midnight is of use.
5. Ordinary people don’t do these things, so your behavior will be perceived as that of a child of God. The Life of Christ in you will be revealed.
C. GENUINE DEEDS WILL GLORIFY GOD
1. When we do good works, we should be careful to point people to God who inspired them, lest the recipients give us the credit, instead of God.
2. Jesus’ admonition was, “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We must be careful to give God the glory for everything He enables us to do. “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives” Prov. 27:21.
D. ILLUSTRATION
1. It is said of Robert McCheyne, a godly Scottish minister of the last century, that his face carried such a Christ-like expression that people were known to fall on their knees and accept Jesus Christ as Savior when they looked at him. Others were so attracted by the self-giving beauty and holiness of his life that they found his Master irresistible.
2. It was also said of the French pietist Francois Fenelon that his communion with God was such that his face shined with divine radiance. An atheist, who was compelled to spend the night in an hotel with Fenelon, hurried away the next morning, saying, “If I spend another night with that man I’ll be a Christian in spite of myself.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Joseph Mazzella was wondering “How do you build a better world?” He thought, though, that he was given a part of the answer just the other day.
2. “My brother had just cleaned out his closet. It was something I needed to do as well even though I was afraid I might get lost in there and not find my way back out. When he brought over some of the extra clothes to my Dad’s house, he asked me to look through them and see if there was anything I could use. I ended up just picking out a few pair of short pants to replace my worn out cut off jeans. I couldn’t see keeping more clothes that I didn’t need. I volunteered instead to take the rest of them over to the Goodwill store and donate them for him.”
3. “I loaded his clothes in the back of my car and then decided to brave the clutter of my own closet to add to his donation. It was a scary sight opening that door. The mess was tremendous.
4. “Still, the thought of doing something good for another spurred me on and kept me going. It took a long
time, but I got it done. I was left with a much emptier closet, but a much fuller heart. As I carried my own bags of clothes to add to my brothers I couldn’t help but smile. It was then that I saw how we all can go about building a better world.
5. “We can do it one kind act at a time. We can do it one gift of charity at a time. We can do it one shared smile at a time. We can do it one uplifting word at a time. We can do it one heartfelt hug at a time. We can even do it one donated shirt at a time. We can build a better world with each act of love we share and good thing we do. We can do it with helpful hands and caring hearts. We can do it with cheerful spirits and joyous souls. We can do it knowing that God and His angels are smiling down upon us and helping us every step of the way.”
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Who are some of the “lights” God used to draw you to Him? How did they impact your life?
2. How bright is your light for Christ? What steps can you take to brighten the witness of your actions in the week ahead? Be specific.
3. List out some of the people who need to see the light of Christ in your life. Pray for specific opportunities to encourage, bless, and serve them today.
4. You are the light of the world. As you live out His goodness visibly in front of the people of the world, your life will point them to Jesus where they too can find real life. PRAYER.
