William Sangster, the great British preacher, tells of one of the strangest taxes ever
imposed. He asked his father one day why so many of the homes in London had blocked
up windows. His father explained that back in 1695 every house that had more the 6
windows was taxed for the extra ones. Many people blocked up those extra windows to
avoid the tax. Imagine that, the government put a tax on sunshine, and by so doing they
shut out the quantity of light in many homes.
Man does some strange things with God's gift of light. John tells us that the life of
Jesus was the light of men. He was the true light that enlightens every man, yet when he
came into the world men loved darkness rather than light, and so though he came unto
his own, his own received him not, but they shut out the light.
Man in his folly resists the light and rejects it, but John says the light goes on shining
in the darkness, and the darkness cannot put it out. The sun does not cease to shine
because of the dark clouds that cover it, and Jesus does not stop being the light of the
world because of the dark valley of man's fallen nature that covers the world with a
blanket of blackness that blocks men from seeing the glory of the Gospel.
Jesus has a plan to penetrate this world's night of ignorance with the light of
knowledge. The plan is very simple. It is to advertise. Every Christian is to be a living
commercial for the Producer of the program of life. Most everybody watches TV, but
absolutely everybody watches the program of life, and this is where the Christian has a
chance to shine and be advertising for the Sponsor of history.
The church is the biggest business in the world, and long before Coke and Pepsi, and
hamburger businesses ever dreamed of going into all the world, Jesus made his church
international. Go into all the world Jesus told His disciples. There is no exception. The
Gospel is to be taken to every tribe, tongue, and nation. Christianity is to be universal,
and like any big enterprise Jesus knew there had to be a program with advertising of the
product. That is why Jesus said to His disciples, and says to all of us we have joined His
company of the committed: "You are the light of the world."
If men are to come to God out of the world of darkness, they have to see the light.
They have to have before them the evidence that the Gospel is real and valid. They need
to see lives that have been touched by Christ, and now radiate the love which He
expressed in, coming into the world, caring for the world, and being crucified for the sins
of the world.
Jesus saw the power of video long before TV was even a dream. He knew the best
advertising was not just audio; just the preaching of the good news. He knew men would
want to see the Gospel in motion. Jesus, therefore, launches His world wide campaign by
making every believer an advertisement for His kingdom. Your life is to be an
audio-visual appeal to the world so that by the power of sound and sight men in darkness
might see the light, and turn to God with a spirit of praise.
Without radio, TV, computers, satellites, or any other modern technology, Jesus
launched the first truly world wide advertising campaign to bring light to all who are in
darkness. The goal of Jesus is the same goal that all of your large businesses have today
in their advertising plans. The whole idea of a commercial is to portray people enjoying
the values and benefits of a product so that others desire is to experience those benefits
for themselves. I see a miserable sufferer of sinus congestion who is smiling and
breathing freely after taking a certain product. Naturally, I want in on that experience as
a sinus sufferer, and so I go to get the product, and when it works for me, I praise the
maker of this product, and bear testimony to others of what it can do for them. This is
the power of advertising, for it enlightens and spreads the word.
Jesus says we are commercials for God. Men see the goodness of our lives, and the
benefits of the Christian life, and our good deeds, and they are impressed with the
Gospel, and desire to be in on it. What a challenge for every Christian to recognize that
they are a key part of the world's most universal business. You and I are into advertising
for the Universal Power Company, better known as the kingdom of God. To better
understand our job we want to focus on two aspects of light that can enlighten us as lights
of the world. A salesman, or actor, or anyone dealing with a product will do a better job
if they are sold on the product, and are convinced of the value of it. Let us, therefore,
focus on-
I. THE NEED FOR LIGHT.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe was the last of the so-called "Universal men.''He was
knowledgeable in every major area of human learning. When he laid dying in 1832 he
suddenly sat up in bed and cried out, "Light, light, more light!" Then he fell back dead.
His last words were a cry for more light. He was one of the most learned of men, yet he
longed for more light. The cliche is true that the more you know the more you realize
how little you know. All geniuses know that their knowledge is a puddle, and their
ignorance is a Pacific. All men who really know cry out for more light. There is a
desperate need for answers in a world plagued with problems.
Jesus is saying to his followers that they help meet this need for light. Be part of the
answer, and not part of the problem. The world has enough problems, so don't add to
them. Reveal instead that there is an answer in Christ who is the source of all light. You
reveal this by your own luminous life. That is, by a life that shines and radiates a love for
people. The luminous life is the life that advertises the love and goodness of God. It is
easy to say, God is love, but people must see it to believe it. Does God care? Does
anybody care about all of the desperate needs of this world? These are the questions
that come to every mind at sometime or another. The Christian is to be the evidence that
the answer is yes, God does care, and He has provided a way to show it. The question all
of us need to ask ourselves is, are we convincing evidence to the world that God cares?
Are we good advertising, or are we so poor that we add to the darkness?
Jesus says the Christian who is a good ad is the Christian whose life benefits others
through good deeds. In other words, the world is not impressed with a Christian
vocabulary as much as with their visual display of love and caring. It is so easy to learn
to talk of love, but not show it. We can do it in relation to our family and to the world.
We see so many commercials where a celebrity says a product is great, but in the back of
our minds we wonder, do they really use it themselves, or do they just say these nice
things for a fee? We are skeptical and rightly so.
The world looks to the Christian life with the same skepticism. The Christian faith
sounds pretty good, but do these people just say all this good stuff to please their
Sponsor, who is God; in hopes of a reward, or do they really mean it, and live by the love
they so eloquently speak of? Jesus says the world has the right to expect the Christian to
reveal the depths of his commitment by good deeds. It is doing good that penetrates the
skeptical darkness of the world. As with Sarah Lee, nobody doesn't like doing good. I
have read of Mafia leaders who use money they steal from others to do good. Everybody
can appreciate good deeds. They may not understand theology, but they can see the
difference between doing good deeds and doing harmful deeds.
Even the non-Christian wants to see his children be good and not bad. Everybody can
be reached by the message of good deeds. That is a frequency all men can pick up, and
that is why the Christian must operate on that frequency if they expect to reach the
world. The world is not tuned in to which Bible translation is best; which denomination
has the best missionary program; or which Christian college is the best. The world can
only judge the value of Christian life by what they see, and if they do not see good deeds,
they do not see anything for their needs.
Good works do not save the person who does them, but they are a vital part of saving
the world, for they attract the world to Christ who alone can save them by faith. They
will seldom come to Christ, however, if they never see the light in Christians.
Advertising a car does not get people to travel, but it gets them to buy the car in which
they can travel. Advertising a cough medicine does not stop anybody from coughing, but
it gets them to buy the cough medicine that can stop coughing. So advertising of the
Gospel does not save anybody, but it brings people to Christ where they can be saved.
Good deeds are, therefore, a vital part of God's plan to save the world.
Seeing is believing to the world, and so Jesus says to let your light shine so the world
can see. You cannot convey the beauty of a flower show over the radio, because beauty is
not verbal, it is visual. So you cannot convey the love and goodness of God by the verbal
means only. There must be a visible demonstration that men can see. The world cannot
grasp the reality of the unseen realm of the spirit. But they have the capacity to see
tangible works of good. Not all Christians can speak effectively, but all Christians can be
loving, kind, and do good deeds.
Has someone seen Christ in you today?
Christian, look to your life, I pray;
There are aching hearts and blighted souls
Being lost in sin's destructive shoals,
And perhaps of Christ there only view
May be what they see of Him in you.
Will they see enough to bring hope and cheer?
Look to your light! Does it shine out clear?
Robert Louis Stevenson remembered how, as a boy, he would look out of the window
of his home and see that lamp lighter going down the dark street lighting the lamp posts.
His nurse called one day as he was doing so, and asked, "What are you doing?" He
responded, "I am watching a man make holes in the darkness." That is the job of all
Christians in this world. They are to be lamplighters making holes in life's darkness.
People need to see these holes to be aware that life is not all dark. The only way to make
people aware of hope is by means of light.
Light gives people a choice. If you had to go into a dark store and pick out a suit or
dress, you would not have much of a choice. You might be able to feel the kind of
material and the style in which it is made, but there is not much of a choice in the dark. It
is light that gives you a meaningful choice. The world needs to see that there is a choice
between the life style of darkness and the life style of light. If there is no example of light
before them, they really don't have a choice. They live in the dark and follow the ways of
darkness. It is only the light that can give them a choice.
In 1944 Switzerland did not want the allied bombers to bomb their territory, and so
they marked the boundaries of their land with lights. The pilots could see the boundaries
clearly, and they had a choice as to where they let their bombs fall. The world needs to
see clearly where the boundaries are between the life that will bring down the judgment
of God, and the life that will bring down His blessings and peace. The Christian is to give
the world the benefit of this choice by their luminous life, that is, the life that is pleasing
to God, and of benefit to man.
The only way the lost can become aware that they are in darkness is by seeing the
light. The contrast of their life with the Christian life can make them aware, and can give
them the choice they never had without the light. The need for light is the world's
greatest need, and the answer of Christ to this need is His disciples. He said to them,
"You are the light of the world."
The question is not, does anyone use a certain medium because you use it? Does
anyone wash with a certain product because you do? Does anyone go to a certain doctor
or dentist because you do? Does anyone drive a certain car because you do? We all
become a part of the advertising process for those things we like and enjoy, and which
feed our affections. The real question for the Christian is, does anyone praise God and
love Jesus because you do? Is anyone sold on the love and goodness of God because they
see in you the luminous life? The need is there, are you part of the answer? The second aspect
we want to focus on is-
II. THE NATURE OF LIGHT.
Light is very complex and paradoxical. Scientists do not understand the nature of
light. There's nothing quite like it in the universe. It is both a wave and a particle. It is
supposed to be one or the other, but it won't cooperate. It keeps acting like both, and so
science must accept light as it is. Light seems quite simple to us as we look at it, but it is
very complex. Light has all different degrees of strength. The reason you can have a red
light on in a dark room is because the photons coming from red light are so weak they do
not set the chemicals in motion. If only red light came from the sun you could look
straight at it. In fact, that is about the only time you can look at the sun, when it is large
and red, and about to go down. The ultraviolet rays that come from the sun are very strong,
and they can damage your eyes. They are the rays that cause sunburn. Other
rays, like x-rays, and gamma-rays are stronger yet.
The point is, light is complex and full of variety, and this has important implications
for both science and the Christian life. God made light visible, and He also made His
children visible. We are not all alike just as light rays are not all alike. This is important
to grasp because we can lose our sense of self-esteem and feel guilty if we try to be
something we are not, and strive to shine the same as another Christian we admire. The
study of light leads us to the same conclusion as the study of gifts. God loves variety, and
each of His children need to discover their gifts accordingly, and not try to conform to
gifts they do not have. They also should not try to force others to conform to theirs.
As lights of the world Christians will differ. Some will radiate with such strength they
will produce warmth as well as light. Others will be more subdued and not have that kind
of impact. There will be variety even in the same life. The radiant Christian will
sometimes not shine very brightly. They will be tired and run down, even as Jesus was.
And they may be angry even as Jesus was. Jesus, as the light of the world with a capital L
could become angry and create a storm in the temple as He expressed judgment on the
injustice of man. Even Jesus did not radiate love 100% of the time. Love was behind His
anger, but it was not love for those doing what was unjust.
The reason I point this out is so we can keep balance as we look at the ideals of this
great sermon. If we strive to live on a level of absolute radiance, we will only fail, and
end in a state of despair. This is not the goal of Jesus in this sermon. The goal of the
Christian is the same as the goal of the scientist. Keep working with light, and learn of its
nature, and develop it for higher ends. Science has done marvels with light in recent
years. They have learned how to use the power of light that has always been there, and
this is the challenge for the Christian to understand light so as to use its power more
effectively. In the realm of science man has discovered the laser beam. It is simply light
developed to a higher power.
Ordinary light comes off the light bulbs with all the different wave links mixed
together. It is just a mass of variety all mixed up. Laser light is different. There is no
mixture. It is light waves all on the same frequency. It is pure light not mixed up with all
the others in degrees and colors. It's oneness is the source of its power. It is
concentrated light. Regular light goes off in all directions, but laser light all goes the
same direction. Regular light is more like a mob, but laser light is like a column of
soldiers marching with precision. It sticks together, and with the power and unity it
strikes its object. Because of the oneness and unity of the laser beam it can be focused
with such precision that man has been able use it to heat a cup of coffee a 1000 miles
away.
There are many marvelous things men can do with this form of light in medicine,
industry, and in the military. The so-called death-ray is a reality. The point is, what is
true in the natural realm is also true in the realm of the spirit. Jesus said that He is the
light of the world. Then He tells His disciples that they are the light of the world. Does
this mean Christians are equal to Christ? Not at all. No more than general light is equal
to laser light. Jesus is pure light. He is one and consistent, and thus, powerful light. God
is light and in Him is no darkness at all. In us there is still the shadow, if not the night.
We are visible and inconsistent, and thus, we cannot penetrate as the light of Jesus does.
The Lord is the laser, and we are the regular light. But regular light is all that is
necessary for the primary task of the Christian in the world. All regular light needs to do
is help people see the Laser in Christ.
Jesus is the light people must come to for laser power. He alone can cut out the sin of
their lives. He alone can heal their blindness. He alone can penetrate to their innermost
soul and bring healing. Our task is to help the world see what Jesus can do. Advertising
does not do the job of the product. It just points to the product. Christians are not the
saving and healing light. They are the light that points the world to Him. Jesus does not
say that when the world sees your good works they will praise you and honor you. They
will praise God and glorify Him, for if you do your job right, the glory will go to Him.
Your light is to point to Him, and not yourself. You are not the answer to the world's
darkness, but Jesus is, and only as you point men to Him are you part of the answer.
The light from a lighthouse does not save the drowning sailors. That light just shows
the way to go to be saved. If they do not get to land they will drown in spite of the light.
So the Christian cannot save the lost sinner. He can only point to the one who can. The
poet wrote,
The world is in a crisis today.
The powers of hell are set in stern array.
Men are blind and cannot find the way.
Christ, our Lord, will help us in our plight.
Christ, for the Crisis! He is the Source of Light.
You and I are like Andrew coming to Peter his brother, and saying, "We have found
the Messiah. Come and see." We point to Jesus, but the only reason they have to listen
to us is because we reflect His light and enable them to see there is power in Him. There
is a lot to complain about in the world, for the power of darkness is great, but let's
remember the only reason there is need for light is because of the darkness. If the world
was not a rotten place, there would be no need for Christians to be the salt of the earth.
If the world was not a place of darkness, there would be no need for Christians to be the
light of the world. So the point is, don't wine, but shine.
His lamps are we
To shine where He shall say;
And lamps are not for sunny rooms,
Nor for the light of day,
But for dark places of the earth,
Where shame and wrong and crime have birth;
Or for the murky twilight gray,
Where wondering sheep have gone astray;
Or where the light of faith grows dim,
And souls are groping after Him;
And as sometimes a flame we find,
Clear shining through the night
So bright we do not see the lamp,
But only see the light,
So we may shine-His light the flame,
That men may glorify His name.
Author unknown.
You are the light of the world. The question we all have to ask ourselves is, are we
hidden light, or are we helping light? Does anyone in the world love Christ and praise
God because of our life?
