August 10, 2025 A.M. Matthew 5:14-16
I quote Matthew 5:16 a lot but I honestly believe that it is one of the most important Verses in the entire Bible.
A. You see, John 3:16 is a powerful Verse because it tells us WHY God sent Jesus into the world, “For God so LOVED the world” and it also tells us of our NEED for SALVATION. “That none should perish.”
B. And then another important Verse is Romans 10:9 and it goes right along with John 3:16. It tells us how to be SAVED. How that we can keep ourselves from perishing. Confess with your MOUTH the Lord Jesus and BELIEVE in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. “Thou shalt be saved”
C. But Matthew 5:16 tells how that we can GUIDE OTHERS to Jesus and also how we can GLORIFY GOD.
You all ought to know it by heart. Matthew 5:16,
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
By letting our light shine, those around us can see our GOOD WORKS and by our GOOD WORKS we GLORIFY our FATHER GOD. The purpose for others seeing our GOOD WORKS is NOT for them to say how GREAT WE ARE. It’s not so that they will ADMIRE US. It is so that others will SEE God’s Grace in us. His UNMERITED FAVOR in us. God’s MERCY to us. God’s BLESSINGS upon us. Our LIGHT should shine BRIGHTLY and it should Glorify our Father in Heaven.
Let’s go ahead and read Matthew 5 Verses 14-16.
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Benjamin Franklin wanted Street Lights. You see London, England had been lighting their streets for over 300 years and he wanted Philadelphia to have street lights too. So Benjamin Franklin didn’t call a town meeting or try to persuade the people by talking about it. He DID something about it. He hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket in front of his own house. He kept the glass polished and carefully trimmed and lit the wick every night just as it was getting dark. The lamp helped the people see the pavement ahead and it made them feel more secure at night. It caught on pretty quick. Others started putting lamps out in front of their houses. The LIGHTS made such an impact that Philadelphia began installing STREET LAMPS in 1757. Benjamin Franklin let his light shine.
This morning I want to bring a message on the LIGHT of God that we are to shine in this DARK WORLD. But before we do let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
Brother _____, would you lead us?
I. First of all, we are called to REFLECT the Light of God.
As I was reading this it kind of struck me. We’re NOT called to be individual LIGHTS in of ourselves but to be MIRRORS. We are called to REFLECT the light of God.
Listen, God’s LIGHT SHINES upon all of us. God has given each one of us the breath of life. He has given each one of us AIR to breathe, WATER to drink and FOOD to eat.
God has given us our LIFE and He sustains that LIFE. Now do we take all of this in and do our own thing or de we REFLECT some of that LIGHT back out to the world?
In John Chapter 8, Jesus is inside the Temple Complex, and in Verse 2 it tells us that He was teaching the people. Now we’re not sure what the SUBJECT MATTER was or what point He was trying to make, but all of the sudden an interruption. The SCRIBES and PHARISEES from the TEMPLE DRAG a woman to the front of the crowd, right to the feet of Jesus and ask HIM what should be done. “What are we going to do with this woman caught in the very act of ADULTERY?” “Should we STONE HER? Because that’s what the Law of Moses called for?”
Well, first of all these scribes and pharisees didn’t really care about JUSTICE or the Law of Moses. Listen, if they really cared about JUSTICE, they would have came DRAGGING the man along with her. It does takes TWO to TANGO if you know what I mean. No, listen, this was all done to try to TRAP Jesus.
You see, if Jesus would have said, “You guys, let her go” then he would have been breaking the Law of Moses, but if He would have said “STONE HER” then He would have been breaking the ROMAN LAW against MURDER. Adultery wasn’t a Capitol Crime in the Roman Empire.
And so Jesus stoops down and begins writing in the dirt. What He wrote we don’t know but they all leave and there she is left standing there. And so Jesus tells her to go and sin no more. I guess she leaves, she walks away, and then Jesus goes RIGHT BACK to what He was teaching on. Look at Verse 12,
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
These people that Jesus dealt with here certainly weren’t reflecting His light were they?
These SCRIBES and PHARISEES were POMPOUS, SELF RIGHTEOUS HYPOCRITES who were bound for HELL. I talked about this last Sunday morning.
And this woman caught in the very act of Adultery certainly wasn’t a REFLECTION of Jesus. She was living a sinful lifestyle and was a terrible example to everyone who knew her.
These people experienced the LIGHT of GOD shining upon them. They enjoyed all the benefits of God’s Love but they refused to REFLECT any of it to those around them.
What a perfect example of the world we live in. People experiencing the BLESSINGS of God but living however they want.
A. You have those who are SELF RIGHTEOUS like these Scribes and Pharisees. They’re doing their own thing. They don’t need God in their life. They’re doing just fine on their own. They’re SELF SUFFICIENT right?
And all the while they ENJOY His SUNSHINE. EAT His food. BREATHE His air and drink HIS WATER. NONE of these things are their CREATION. They are ALL God’s CREATION. And these folks are so SELF RIGHTEOUS, instead of REFLECTING GOD’S LIGHT they ABSORB it. They take ALL OF HIS BLESSINGS and claim them as their own.
B. You have others like the woman caught in the VERY ACT of ADULTERY. Jesus tells her to go and sin no more. Do you think she listened? Do you think she turned her life around? We all like to think so wouldn’t we? We’d like to think it was a PIVOTAL MOMENT in her life, but was it? WE DON’T KNOW. I HOPE SO.
Listen, we can ALL relate to this woman. Not that we’re all ADULTERERS but we are ALL sinners. And God is calling us to “Go and Sin no more.” He is calling all of us to REPENT and COMMIT our lives to Him. Make it a PIVOTAL MOMENT. A point where our life is CHANGED.
But so many won’t do it. They WON’T REPENT. They won’t LEAVE their SIN BEHIND. And they WON’T GVE their lives to HIM. Oh, they’ll take the BLESSINGS. They’ll take the GOOD THINGS in LIFE. And so many of them will WORSHIP the CREATION and IGNORE the CRETOR. They in NO WAY REFLECT the LIGHT of GOD in their LIVES. I want to look at Romans 1 and we’ll read Verses 18-25.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
So how does this happen? Well,Verse 21 tells us.
You see, “When they knew God.” When God REVEALED Himself to them and DREW THEM to HIMSELF, they refused to GLORIFY HIM. They refused to REFLECT HIS LIGHT. They REFUSED to HONOR and BE THANKFUL for HIS BLESSINGS, and their HEARTS were DARKENED.
ILLUS: Just a little side note here. Folks, DARKNESS absorbs light, it doesn’t reflect it. And if you spend too much time around those who are living in darkness it will SUCK the life right out of you. Paul told the people at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 6:14 to not be UNEQUALLY YOKED TOGETHER with unbelievers. Why?
“for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
These people were walking in darkness and that leads me to my next point.
II. God’s LIGHT will PIERCE the DARKNESS.
Brother Shearl has been teaching these last couple of weeks out of 1 John 1. He’s doing a good job and he made a point last week about darkness. It’s never a good thing. God never said Darkness was good. And without LIGHT there is NO LIFE. And so that’s why God intervened. Genesis 1:1-4,
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Going on in Genesis 1, Verses 16-18, “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.”
God created the SUN to RULE over the DAY and He created the MOON to RULE over the NIGHT. In Verse 18 it tells us that they were GOOD. The THINGS THAT CONQUER darkness are GOOD. The SUN, MOON and STARS are GOOD.
A CANDLE is GOOD if it’s not hidden under a BUSHEL.
A STREET LIGHT is GOOD ... if it’s LIT.
But DARKNESS is never good.
So what is DARKNESS? Well, DARKNESS is NOTHING!!!
It’s simply the ABSENCE of LIGHT.
You know John the Apostle knew all about this subject. Think about this. He was setting there listening when Jesus was teaching there at the Temple. He saw this adulteress woman being dragged in. He heard the ACCUSATION against her. And he heard how Jesus handled it. He was there and actually heard Jesus say this in John 8:12,
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
He heard Jesus say in Matthew 5,
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
I believe that’s why when he was ready to write his BOOK, his GOSPEL, he started it by saying,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
ILLUS: I was reading about a CHOPPER PILOT during the Vietnam War. He was sent on a mission to pick up a fellow in the jungle. It was night and he flew with no lights until he got to the right coordinates. He then radioed the guy looking for the exact spot to touch down. He had no flashlight to guide him down and it was just a very small area. And so the PILOT asked him if he had any kind of light at all and the fellow on the ground replied that he had his ZIPPO LIGHTER. And so the pilot told him to light it up and hold it above his head. And the pilot saw that little flame and set the BIRD down there in the jungle with just a few feet of clearance on each side. The flame of that lighter pierced through the darkness.
And Jesus can PIERCE through the DARKNESS that so many people live in today.
A. He will pierce through the DARKNESS of SIN. I don’t care what you’ve done. Where you’ve been. Or how LOW you may be, God can REACH DOWN His mighty hand and pick you up.
I know this is true because that’s exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did for Saul on the Road to Damascus. Saul was out there killing and persecuting those who were followers of Jesus until JESUS SHOWN HIS BLINDING LIGHT down upon him.
B. And can I tell you something else? The Light of Jesus will pierce through the DARKNESS of SICKNESS and DESPAIR that even believers deal with. Listen Jesus will make a WAY as you TRAVEL down the HARD ROADS that come up in your life.
When SICKNESS comes and the DOCTORS have FEW ANSWERS and NO GOOD NEWS, that’s when the LIGHT of Jesus SHINES to BRING HOPE. How do I know that? There are people here today who have experienced that HOPE. Hope for a TEMPORARY HEALING HERE and a PERMANENT HEALING UP THERE.
When the DEPRESSION and ANXIETY may seem overwhelming, when SADNESS and FRUSTRATION may be standing in your way, the LIGHT of JESUS will PIERCE through and make a way.
And I want you to HEAR THIS. When other people just don’t understand, they just don’t GET IT because they have never dealt with it themselves, it DOESN’T MATTER because Jesus has been there, He’s dealt with it and He understands. And HIS LIGHT will pierce through that DARKNESS.
ILLUS: There was a fellow named Al Braca who worked in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He was an elder in his church. He was known as a Believer. Some people could go to him with their problems and Al would pray for them. It was September 11th, 2001 and he felt the first plane hit his building just below where he worked. The smoke was billowing up, his co-workers were getting scared and then they heard another boom. The other building was hit. Now it was almost panic. We know all of this because of the messages and phone calls that people there in that building were sending out. And above all of the FEAR and CHAOS a voice was heard. It was Al and this is what he said. “Folks, I’m going to Heaven, who wants to go with me.” And Al led a group of 50 people in prayer before the building fell taking all of their lives. Can I tell you something? People listened to Al because he had let his LIGHT SHINE and they knew he was someone they could trust.
I was setting there yesterday thinking about different people in my life who have REFLECTED the LOVE of GOD upon me. My Mama and Daddy of course. Pastors and Sunday School teachers that have made an impact on me.
And you know what else? A lot of you all have SHINED GOD’S LOVE upon me. You have REFLECTED the LOVE of GOD in your own lives upon me and upon others.
And I think that’s what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:16 when he said,
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Let’s Pray
