Let Your Light Shine
Text: Matthew 5:14-16
14 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.
Neighbor: IS YOUR LIGHT SHINING FOR JESUS
In the realm of gospel music, there is a smorgasbord of songs that refer to the shining of light. From our very youth, we are taught to sing “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine; let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” Am I right about it? And when we got a little bit older, we graduated into singing a new song: “Let your light shine, shine, shine; there may be someone down in the valley trying to get home.” We went from just letting our light shine, to letting it shine so someone could seeit and be helped by it. Oh I wish I had some help up in here. And then even that song stopped working for us. We began to get up in years, and we couldn’t sing those fast songs like we used to do, so we had to adopt another song. We started singing “Shine On Me, I Wonder If the Lighthouse Will Shine On Me.” At this point we are no longer concerned about helping someone else find their way, but we start focusing more on trying to make it on our own to where we have to go. Can I get a witness?
These various songs all focus on one central theme, and that is that we as Christian, as followers of Jesus Christ have a responsibility to the world to let our light shine.
Paul tells us in Philippians 2:15, that even in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, we should be shining as the lights in the world. But is the light of the church shining right now?
You see, there used to be a time back in the day when you could always see the light shining from the church, or from the folk who were in the church. Can I get a witness?
Church folk were always doing something positive in the community. If someone needed food or clothing, the church would get together and make sure that they had it. If someone needed a roof over their head, if the church couldn’t find them a home to live in, it would give them some blankets and let them sleep right in the church until a place could be found. If someone came up short on the money they needed to pay their bills, the church would be right there to help them. If there was a need for positive social or political action, the church was right on the frontline of the battlefield, putting up a good fight for the Lord. They supported the community and collectively let their lights shine. They were more than just talk back then. They let their works speak for them.
It was because of their good works, because of their good fruit, that people came to church. People would pack the church every Sunday that its doors were open. People would pack the church every night of revival all through the week. People would pack the church for Bible Study and prayer meeting. And if Bible Study was held at someone’s house instead of at the church, you can believe that there would be standing room only. Wherever and whenever church was going on, people were going to be there. Can I get a witness?
People didn’t mind coming to the church because they knew that the church had something to offer. They knew that the church was doing something in the community. They knew that the members of the church were living right and doing right, and loving one another unconditionally. They were letting their light shine and you could see Jesus shining in their light.
But, something happened. People in the church stopped letting their light shine. People stopped loving like they used to love. People stopped depending on one another like they used to depend on one another. People stopped caring about, checking on, and helping brothers and sisters in the community. The church became nothing but a club because it started keeping to itself and looking after it’s own members. It stopped going out into all of the world to spread the gospel and to do good works unto every living soul.
And sadly enough, all of the problems didn’t come from the pews. Even the pulpit became corrupted. Even today, preachers are being caught stealing money from the church. Too many preachers are being caught sleeping with somebody else’s wife or somebody else’s husband. And yes I said somebody else’s husband. But no I’m not talking about woman preachers. I’m talking about these dirty so-called preachers who are living lives that are an abomination before the Lord. For the Bible tells me over in 1 Kings 14:24 that sodomy or homosexuality is an abomination.
God did not intend for men to be sleeping with men. He did not intend for women to be sleeping with women. But he intended for man and woman to be fruitful and to multiply. My pastor often tells the story of how obedient I was when I first accepted my calling into this gospel ministry. He told me to go and study my Bible. He says I jumped right into Genesis. But when I got to the part about being fruitful and multiply, stopped reading, and I went and made me some twins. Now that’s obedience.
And on this 4th watch night, it’s time for the church to get back to being obedient. It’s wake up time. For Jesus tells us in the 14th verse of our text that we are the light of the world. So how many of you know tonight that if Jesus has already made this declaration, then it should already be so. Am I right about it?
But why is it not so? Well, the first thing that some of us need to do is stop pointing fingers and go to the closest mirror and ask ourselves what kind of light are we shining. Have I got a witness?
You see some of us have lights that are shining like the light of a candle. When there is calm or when there is peace in the air, our light can shine very brightly. We can do the will of God in a very conscientious and dedicated manner. We can help somebody out when we see them in despair. And we will even make an effort to feed the hungry and visit the sick.
But just as soon as there is a little turbulence in the air, our flame gets to flickering all over the place. As soon as we come under fire, we forget about every one else. We become unsteady and inconsistent in our actions. We no longer do God’s will with selfless conviction. And God forbid we go outside into the rain, or the wind start to blowing, because then our flame would go right out because we’ve not made provisions for the storm. Even though we were doing a great work unto others, we were not doing anything to help ourselves. We were not studying our Bibles. We were not going to Bible Study and prayer meeting. We were not paying our tithes even though God was blessing us. And we found ourselves out in the open, exposed, and unprotected.
But the Bible has shown me over and over again, that even in the midst of your wind blowing, even in the midst of your raging storm, you can still find some protection that will get you out of the storm. Every now and then, you need to take the advise of the song writer and go hide behind a mountain where the chilly winds don’t blow. Have I got a witness?
How many of you here tonight know that Jesus is that mountain? AND when you get behind Jesus, there’s no reason to lose your faith. When you get behind Jesus, there’s no reason to go astray. But just keep on holding on to His unchanging hand and He’ll lead and guide you in the right way. Am I right about it?
Some of us have lights that shine just like a light bulb. We give off a nice bright and crisp light. And our light may even last for a very long time. But it seems like as we continue to get older our light becomes dimmer and dimmer. Then one day, when we least expect it, we wake up and find out that we can’t even turn our light on anymore. We can’t even smile at anybody anymore. We can’t even give anybody a hug anymore. We can’t even shake somebody’s hand and ask them how they’re doing today. We’re just grumpy all the time and we don’t like anybody. We are just like a light bulb. Our light has gone out. Have I got a witness?
This kind of light is a temporary light, because we know right from the onset that there’s no way that it can last. And just like this kind of light, there are people who jump right into Christianity and right into the church and they try to do it all. They go all the way out of their way to try and show the world that their light is shining. But how many of you know tonight, that if they are working just for show, then their light is not even real.
Just like a light bulb, it is an artificial kind of light. And the Lord will not reward them for their kind of light. For Matthew 6:4 tells us to give our gifts in secret and God will reward us openly. And I don’t know about anybody else, but I’d rather do the will of my God and receive His reward than to go out of my way just to try and please man. Have I got a witness in this place?
The last kind of light that we want to deal with tonight is the light of the Son: the S-O-N. Jesus said that “I am the way the truth and the light. NO man can cometh unto the Father, except by me.” In other words, if you don’t have Jesus in your life, you don’t have any real light. If you don’t have Jesus in your life, there is no way that you’ll be able to see the God that I serve up in the kingdom of heaven. Because it is only through Jesus, that we are able to get closer to God. It is through Jesus that my God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has mercy on the souls of men. It is only through Jesus, that we can receive the true light that should boldly and brightly shine through us. Am I right about it?
And if Jesus is shining in our lives, the remainder of that 14th verse tells me that no matter what you’re doing, you become like a house on a hill, and you will always be seen. You don’t have to go out looking to be seen, but all you have to do is sit still and somebody will see you because your works will speak for themselves. What you are doing, if you are doing it in the name of the king, will not only be seen by Him, but it will be seen by the whole wide world.
The 15th verse goes on to say that no one can cover up what you’re doing. But every thing you do in the name of Jesus, shall be elevated like a candle on a candlestick. And that light will illuminate and shine in such a way that the whole room will be lit up just because you’re in that room. Have I got a witness?
So my brothers and sisters, as I get ready to leave you here tonight, I want you to understand that according to the 16th verse of our text, you are to Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
We as individual members of the body of Christ must start understanding that it’s not all about us, but it’s all about God. It’s not all about your name being spread all over the land, but it’s all about spreading the name of the Most High God. It’s not all about how many people or how many lives that I can touch, but it’s all about how many lives can be touched by Jesus. Have I got a witness?
And it’s sad to say tonight, but too many of these TV ministers are too busy lifting up their own names, that they’ve forgotten how to lift up the name of the Most High God. Have I got a witness? Some are too busy calling on the name of money and not calling on the name of Jesus. Some are getting your minds wrapped up in what you can do for self, instead of getting you wrapped up in what you can do for the Lord. Am I right about it?
But I heard, I heard, Jesus say that if any man shall come after me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me. Ain’t the Lord alright.
It’s not about us, but it’s all about praising God. For even Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, took the time to teach us how to give God all of the glory, and all of the honor, and all of the praise. Am I right about it?
For I heard, Jesus say, “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy holy name, thy kingdom come, and thy will be done. Yes, Lord.
It’s not all about us children, but it’s all about God. Ain’t the Lord alright?
If you don’t believe that it’s not all about us. Then I have a just one witness who should help you to see and understand that it’s all about the Lord. Oh Lord.
My witness tonight was the very first king of the children of Israel and his name was King Saul. Saul was chosen and he was anointed by God himself to lead his chosen people. Am I right about it?
But the Bible tells me that one day, God said to Saul, “I remember what the Amalakites did to the children of Israel. So right now, I want you to go down into Amalek and kill all of the people, destroy all of their houses, kill all of their livestock, destroy all of their crops, and all of their land. But when you come out, I don’t want you to come out with any thing. Oh Lord.
And right now church, some people ought to realize that if they keep on messing with the children of God, God will destroy them and all that is theirs. Oh Lord.
But the Bible tells me that King Saul went down into Amalek like God told him to go down. He started killing all of the people like God told him to do. But then, all of a sudden, the Bible tells me that Saul, forgot about God and got selfish. Most of the time, when we forget about, what the Lord is telling us to do, it’s because, we’ve gotten too high and we need to come back down. Am I right about it?
For the Bible tells me that Saul decided on his own authority to disobey God. For when he got to King Agag, the Bible tells me that instead of him killing the king like God told him to do, he decided to let Agag live. He wanted to show off who he had captured. But not only that, he decided all by himself to keep the best of the sheep, to keep the best of the oxen, to keep the best of the lambs, to keep the best of the fattlings. And everything that he thought was good he decided all by himself that he would keep it instead of destroying it. Oh Lord.
And don’t you know, that when you disobey God, things in your life, will never be the same. For the Bible tells me that Saul lost his anointing as king of the children of Israel. And in the end, not only did Saul lose his life, but his whole family ended up dead all because Saul would not do what God told him to do. Oh Lord.
I don’t know about you tonight, but I know for myself that I don’t want to end up anything like King Saul. And right now, we have to choose church whether or not, we’re going to let our lights shine for Jesus, or if we’re just going to keep on doing the same old things the same old way. Oh Lord.
But IF you decide right here tonight to let Jesus
…..back into your life
…..back into your heart
…..back into your marriage
……back into your relationships
…..back into your finances
……back into your medical conditions
…..back into your church.
I know He’s able to put a light on the inside of you that will never ever go out. Ain’t the Lord alright.
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