Shine the Light
Matthew 5:14-16
October 27, 2002
Introduction
You’ve probably noticed that the days are getting shorter.
Actually, the days are still the same length. They are 24 hours long, just like they’ve always been.
But the darkness is getting longer. Night falls earlier, and the light comes later in the morning.
Well, our society is a bit like that, isn’t it? It seems to be getting darker all the time. Sin is rampant, and is being lauded as good.
ISA 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil, who put darkness for light
and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
So what do we do about it?
We can rail against the darkness, complaining about it, or we can do something about it.
Please turn with me in your Bibles to
Matthew 5:14-16 (page 683)
MT 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
My intention today is to help us be people who do more than rail and complain, but rather do something about it. I hope you will be blessed, and more than that I hope that the Holy Spirit will quicken your heart and mind to helping the light of God go out into our world.
In our effort to do that, I want to look at what does light do, where does it come from, and how do we shine it.
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
I. What Does Light Do?
A. Gets rid of darkness.
This is pretty obvious, right? When we turn on a light, or shine a flashlight, the darkness goes away.
The point here is that darkness and light cannot exist together. They are mutually exclusively.
Are there still shadows? Only where something is blocking the light from something. But by definition, light and darkness cannot be together.
The Bible says in 2 Cor. 6: what fellowship can light have with darkness?
This is talking about more than physical light and darkness. The apostle Paul is talking about the darkness that resides apart from the things of God.
God and His Word are light that can get rid of darkness and confusion. The Word is truth, and lights the way in the darkness.
One of my favorite things in the whole world to do is tell people about Jesus, and especially when I have the chance to answer questions people have had about God, or to gently correct misconceptions a person holds about God or themselves.
Sometimes I will be visiting with somebody and you will just see the light come on in their mind and heart, and it shows on their faces.
I’ve shared this before, but one of the greatest examples of that came when I was sharing with a young lady about how she can go to heaven.
I had told here all this before, but this time, as we were talking, she just stopped and said, “You mean I don’t have to be perfect to receive Jesus as my Savior?”
I explained that no one can be perfect, and that Jesus does the cleaning.
Pow! She understood, and gave her heart to Christ shortly after that.
It takes a while sometimes, and a lot of the effort is just allowing God to chip away at people’s understanding by using His Word.
The other day I had the opportunity to tell a lady at my favorite convenience store about Jesus and going to heaven.
She had a question about her sister, and knowing I was a minister, felt free to ask.
She mentioned her belief that everybody goes to heaven regardless, and so I just shared a couple verses. I didn’t have time to go into a full-blown gospel presentation, because she was at work.
So I am praying that God will use those few words of light to help chip away at her misconceptions, and that later I will have the chance to give her a more full picture of how to get to heaven.
The idea is that the light of truth will get rid of the darkness of error in her life.
The next thing light does is that it…
B. Reveals what is hidden.
When you go into a room to look for something, what is one of the first things you do? You turn on a light.
Why? Because the light will hopefully reveal what is hidden in the dark.
Sometimes you have to get pretty aggressive with the light – grabbing a flashlight and poking around under the bed or in a closet where the other light is not reaching.
Anybody here play “Capture the Flag?” The idea is to be on the team that captures the flag of the other team without getting caught.
It’s played at night, because the advantage is in being covered by darkness. You have all these people running around like a bunch of commandos, trying to be sneaky.
It’s fun when you’re young. When you’re older, the creaking of your bones tends to give you away.
You are out when someone catches you with his flashlight. The light reveals that which is hidden.
But there’s another part to this. John 3:20 says – 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Any guesses as to when most crimes are committed? At night, when darkness is most present. Criminals avoid lit streets and parking lots, hoping that the darkness will cover their deeds.
You’ve probably heard the phrase that “new evidence has come to light” to help an investigation.
That’s part of the idea from this passage in John. It’s not just physical light, it’s recognition of something that was previously hidden.
The light of God’s Word reveals what is dark and sinful. Our world says that a lot of things are just fine. However, the Bible shines the light on that error, exposing it for what it is – sin.
Next, light…
C. Provides guidance.
It’s hard to see where you’re going when it’s dark, right? How many times have you cracked your shins on furniture because you didn’t see it when you went to check on the kids at night?
I’m not entirely sure about this, but I’m guessing that being able to see at night is probably the reason we have headlights on cars.
Some of you were probably thinking that the main reason was to help you in your off-season deer hunting on the highway, right?
Light illuminates the way. And not just in a physical sense. Listen to Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
In the same way, God’s Word lights the way for us, telling us how to be forgiven and have a home in heaven, and also how to please God and experience the full life God wants us to have.
And Christians need to shine the light of God’s Word. In their own lives, and in the lives of others, showing them the way to God.
Light also…
D. Gives warmth and comfort.
Light can give warmth, right? In summertime, especially, the light of the sun drives us into the shade, to avoid the heat.
Now I understand that it’s not necessarily the light that makes the heat, but the other way around. The heat of the sun in it’s blazing ball of gas is what gives the heat, and that light is just part of that.
But track with me here, okay? A small distance can make all the difference. If you don’t believe that, leave your tapes on the dash of your car on a sunny day instead of under the seat and see what happens.
Light can give warmth.
But what I want to emphasize here is the comfort light gives.
I’m guessing that just about everybody here has been scared of the dark at one time or another, even as an adult.
And turning on the light makes the fear go away. Why? Because we can see what’s going on. No bad guys can sneak up on us when the light’s on.
The Word of God can function like that. I have no fear of tomorrow, nor do I fear about the future, because I know how it will all end someday.
I don’t need to fear persecution; I know it might happen, because Jesus said it would. But I know that God will one day take His people away from all the trials of this world, and there will be nothing but peace in the presence of God.
I also don’t worry as much as I used to about everyday hassles like bills and such. One day, there will be no bills. Now that’s something to say amen to, folks!
I no longer fear death as I used to, because the Bible tells me what to expect after I die.
The Word of God can bring the comfort of God for the bereaved. Death is painful, and the people left behind go through a grieving process that is only understood by those who have gone through it.
Here we can look to God once again. His Word tells us that God Himself knows the pain of losing a loved one. His Word tells us that when we have no idea how to pray about something, God’s Spirit prays for us, with groans that even our deepest spirit cannot express.
And His Word tells us that even in pain, God is working for our good.
But let me interject something here: it’s easy to tell someone that. But it’s God who makes it real to the person going through it. We can count on it because of the promises of God, but it is God Himself who makes those promises real in someone’s life.
Christians can spread the warmth and comfort of God and His Word and we need to do it more intentionally.
Let’s sum up this section: Light has some functions – it gets rid of darkness, it reveals what is hidden, it provides guidance, and it gives warmth and comfort.
Do you see how, if Jesus calls us the light of the world, how we can interact with those around us?
I hope it’s something you are recognizing that you can do.
Let’s turn from the functions of light, and ask the question, …
II. Where Does Light Come From?
When Jesus calls us the light of the world, He assumes a source that is good.
Just where does light come from? Well, we are going to look at two different sources, and by the end of this section you will recognize something about them.
The first source is:
A. Jesus Christ.
Listen to 1 John 1:5-7 – This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
God is the primary source of light. We will look at another passage that describes this some more, but what I want to emphasize here is that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
There is no hidden side of God. Everything is Scripture is there for us to know and experience, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, understand, as much as our puny human minds can.
And this passage adds something else here: it is also an identifier of Christians – we walk in the light that comes from Christ. If you claim to be a Christian yet continue to operate in the dark of life, then you need to rethink you priorities and your loyalties.
Jesus is one source of light. The second source of light is…
B. Satan.
Hang with me here, okay. True light, the light of truth only comes from God, because God is truth.
But let me read a passage from 2 Corinthians: 2 Cor. 11:14 – And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Satan provides light for countless millions of people. It is a false light that stems not from truth, but from deception. I kind of think of like this: the light Satan offers is the “bug zapper” type of light. Know what I mean? It looks great, but by the time you figure it out, it’s too late.
What attracts people to this kind of light? It sounds good. It promises to give happiness and satisfaction with no commitment on your part (except, that is, a commitment from your wallet).
It is what everyone would like to be true.
Let me give you a few examples: this kind of light tells you that God loves you and what you do, and there is no such thing as right and wrong, so just do whatever you feel like doing, because God just wants you to be happy.
This kind of light tells you that all religions are equal, and that Jesus’ claims to be the only way to God is just a nice thought for white Americans.
This kind of light tells you that a person can channel the spirits of dead people and give them comfort and closure, even though in the Bible God expressly forbids this. Why does God forbid this? Because He knows the source of this! It’s not from God, but from the devil, masquerading as an angel of light, or truth.
Do you have any idea how many people will spend eternity in hell because they fell for the wrong light? They will fly right into the zapper, perfectly happy.
And by the time they figure it out, it will be too late.
One time in college, the local Catholic parish had a seminar about how to answer people who claim that you must be born again to go to heaven.
One of the criticisms was that these people lean too much on the Bible. They believe that the Bible is the final authority on these things.
The priest stated that we need to listen to what he called “lesser lights” who feel that we do not need to be born again in order to go to heaven.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I would think that we should be able to trust what Jesus had to say about the matter, wouldn’t you?
I asked the priest afterward, “If you can’t trust the Word of God, who can you trust?” If God got it wrong, how can a man claim he has it right?
We need to recognize the difference so we can avoid the bug zapper, and help other people avoid it as well. So,…
C. How do we know the difference?
Allow me to read John 1:1-9. You will want to read along with me, I think here, so keep your finger in Matthew and turn to page 750–
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
Jesus came to testify that He was the truth, and to show the way to the Father. He came down from heaven just so you and I could know the truth about God and how to get to Him.
Listen to this carefully: truth is measured not by social trends, not by opinion polls, not by current attitudes or beliefs about truth, but by the unchanging Word of God.
Jesus said He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him.
You recognize the source of truth by how it stacks up to the Jesus in the Bible.
Let me say that again. You recognize the source of truth by how it stacks up to the Jesus in the Bible.
Why is that important? Because people love to re-invent Jesus into their image, rather than the image of Jesus in the Bible.
“Jesus was tolerant!” they cry. They ignore the parts where Jesus condemns sin.
“Jesus was kind and gentle.” And ignore the fact that He fashioned a whip to drive out the merchants in the temple.
Jesus was kind and gentle, yet was firm about sin and its consequences.
The Bible is the standard of truth – anything that contradicts the Bible is not from God, it’s from the enemy of your soul who wants to entice you with pretty light, right into the bug zapper.
Know the difference, and help others find it as well. So,…
III. How Do We Shine the Light?
Let’s read our main passage again:
MT 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
I want to give you four ways to shine the light in our society.
A. Determine to not be hidden.
Jesus says that a light is meant to give light. We can’t do that if we stay hidden. Determine that God can use you as He sees fit.
Let the light that comes from an authentic personal walk with God flow out of you.
But let me give you a hint here. To be effective, the light has to go to where the darkness is.
You cannot be a person of light and stay hidden away from the darkness, so to speak. You need to be out where your light will make a difference.
Make a commitment to be someone who exhibits the love and truth of God in everything they do.
Next,…
B. Identify areas of darkness.
This is pretty easy in most cases. We can decry the social ills of alcoholism, gambling, abortion, or whatever.
But what about gossip? Especially between Christians. Gossip is gossip no matter who is telling it.
What about divisiveness, especially among the children of God?
If you see something that is contrary to the Word of God, it is an area of darkness.
But be careful that what you call darkness is darkness according to the Bible, not just your traditions or preferences. Make sure your standard is the Scripture.
But be active in identifying areas of darkness. Next,…
C. Bring the truth to bear on the situation.
Know what the Word says, and bring it into the situation in a respectful manner.
Be sure of your facts, so you can have confidence when you talk. Stay away from nice religious sayings, and bring the Bible into it.
I find myself saying, “the Bible says,” a whole lot more than I used to. Because it is more powerful than my words, and because I know I can’t go wrong.
Use the Bible whenever you possibly can. And then,…
D. Watch God work.
This is the most exciting part about the process.
I mentioned a while ago that it’s great to see the light come on inside someone when they understand the truth.
But that’s God’s job, not mine. Unless God opens their hearts, we might as well be speaking Swahili. It won’t matter.
Watching God use His Word to chip away at the hardness of heart, chip away at the wrong teachings they heard in the past, and chip away from misunderstandings about Him, it’s an awesome sight to behold.
And you know what? Changed individual lives will create a changed society.
We talk every so often about the political system and why we should be involved. And I believe in that.
But politics and government do not change societies, people do. And lives that are changed by the life-changing good news of Christ will change our society for the better.
So shine the light.
Special Application Opportunity: Halloween
I think we are all aware of the negative aspects of Halloween, and we are all aware of the concerns about it.
But I want to challenge you to think of how to make this a positive experience.
I’m not suggesting that you dress your kids up in scary costumes and send them trick-or-treating. But why not take the opportunity to shine the light into the life of one of the kids who come to your door?
For years, my family and I have hidden ourselves away somewhere, so we wouldn’t be bothered by these kids.
But this year, Debra and I have thought that we will be at home, leaving the front light on, and giving candy to the children.
We will include a simple Bible tract that tells the good news without being harsh, and in an understandable manner.
We will be praying that God would use these tracts to touch the heart of not just the child, but also the parents and the whole family.
We will also be putting in the invitation cards, letting them know that there is a church that cares for them.
Think of ways to shine the light of truth. Maybe you will have the opportunity to talk with someone about the true light that gives light to every man.
Conclusion
You know, we can rail against the darkness or we can shine the light into the darkness.
I hope that you will choose to shine the light.
Recognize darkness, shine the light.
Jesus said that we are the light of the world. And if we shine as He wants us to, people will praise God because of you.
Want to make a difference? Live in the light. Shine the light.
And may God be pleased to use you in the lives of people who are living in darkness.
Let me close with the words of Isaiah 9:2 –
ISA 9:2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Be part of it. Shine the light.
Let’s pray.
