Let your Light Shine

How Bright Is Your Light?

We must be a bright light in a dark world. In the latter half of chapter 11 Jesus address the fact that he is preaching to an evil generation. A generation that looks for a sign and will remain in darkness because they don’t want to be in the light. After he tells them that Queen of Sheba who travel a great distance from the south to learn from Solomon and the City of Ninevah who repented after hearing the Word of God would rise up to judge this generation who first will refuse to hear the truth and two refuses to repent.

So Jesus reminds us who are the light in a dark word that we should not put our light in a cellar or under a bushel. Instead we are require to put our light on a lampstand so the whole world can see. We must be the light in a dark world. Jesus reminds us in Mathew

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. LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Jesus, after telling us we are the salt, and we need to stay pure so we do not lose our saltiness, also says we are the light of the world.

What’s the difference between the Salt and the Light?

Salt has to do with you and the Word and staying pure.

Jesus said if we lose our saltiness, we are useless.

Impurities cause us to lose our saltiness.

If we stay close to the Word, we will remain pure in relationship with God.

The light has to do with you showing God to others. Not that you are the light, but that God’s light shows through you. There should be a great light shining from every saint. Light is noticeable. When light is turned it changes the room from dark to light. Its the same thing when we shine our light in a dark world it moves it from darkness to light.

Not that you are the light, but that God’s light shows through you.

There must be a fundamental understanding light.

a. What is the Light?

The Bible said we are a city that cannot be hidden. (The Kingdom of God will produce light). Citizens of the city should produce light. How do we do that? We WILL reflect the light that comes from Christ. But what IS the light? Our Light is the Fruit of the Spirit. The very nature and characteristics of God Himself!

Citizens of the city should produce light.

We WILL reflect the light that comes from Christ.

Don’t get your spiritual gifts as light. Many time we think because we teach well, sing well, serve well then we are letting our light shine. Yes Jesus did say Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

But what IS the light?

The Light is the Fruit of the Spirit. The very nature and characteristics of God Himself!

Not spiritual gifts, but the fruit of the spirit.

Spiritual gifts are for building and edifying the Body of Christ, Spiritual Fruits are the characteristics of God, the light that reflects from us that act as a beacon to draw others INTO the body of Christ.

Fruits come from the Holy Spirit within us.

We represent the Kingdom, and God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Since we are made alive by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, let us then walk in the Spirit!

Let us reflect God’s nature and characteristics.

When you are saved, you receive the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirits fruits WILL be shown through you. It is God’s characteristics coming from inside of us because of Him.

This light from God is like the light from a city on a hill, and cannot be hid!

The fruits which come from you will show of what tree you are from.

Light Changes US

Nearly every time someone recognized Jesus and acknowledged Him as the Messiah, it was because of His acts of mercy and compassion. It’s no different today. Non-believers recognize Jesus in us when they see His love flowing through us. People see hope through the help. They assume that if someone is willing to help, then they may be a source of hope as well. It is our actions (Care), when combined with our words (Share) and our pleas to God to reconcile someone to Him (Prayer), that open eyes to see and ears to hear.

“Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.” ()

“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” ()

What signs and wonders did they want to see? The arrogant and unbelieving sarcastically asked Jesus to perform a magic trick that was either self-centered or for self-preservation – associating him with their own priorities. They were not compassionate and therefore did not ask for compassion.

However, those who were humble and expectant asked for practical help like healing or food. They were in need and simply asked for kindness.

In either case, the arrogant and humble were alike in one respect – they wouldn’t believe unless Jesus did something. Jesus refused to perform on demand if intended as a test, but fulfilled requests that were rooted in compassion. As a result, many who were lowly and oppressed witnessed and were deeply impacted by Jesus’ demonstrations of love and empathy, whereas few with superiority complexes got to see Jesus in action or acknowledged His divinity when they did.

The lesson from all this is clear – people won’t recognize Jesus in our lives and in His Church if we do not practice what we preach. Words are not enough – we can’t “outpreach” Jesus. Although He had the perfect words, He still led with compassion. Yet today churches devote less than 1% of their time, energy and budget to local missions. Sad considering churches followed Jesus’ model and took the lead in compassion for 1900 years.

The Light will allow you to be recognized as a Child of God…

People did not recognize Jesus was the Messiah simply because He told them He was the Christ, but only after He had done something to demonstrate His compassion and love for them:

John recognized Jesus, exclaiming “It is the Lord” only after He filled their nets with fish ()The two men Jesus met on the road to Emmaus recognized Christ only after He handed them bread to eat ()The royal official recognized and believed in Jesus only after his son was healed ()The man born blind recognized Jesus as God’s son only after He was healed ()The disciples recognized it was Jesus and not a ghost only after He saved Peter from drowning ()The city of Genneseret recognized Jesus for His ability to heal and brought Him all who were ill ()The woman at the well recognized Jesus as a prophet (and the Messiah) only after He conveyed an intimate knowledge of her personal history (; )Nathaniel recognized Jesus as the Son of God only after He showed He cared enough to understand and acknowledge him personally ()Mary recognized Jesus was not the gardener only after He spoke her name ()The Roman soldier recognized Jesus was the Son of God only after He died for our sins ()

What does that mean for how Jesus recognizes His followers and how others recognize Jesus in us?