How Long Do You Intend to Remain Hidden?
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· 45 viewsEncouraging Christians to let their light shine. Pointing out their complicity with sin by remaining silent.
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14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Jesus has called us out of the world and made us a light in the darkness. In this Scripture, He has compared us to a city that is on a hill. He states that we are a city of lights the that cannot be hidden. When he speaks of a city set on a hill, it is his intention for us to be the head and not the tail, but we have chosen to be the tail and not the head. We have chosen to tuck our tails and run and not be the light he intends for us to be in the darkness.
The world we live in is in great darkness! Sin is everywhere! We all know this to be true. It has come about because some call evil good and good evil; they put darkness for light and light for darkness. Many of these are the political leaders that we have selected. We have said we want them to rule over us and not godly men and women. The darkness in our world today is our fault. Especially in this nation because our leaders are the ones we select.
We vote for people that support the murder of innocent babies in their mother’s womb and not be ashamed, and then we wonder why our children can murder innocent children sitting in their homes with random gunfire and not be ashamed. We promote murder and take pride in it.
We vote and support people that promote alternate lifestyles than the word of God. We encourage fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and all forms of immorality and declare it is acceptable for our society. We support people that have no respect for God or country and want to rewrite the Bible.
Brothers and sisters, look at the world we live in. It is so full of darkness! Why? Because we who are the light of the world refused to be let, our light shine!
Has not Jesus said you are the light of the world? Where is the light you are supposed to let shine? Where are you people who claim to be of the light? When you go into the darkness to choose our leaders do you choose darkness, or do you choose light?
Don’t you realize that God has said that what’s done in the dark will come to light?
Let your light shine! How long do you intend to remain hidden? Are you ashamed of the gospel of Christ? Let your light shine! If not now, when? When do you intend to be a true ambassador for Christ?
Don’t you think our children deserve a better world? What we are passing to them is a world of darkness. Don’t you see that if we let our light shine, we could give them a better world? How can we do this to our children? Are we ashamed to speak out against the sin that is around us?
Jesus said,
38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
How Long Do You Intend to Remain Hidden?
You must not be! Because Christ tells us clearly that if we do not speak up for him in this adulterous and sinful generation, we will find a great surprise when he comes in glory with his holy angels.
Let us look at that again and remember that we are the light of the world; we must let our lights shine.
38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
What are we going to do? How long will we remain hidden? Don’t you realize the only way we can stay hidden is that we hide our light?
If we hide our light, is the reason is we are ashamed of our light? What other reason can it be? What excuse do you have?
If you are a servant of the Lord, and if you say you believe in Jesus, then you must be willing to stand out! He created you to be on a hill. You cannot remain hidden! You must not remain hidden! You must be willing to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Are you?
Jesus makes it clear that although we have a choice, we must not seek to hide in the darkness.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
There is no other way around this! If you and I remain silent and do not allow our light to shine, we have chosen to stay in darkness. If we stay in the darkness, we will be condemned along with the darkness. Jesus told us to let our light shine. Why don’t we? Is it because we are ashamed of the gospel of Christ?
Are you ashamed of the gospel of Christ? Are you afraid of what men will do to you?
There is nothing unique about this generation compared to other generations. All Christians have had a responsibility to let their light shine in their generation. Every generation has its risk for us as Christians.
The risk is the same in every generation Jesus said:
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
This is just one of the things that come along with being called a Christian. In every generation, we all must face persecution. That is the way God designed it. We are going to be persecuted, and that’s just the way it is.
He has told us that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33) and that
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
We have got to understand that we have a blessing coming when we are persecuted.
Jesus said,
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This is no different than what has happened in the past. When the apostles were brought before the political leaders in Jerusalem the high priest asked them,
28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
They were faced with some of the same challenges we face today. We speak about them because they were firm in the faith. We have the same opportunity that the apostles had. They even rubbed it in the face of the political leaders. They carried on and said with boldness…
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
Wow! They had just said to them, “didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name?” And they responded to their leaders reminding them that they murdered Jesus by hanging him on a tree. Why didn’t they just say they aborted his life? Don’t you think they should have been considerate of the acceptable ways of society?
Then they went on to say
31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
I don’t think they were ashamed of the gospel of Christ. I don’t think they were letting their light the hidden. What courage they had! And their names are written in heaven.
Let’s see what the leaders did then.
33 When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.
We must realize that what men may do to us in this world cannot affect our eternity unless we allow them.
All men can do is get us to remain silent and, by our silence, follow them as they lead us into hell with them. Satan is so clever and shrewd. If you don’t speak up for Christ, he knows Christ will not speak up for you.
Now listen, I want to ask your question, who are you more respectful of, man or God?
The people of this world are of darkness; we are of the light. We must stand for the light like Jesus stood for the light. He was persecuted for it, and we must understand we also will be persecuted for it.
We must not remain hidden any longer. Our children and our grandchildren will pay the price for our silence. The world we pass to them is a world of greater darkness because we have chosen to remain hidden.
Let me tell you something. The world is going to hate you anyway. No matter what you do, it’s going to hate you and persecute you. Satan has no friends! You cannot be a friend to the world and a friend of God! The world will persecute you anyway.
Now I want you to think. Since you’re going to be persecuted by the world anyway, would you rather be persecuted with God on your side or persecuted without God on your side?
As for me, since the world is gonna persecute me anyway because I call myself a Christian, I might as well let my light shine and have the favor of God. If I don’t let my light shine, I will experience the wrath of God for my disobedience. What say you?
How much longer will we choose to remain silent and in darkness? The Scripture tells us we have a responsibility.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
We are to walk as children of the light. We are to proclaim Jesus and be unashamed of him. He shows us a responsibility that many of us are ignorant of. He tells us that darkness will not be exposed unless we let our light shine.
We are complicit with the sins of this world because we do not expose the sin with our light. We are just as guilty as the murderers, the adulterers, the fornicators, the homosexuals, and sinners that don’t know the truth because we have sinned by not telling them the truth.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
Look at the 11 verse of Ephesians 5. How is the darkness exposed? By us letting our lights shine! Do you think the fornicators, the adulterers, the homosexuals, the lesbians, the baby murderers, the child abusers, the racist, the money lovers, and the exploiters of people want us to say that those things are wrong? Of course not!
They want us to remain silent, they don’t want us to mention these things, but we are to be the light of the world. We are to let the light of the gospel shine. If we let our lights shine it will expose their wickedness. How long do we intend to remain hidden? Are we ashamed of the gospel of Christ?
Let me show you something that is damnable for us and subjects us to the wrath of God, even though we are called Christians.
Paul said;
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
We have to look at this and recognize that if we don’t let our light shine, many ignorant men and women will be damned to an eternity in hell. How do you think God will feel about us for allowing so many who do not know the truth of the gospel, do things that will bring the judgment of God on them?
I used to use an illustration that I will repeat to you today. If there is a fire burning in this building and there is only one way out. What would you think of me if I knew the way and got out and left you here to be burned?
Well, let me tell you what God said about that type of attitude towards others.
17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”
Listen, there’s a lot more I can tell you about this, but I think I’ve shared enough. Now you know you are basically in trouble with God if you don’t stand for the truth.
The world will condemn you if you let your light shine!
God will condemn you if you don’t let your light shine!
Life is choice driven you live or die by the choices you make. What choice do you make?
I want to leave you with the question again.
How Long Do You Intend to Remain Hidden? Are You Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ?