The Light of the World
Notes
Transcript
If you have a bible open it up to Matthew 5. I have titled the message this morning the Light of the World. Pray with me.
Last week we looked at Matthew 5:13 Which said.
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
And what we seen was Christians are called to be the salt of the earth so they do not lose their usefulness. And we also said that Christians are called to the the salt of the earth because the world is in decay. And we are called to be salt of the earth. And to be the salt of the earth dont let the world pollute you, and the biggest reason I did not preach the salt and the light together in a sermon was so that you could see that we first must be seasoned and seasoned well in order to shine bright.
And this text is one that again wrecks me , the book of Matthew has been a great challenge spiritually for me, and i hope to you as well to make real change in your life. Jesus is pulling out all the punches very early in this book. As we talked about last week we can be salty but not the right kind of salt, and we need to learn how to be the salt of the earth.
I think the problem with myself that I have sometimes is my character has not caught up with my theology. And this idea of being salt and light together is where it is most effective. Be the right kind of character so your life can shine bright. An important lesson really for us all.
I read this from Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones this week he said.. Whether we like it or not, our lives should always be the first thing to speak; and it our lips speak more than our lives it will avail very little. So often the tragedy has been that people - proclaim the gospel in words, but their whole life and demeanour has been a denial of it. The world does not pay much attention to them. Let us never forget this order deliberately chosen by our Lord; 'the salt of the earth' before 'the light of the world'. We are something before we begin to act as something. The two things should always go together, but the order and sequence should be the one which He sets down here.
Now the text we are in today reads as this. Matthew 5:14-16
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
As I read you that text, what I want you to see is this.
Christians are called to be light of the world so others glorify God because of them.
Christians are called to be light of the world so others glorify God because of them.
How does this happen few points to take note of the first is this.
Christians can be the light of the world, because they know the light of the world.
Christians can be the light of the world, because they know the light of the world.
Just like we learned last week we and we alone are the salt of the earth, now we learn that we and we alone are the light of the world.
Jesus if you remember in John 8:12
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
So Jesus says I am the light of the world, and whoever follows me will not and he is emphatic here will not walk walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
This is important, so Jesus is is telling his followers if you follow me you will not walk in darkness. You won’t walk in the ways of the world, you wont be like those people who are not following me. You will have light.
There is this connection of having Christ in us that allows us to be this light in the world.
We know the light of the world because he exposed our own darkness. Last week I reminded you of this decaying world, and how Christians help it be a better place, but we need light because how dark this world is and how dark our soul is without Christ.
So Christ’s light and our light exposes darkness exposes sin. We will talk about in a moment how we need to use this light, but what we must know is Christ is wanting our presence to expose the darkness of the world.
Our lives should expose the darkness of the world around us. To show the world truly how dark it is without the presence of the light of Christ. Our lives should be in utter conflict with the darkness of the world that it exposes it for what it is truly is dark without Jesus Christ.
When we live our everyday lives it should look so different to the world because we know the light of the world.
Here is the problem of the day that we live the day the disciples lived in the world loves darkness. Don’t take my words for it, listen to Scripture.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
And the only thing that can get the darkness out of someone is to see how dark it truly be being exposed to the light of gospel.
Martyn Lloyd Jones says,” Light not only exposes the darkness; it shows and provides the only way out of the dark-ness. This is where every Christian should be jumping to the task. The problem of man is the problem of a fallen, sinful, polluted nature.
Can nothing be done about it? We have tried knowledge, we have tried education, we have tried political enactments, we have tried international conferences, we have tried them all but nothing avails. Is there no hope?
You must be born again. that man needs is not more light; he needs a nature that will love the light and hate the darkness the exact opposite of his loving the darkness and hating the light. Man needs to be taken hold of, and he needs to get back to God. It is not enough just to tell him that, because, if we do, we are leaving him in a still greater state of hopelessness. He will never find his way to God, a very simple one.
It is to know one Person called Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He is the Son of God and He came from heaven to earth to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to illumine the darkness, to expose the cause of the dark-ness, and to make a new and living way out of it all back to God and to heaven. He has not only borne the guilt of this terrible sinfulness that has involved us in such trouble, He offers us new life and a new nature. He does not merely give us new teaching or a new understanding of the problem; He does not merely pardon for our past sins; He makes us new men with new desires, new aspirations, a new outlook and a new orientation. But above all He gives us that new life, the life that loves the light and hates the darkness, instead of loving the darkness and hating the light.
Christian people, you and I are living in the midst of men and women who are in a state of gross darkness. They will never have any light anywhere in this world except from you and from me and the gospel we believe and teach. They are watching us.
Do they see something different about us? Are our lives a silent rebuke to them? Do we so live as to lead them to come and ask us, Why do you always look so peaceful? How is it you are so balanced? How can you stand up to things as you do? Why is it You are not dependent upon artificial aids and pleasures as we are? What is this thing that you have got?'
If they do we can then tell them that wondrous, amazing, but tragically neglected news, that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and to give men a new nature and a new life and to make them children of God. Christian people alone are the light of the world today. Let us live and function as children of the light.
And ill add to that because we know the light we can be the light.
And Jesus tells us how we can.
Take note of this as well.
Christians are to be visible like a city on a hill.
Christians are to be visible like a city on a hill.
If we are honest I think many us would be satisfied to live invisible not know to the world. Kind of hidden and Jesus command here is that we are not that. His command here is that we can be clearly seen.
We have talked about this as a church but we have a visibility problem in our community even on this street we are on. Speed limit is high, building outside of the small steeple doesn't stand out to look much like a church. And we as a people probably don’t do a good enough job doing what Jesus asks us to do here being visible like a city on a hill.
The people that Jesus is teaching to would understand what he is saying, because cities built on a hill often were built of white limestone, ancient towns gleamed in the sun and could not easily be hidden. At night the inhabitants’ oil lamps would shed some glow over the surrounding area.
Reading this week Isreal is full of cites on tops of hills. John MacArthur said this. I’ll never forget going through Galilee, and it seemed like every village you saw just kind of sat up on a little hill. I remember going to Cana, and seeing Cana up against a hill. And then further up to the left a little ways to the north, I saw Nazareth up on a hill. And all the little villages were set up on a hills. And they could be cooled on the hill by the breezes that blew in the day, and they could be more easily defended. And when night came, it was a very common custom for them to light a lamp in the house, and it just made the little village sparkle, and anyone who was walking through the night could easily find his way to the village, because he could see the lights sparkling on a hill.
So the point is a city couldn’t be hidden. Everybody knew that light was for the purpose of manifesting. And it’s amazing to think about the fact that a Christian would say, “Well, I know God’s light has shined in my heart, but I don’t see that I have any need to shine anywhere else.”
He would go on to say. We’re not Masons in a secret society. We’re not Pagans, with mysteries only for the initiated. We don’t have a cult known only to the few; we’re a city set on a hill. The whole world ought to see us. By the way, that’s why I love these doors that you can see through. I just love people to drive up and down Roscoe Boulevard and say, “Look at all those people. What are they doing in there?” We’re a city set on a hill. And, you know, we’ve got to be salt before we can be light. We’ve got to have the character and the influence before we have a message that is believable. So that’s the divine plan. That’s the plan.
We may not be on top of the hill or a fancy building where people can see what is going on inside, but let us shine so bright live out our mission for the Lord Jesus Christ so clearly that it appears as though we are a city on a hill. Undeniable for how bright we truly shine.
Next see this…
Christians are to illuminate life as a lamp does in a darkest of places.
Christians are to illuminate life as a lamp does in a darkest of places.
I remember when I first came here the light outside was burnt out and every Wednesday night you could not see anything it was so dim outside, I had to call the company to fix it and when they changed that light it changed the whole parking lot it changed the surroundings. Every thing was different the moment you stepped out of this building.
Notice in the text Jesus said you are the light of the world. You are the light of the world. he is saying that in the text that if you are a Christian born again you and you alone are the light of the world.
And he uses this illustration saying nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
This is a powerful illustration because look at what he says. You would not light a lamp and put it under a basket. That makes so sense because its going to do anything for you or anyone else if its under a basked. Imagine that light being outside and they just bury it would not brighten the parking lot at night.
Reading this week I found out what kind of Lamps Jesus was referring to. They were little terracotta lamps. They have a spout on one end, and a little handle on the other end, and a little floating wick in the middle, and they just fill them up with oil, and they just burn. They’re about three to four inches wide, two inches high, six inches long, you know. And they would leave them to light all night.
So they could see all throughout the house. And Jesus with these two illustration’s I believe hammer the point of if you are born again you will be the light of the world. you will be. You are going to be clearly seen like a city on hill, but also you are going to illuminate a room. Illuminate the world.
For us we cannot continue to hid in our homes in our safe places and not be the light of the world.
I talked last week about being useful to the kingdom of God like Salt the same applies to being the light of the world. A light unseen is a light that is useless.
Even look your phone most of you might even be on them right now and most of them have a light on it, and if you turn it on you can see it clearly, but if I put it facedown or in my pocket it won’t have any use at all.
Most of us need to think about how we can be the light of the world, and illuminate the places God has put us.
How do we illuminate the world by being like the beatitudes tells us to be.
This leads to my final point.
Christian’s good works testify to the light that is in us.
Christian’s good works testify to the light that is in us.
Jesus wants our light to shine in such a way that it is clearly evident that something is at work in us.
One man said. “If you are light then let it shine.”
The same man said this. [Jesus, our Captain and Model, did all of these things and more by bringing spiritual light into the world. He did not make the darkness darker he simply made it felt. His life was such that men and women were made to feel what they could not feel before their sin, imperfection, and impurity. Christ made possible a clearer distinction between good and evil. He eliminated the option of thinking ourselves good by comparison with others. He was and is the standard!
At the same time his perfectly beautiful life drew men and women to him. We are lamps, and the Householder places us strategically.
What do I say all the time only you can live the life has called you to. God may have placed you in a place where only you and you alone will be light there, don’t dim it use it.
You might even say Pastor, where I am is so dark, how can I have any effect, but the reality is where the darkness is greatest the light shines the brightest. Maybe its you and you alone who are the light where you work maybe you are the only light in your family, but let your works, and your life be so bright that it overwhelms the darkness. And you can only shine bright if you are living like Christ. ( He just gave us the formula to live like him in chapter 5.
Boris Kornfeldt who shared his faith with the diseased and sickly Alexander Solzhenitsyn in the Russian Gulag said God calls us to shine where we are.
"Brighten the corner where you are."
Thats incredible because you know what a Gulag was? It was a work camp with horrible conditions where many people died. And this man said Brighten the corner where you are. I so wish I always did that.
God has placed many of us in the darkest of corners, but let it be that our works, and our lives are such a way where Jesus in us cannot be denied.
I know to often just like you.. I ask God why did you put me here, why am I not somewhere else, why I am working late at night in a hospital or at this church or live in this area, and I don’t say that because I hate it I say it because like many of you I try to find my purpose in life, and God called me here and there and over there to be a pastor, worker, husband, father , friend so that at the end of the day I could salt and light in this world as long as he has me there, and the same applies for each and every one of you. You just have to say to yourself am I going to be salt and light where God has called me.
One man said. God has made us visible like a city on a hill. God has enabled us to illumine life like a lamp in a dark room. God has placed us where he wants us to shine to best advantage. Our presence is meant to reveal life, sin, and goodness as they are—to provide a light that draws others to it like a summer lamp.
Only you can live the life and be the light God has called to.
As I wrap this message, I want to ask do you know the light of the world?
I quoted this verse earlier but I want to go back to it reading a little more of the passage.
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
I preached this passage two years, and I want you to see the same thing I told you The Great I am came as light to the world so that his children would not die in their sin.
WE all have this sin problem that only the light of the world exposes and only the light of the world can save us from because he was flawless, and had not dimness in him.
And If you do not know the light of the world today. Repent believe in the one who lived a perfect life who died on the cross, and who rose three days later so that we could have life.
And not only did he come so they would not die in our sin we learned today he came Christians are called to be light of the world so others glorify God because of them.
Have you given your life to the light of the world, and if you have are you shinning that bright light in this world.
Be the light of the world.