Good morning. Before I begin, I want to make note that there is an outline on the back of the bulletin, that you can follow along with and maybe fill out.
(Read Matthew 5:14-16) “1”
Well, we have already established that we are all called to be lights in a dark world. Last week we began looking at these 2 lamps behind me. And we realized that there were some connection breakdowns in the one light that caused it to not shine the way that it is supposed to. Here is a quick review of last week:
We said that the Source is God, which means we need to look upward in order to see the Eternal Connection. We looked at John chapter 15 and the fact that the vine is the source that supplies the branches with everything, and we compared that to how God is that source that supplies our everything.
We also looked at how if you take away the source of power, you lose what the light is meant for. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” And we ended by looking at how people try to hook into sources that are not God, and we saw how that did not light up the light either, but that only when hooked to the proper source, does the light shine.
So, today we move on to see what the next connection breakdown might be. Before we go on though, let’s open with a word of prayer.
Today we are going to look at our personal decision to follow God and to be a light for Him. God gives us free will, and with that we have to make the decision to turn ourselves on. So, the Switch is Self, which means we need to Look Inward in order to see the Internal Connection.
So we are plugged into the source, which is the Eternal Connection, we now need to make the Internal Connection, which involves the decision to turn on at the switch. Our freedom to burn bright comes when we make a decision to turn our lives over to Christ so that we can be lights in His name.
Harry Houdini had a problem. The famed escaped artist found himself in a jail cell that he couldn’t get out of. His mind began to wander back to the challenge he made…any jail cell, he claimed, couldn’t hold him, that is until now.
30 minutes had gone by since the heavy, metal doors swung shut behind him. After an hour, he was still working with the concealed piece of metal that he had hidden in his belt. Bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, he couldn’t get the lock to move. There was something different about this lock. Something he had never experienced before.
Finally, after laboring for 2 hours, Houdini collapsed to the floor in frustration and failure. He couldn’t figure it out! He had never been beaten before! All he could do is wait for his ultimate embarrassment. He hung his head in shame.
But as he did something miraculous happened. When he hung his head, he instinctively leaned against the heavy, metal door…and it swung open. You see, the door was never locked, just closed. The door had been open the whole time.
For Houdini, his mind overruled the physical. His mind was locked, and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of that jail cell.
From that point on, Houdini always checked the door first.
Last week, we talked about being hooked to the source of God’s power. This week we are looking at the fact that it is going to be a matter of choice if we are going to shine for God or not, and that choice is up to us.
If we do not choose to shine like Christ during the most challenging times in our lives, then we’re just sitting in a jail cell throwing our heads against the wall in disbelief while the door is wide open.
Free will is nothing more than God giving us the ability to make our own choice. Freedom comes when we choose Christ and choose to be light in the darkness. Failure is inevitable when we don’t. But, our free will can be a gift as much as a curse! The choice remains ours.
The door is not locked. In fact, the door is wide open. If you make the decision to shine brightly for Christ, then you can.
So let’s look at the passage that we began with. The words “let your light shine” in verse 16 are the translation of a single Greek verb “lampsato,” which means that it is a command. Now, there are 4 things about being “Called to be Light” that I want to look at this morning.
First, There Is A Call To Answer
As we consider “the light” we need to note that we have a 4-fold call or responsibility to the light. First, there is the call to come to the light. Jesus was and is the source of light. And in John 3:19-21 we read about that. Here in John 3:19-21 it says, “2”
Secondly, we are called to receive the light. It is not enough to merely be exposed to the light, we have a choice to respond to the light. Here again we see the importance of making a choice to accept the light. We can either come to the light or reject the light. In John 1:12 we read “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--” To accept the light means that we become children of God.
Third, once we have received the light then we are called to walk in the light. Paul reminds believers in Ephesians 5:8, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” We were once darkness, but now we are light in the world. How are we to live then? We are to live as children of the light. Following in the footsteps of Christ, and trying to shine like He did.
Fourth, we are called to do just that. We are called to reflect the light. That of course is the central message of Matthew chapters 14-16. In John 9:5 Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” But when Jesus returned to Heaven he left Christians with the responsibility to be the light of the world. In the same way that the moon merely reflects the light of the sun, Christians are to reflect the light of the SON as well.
Our lives should be lives that reflect something different than what the world has, because quite simply we have something that the world doesn’t have, Jesus. The Call can be summarized this way – If you are in the darkness come to the light. If you are saved, then make a difference in the darkness.”
After you have chosen to answered the call to come to the light… Secondly, There Is A Testimony To Be Shared
“A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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.”
Jesus tells us what we are …light. Light is a visible and revealing influence. We are called to make a visible impact on the world around us. Now, we cannot lose what we are, but we can hide what we are. We can waste what we are. There is a testimony to be shared and that is that we are light. God is sharing that testimony with us trying to urge us to be light. This is the testimony that God shares’ telling us what light is and what it does. Then…
Third, There Is A Choice To Be Made
“In the same way, let your light shine before men…"
Evidently there is some choice involved because it says, “let” your light shine. Verse 15 described a situation that we would never do in the physical world, light a lamp and place it under a bowl, yet we do that spiritually all the time and don’t even realize it. The believer often allows their spiritual light to be hidden.
What do we allow to hide our light? For some Christian’s there light is hidden under the basket of fear. We may be like Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple. We are Christian’s but no one around us knows it.
For some Christian’s there light is hidden under the basket of apathy, they just don’t care. For some Christian’s there light is hidden under the basket of silence. We are silent and so no one knows that we are Christians. For some Christian’s there light is hidden under the basket of inconsistency.
Most of you have probably seen a glow in the dark object. One man had such an object, so he took it into a dark area to try it out, but it didn’t glow. So he took it back into the light and read the imprint on the side, “If you want me to shine in the night, keep me in the light.” Well, if we want our lives to shine for the Lord in the darkness, then we have to keep ourselves in the light. And to do that, we have to choose that.
Not only is there a choice to be made, but… Fourth, There Is A Purpose to be Considered
The rest of verse 16 says, “That they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Jesus did not say to live our lives in such a fashion that people will see our good deeds. A lamp does not call attention to itself. It is simply placed on a lamp-stand from which it will give the best illumination. It is not always easy to perform “good works” in such a way that people will always praise God rather than the one performing the act, but it is still commanded of us. We are not called to be magnificent chandeliers for the whole world to admire. We are called to be the little nightlight in the hallway to keep people from breaking their necks when they get up in the middle of the night! He called us to make a difference in the darkness! And that is what a lamp is for.
Now, before we close this morning, I want to go through 4 quick things that can turn off your switch. Just as you choose to turn on the switch, there are things that you do that causes the switch to be turned off as well.
First, Not Being Yourself. In I Corinthians 15:10 it says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” You see, you where made the way you are by God for a reason, so be yourself. Not being yourself can cause you to turn off that switch.
Second, Focusing On Your Limitations And Not Your Potential. I think that too often people focus on what they can’t do rather than what they can. Remember that the Bible tells us that “with Christ, all things are possible.” So in order to keep from turning off the switch we need to focus on our potential. Focus on what we can do, if we choose to.
Third, Not Doing Your Best. This can be a hindrance to you in every area of life, and especially in your spiritual life. Galatians 6:4 says, “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.” It is vitally important that no matter what you do, you do your best at it. So not doing your best can turn off your switch.
And finally, The Comparison Trap. Too often we compare ourselves with others. We say, “Well, I’m not as bad as so and so, so I’m doing pretty good.” Well, when we begin to compare ourselves to others, we turn off our switch and we stop shining brightly.
We are called to shine brightly and be light in a dark world. On June 5, 1910 the American Short-story writer O. Henry spoke his last words and he said, “Turn up the lights, I don’t want to go home in the dark..”
As lights for Christ in this world, our mission is to make sure that no one ever does! And that is a choice that we have to make.
So, as we close, let’s apply our lesson to the lights behind me. First, to the one that is shining: as we turn the switch off, the light goes out. But as we make the decision to turn the switch on, the light begins to burn brightly, as it should.
Now with the lamp that is not working, let’s choose to make it shine. We have secured the connection to the source, now let’s turn the switch. Still nothing… You see, there is still one connection that needs to be fixed, and we will look at that connection next week.
But for this morning the thing to keep in mind is that the Switch is Self, which means we need to Look Inward in order to see the Internal Connection. We have a choice to make when it comes to shining brightly, and some of you may have a choice to make this morning as well.
Let’s Pray |
