Lights in the world

Sermon notes from 19 March 2017

Matthew 5 verses 13 - 16

Jesus said in verse 13 "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?  It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."  Jesus was speaking to his disciples, those who followed after him.  Salt has a tremendous impact no matter what contact it comes into.  We can notice the taste of it.  Jesus has another thought in mind.  Salt is a preservative for fish and meat.  In Jesus` day salt kept that fish free from rotting away.  "Ye are the salt of the earth."  On this earth you are a preservative no matter where you go.  People will notice you.  That is what makes the difference.  What does that mean?  Not talking about profession of faith.  You can have that and never been to Christ.  It is a work of God, not something we can muster up, it begins in the heart of God.  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3 verse 16)  It comes down to you in the end but not something you can muster up.  It is the Holy Spirit who is active in a meeting, applies it to our heart, shows you are not saved, not right with God.  If you are feeling like that today or in past days it is time then to come to Christ.  The Holy Spirit shows you you are not saved, takes your mind, heart and and thoughts, takes you to Mount Calvary, points you to the middle cross, see what Christ has done for you, then you take him by simple faith realising never be in heaven without him.  Maybe you don`t remember that date when you trusted Christ but it is more important to know there was a day when you did.  Have you ever come to Christ?  Trusted him as Saviour?  When did that great transaction happen?  Was there a confirmation of it?  Jesus said you and I are the light of the world.  If you are trusting Christ as Saviour and Lord you are a light today.  Jesus is pointing at you this morning and saying you are a light.

The priority to shine - verse 16.  "Let your light so shine before men."  Are you shining for Christ?  Is it showing to others?  There is a prioity here for you to shine.  John Wesley founder of Methodism told his followers as they went out "you have nothing to do but to save souls."  That is what is our priority - to do everything in our power to see souls saved.  John Wesley went on "therefore spend and be spent."  Are we willing to be spent for God, to do all the good you can do?  John Wesley said "by all means that you can in, all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, in whatever way you can."  We do not have the ability to save a soul.  We should give our priority in life to see men and women saved.  The light we portray is not of ourselves.  We are transmitters of that great light.  Others are looking at your life, seeing something in your life that Jesus has done.  That was the light Jesus spoke of.  John 1 verse 4 "in him was life and the life was the light of men."  Verse 14 "a city set on a hill cannot be hid."  If you have been to Christ and he has lit up your life you cannot be hidden.  John the Baptist was a witness to that light.  He came into the world to reflect the light, pointed men to Christ, he pointed to the true light that must come into the world.  His priority was to shine and reflect Christ to men and others, to draw others to Christ.  He did not save us to set us in some corner.  He sets us somewhere to shine. 

The place to shine - "before men".  No doubt includes everyone.  We often sing "this little light of mine, I am going to let it shine, hid it under a bushel no, I am going to let it shine."  Are you going to let your light shine?  That Christ has all of your heart and life and you are living for him?  The shine began in Jerusalem when Jesus sent out his disciples, began there then to Judea and finally to the rest of the world."  He places us to shine for himself.  Where has he placed you today?  Somewhere you haven`t been shining, somewhere God hasn`t placed you?  The apostle Paul sat in the house of Judea after conversion brought him there.  God called Ananias, told him to go and see Paul in the house, gave him a special message for Paul "go thy way for he is a chosen vessel unto me."  There is a great responsibility for the child of God.  Today you are a chosen vessel unto God just like Paul.  That is the message God has for you - to bear my name before Gentiles, kings and before the nation of Israel.  Not saved to be a tentmaker on the road to Damascus.  He did something very special in your life - "I am going to take you out and you will shine."  He will take nothing less today.  The young man who met Jesus when he stepped into the land of Gadarenes, he stepped out of the tombs, possessed of demons.  Jesus cast those demons out of the man and into the swine and they ran down a cliff and into the sea.  There was only one thought on that young man`s life - to follow Christ.  Have you ever really thought about what God has done in your life?  That takes you back to what your where before you accepted Christ.  How privileged that young man of the Gadarenes felt that day.  He wanted to follow after Jesus that day but Jesus told him to go home to his friends and family and tell them how great a thing the Lord had done for him.  His light was to shine in his own home, in his own village, amongst his own friends.  Peter speaks of the home and family environment - speaking to a wife having an unsaved husband who was concerned about him, doesn`t want to lose him.  Let your light shine before him.  Let that man see what God has done for you.  Great advice for our children, for our grandchildren, brothers, sisters to see what God has done for you.  "Likewise ye wives be in subjection to your husbands that they obey not the word that ..."  God places you to shine.  If you are not shining then the Lord hasn`t placed you there.  In the story of Jonah God told him to go down to Ninevah to show the people what he can do but Jonah ran away from God, down into a boat going down to Tarshish.  A great storm gets up and the sailors ran to him "who are you".  They didn`t recognise who he was.  We may not have all the abilities as other people have but we should be recognised as the child of God by our shining.

The purpose of the shine - "may see your good works and glorify your father."  You and I are to shine. to become an attraction not to ourselves but to the glorifying of the father.  John the Baptist`s followers left him and began to follow Christ when John said "behold the Lamb of God."  He points them to Christ and they followed him as a result.

A price for shining.  It will cost.  Speaking here was of an oil lamp, needed care and attention to keep it burning as bright as possible.  Jesus said to him "I am the true vine ye are the branches any branch that beareth not fruit the father purgeth."  Taking away that which prevents fruit from production.  "Men prefer darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."  Stephen was stoned to death because of the light he shone amongst Pharisees.  John the Baptist was beheaded because of the light he shone.  Is our light shining bright for Christ today?