LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Text: Matthew 5:14-16, “14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Isaiah 60:1-5, “1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.”

AIM

1. To make believers aware that they are the light of the world.
2. To make believers believe in their ability to shine forth.
3. To encourage them to radiate their light at any place and time.

INTRODUCTION

Light is very essential to living and growth, no wonder when God created the heaven and the earth nothing else could be formed or created until the existence of light Genesis 1:3-5, “3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Genesis 1:1-2, “1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” It took the existence of light before other things could fall into place at the creation of the world. There is a need for believers to show themselves as light or prove the existence of the potency of the light in them to the world before they can manifest the glory of God. You must have this consciousness that God is light 1 John 1:5-10, “5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.  8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Before you can shine as light you must possess God in you because He is the ultimate source of light in any man. A genuine child of God must know that he is not in darkness but he is surrounded with darkness. But the question is do you reflect Jesus, the light of the world to the darkness around you?

God has made you a light like Himself to the world in as much as you are genuinely born again and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior John 8:17, “It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.” Psalms 82:6, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”

The major thing is that you have great work to do in ensuring that the light shines. Matthew 5:14-16 puts major emphasis on this. No one has ever got a light and hid it. No one can shine your light for you except with your effort. Your light can only shine forth through the fruits you produce Galatians 5:22-23, “22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” and the efforts you put in what you do Proverbs 22:29, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”

I want you to know that what makes you possess the light of God are salvation and holiness, prayer, studying the word of God, and faith in God but what makes the light in you shine are your attitude, evangelism, intercession, encouraging others, testimonies and so on

QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION

Give some other examples of how we can shine as light in this world and what makes our light shine continually

CONCLUSION

Anywhere you find yourself you must operate children of light Ephesians 5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Are you living as a light amid the darkness of this World Exodus 23:2, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:”

PRAYER

1. Father, ignite your fresh light in me daily and make me a continuous source of light unto others in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, let others see Your light in me and give glory to Your holy name in Jesus’ name.