One of the greatest fears of my childhood was the dark.
The dark held many unknowns that scared me to death.
Especially in our basement where was little light.
We had a coal furnace that had to be fed manually.
My job was to go into the basement and put coal in the furnace.
Once I got in the basement and turned on the light I would have the
peace that came from knowing what was there.
Also, when I was growing up I had another important job.
Anytime Dad had to work on a car or in the basement it was my job to
hold the light. Being a very
fidgety young man I always had a difficult time keeping the light shining in
the right place. Dad was always
quick to remind when I began to loose my place in the job at hand.
Later when I began to work in the coalmines I realized all over how
important the light was. When a miner gets a job one of the first pieces of
equipment that he is given is a battery-powered light.
The light is one of the most important pieces of equipment you use
underground. The first thing you
did at the beginning of the shift was to put on your light. The last thing you did when you finished the day’s work was
to put the light on charge. You
had to make sure that the light was charged and ready to go when the next day
came. Without a light in
the mines you were lost. You
couldn’t work. It would be
doubtful if you would ever find your way back unless someone would come to
your rescue.
Can you imagine what our world would be like without any light?
Without the light and heat from the sun the earth would soon grow cold
and all life would cease to exist. Can
you imagine what our world would be like without the light of the Son of God
shining in a world of darkness? Without
the light of God we would live in a world without hope.
Without the light of Christ we would be groping for the way through
life. Jesus came to show us the
light and give us the light.
Scripture Text:
Mat. 5:13
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. 14 Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 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.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
The purpose of this message is ask the question:
Are you letting you light shine?
Darkness: What
is darkness? Darkness is the
absence of light. What is living
in the dark? Living life without
hope and peace that comes through Jesus Christ.
It can be easy to get used to the dark.
How important is the light?
Instead of trusting Christ, modern-day thinkers insist on using human
wisdom alone for answers to eternal questions.
The tragedy of this situation was graphically illustrated in a humorous
skit performed by Karl Vallentin, a Munich comedian. Walking on a stage where
everything was dark except for a small area under a street lamp, he began to
look for something on the ground. He
told the policeman who came on the scene that he was trying to find a key,
whereupon the two continued the search. Finally the officer asked, "Are
you sure you lost it here?" "Oh, no," said Vallentin as he
pointed to a corner, "It was over there, but here is where the light
is!"
1. Have
you seen the Light? All eyes
are drawn to the light. Many see
it but they don’t recognize it or believe it.
Their eyes have been blinded to the truth about God. If you see the
light you will come to the realization that God is real and He wants to be
real in your life. He wants to be
you Lord and your Savior.
John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of
men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it
not.
Matt 4:16
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat
in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus
began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
2. Do you
have the light of the world? Have
you gone with the Lord in your life? If
you have then you have the light of life within.
His Spirit comes to indwell you. Invite
Him to come into your life? You
can live with the Lord in a world of Darkness.
John 9:4 I must work the works
of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
5 As long as I am in the
world, I am the light of the world.
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I
am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.
A poor little boy once heard his
Sunday School teacher say Jesus was the light of the world.
He took her remark quite literally. After class, the boy said to his
teacher, "If Jesus really is the light of the world, I wish He'd come
hang out in my alley. It's awful
dark where I live."
3. Are
you going to let it shine?
The light shines from within through the works that we do
with the Lord. This is shining
the light of Christ. It comes
from serving the Lord through serving others within our lives. These good works bring glory to God who is the source of our
power. Every light has a source
of power. Ours is the presence of
God. His presence will shine
thourgh your life. How much time
do we spend on shining up the outside as compared with the time we spend
charging up the inner Spirit? Some
hide the light. We hide the light
when we don’t come out of our fear of the dark.
We often allow our fears to prevent us from shining as we could and as
we should with the Lord. The Lord
comes public and He commands us to let our light (good works) shine and bring
God the glory. Will you let
others see your good works? Shine
for the Lord today. Come to him.
2Cor 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.
A little girl was working very hard and could not be induced to stop
and rest. This was before the day of electric lights. When asked, "Why do
you not stop and rest?" she replied, "I have just one little candle,
and it will soon be burned out. I wish to do what I can while the candle
burns." So it is with us. Our little day will soon be gone. May we do
what we can while the candle burns. --William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed
Illustrations."
4. Do you
have your light charged up? We
all need to charge our spiritual batteries daily.
When you live and work in the dark on a constant basis we need to stay
plugged in to the power source of God to keep shining bright.
Stay plugged up through prayer. Get
plugged back in this morning. Take
those steps of obedience as He leads you today.
Follow Him.