We are beginning a new
six-week series, and in these messages the Word of God will help us learn how
to Shine. By that I mean we will see how to better
follow and serve Jesus Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Our main text for the six weeks
is from Matthew’s gospel account where Jesus preached a sermon on a
mountainside for those who wanted to be his disciples:
…let your good
deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your
heavenly Father. Matthew 5:16b(NLT)
Jesus was using the words
Isaiah spoke to the nation of Israel hundreds of years before to now challenge
the people to personalize it.
“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your
light shine for all to see. For the
glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the
glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.” Isaiah
60:1-2(NLT)
Jesus wasn’t targeting a
nation; Jesus was making this personal –if you want to
please God, you will follow the Son, do what He did, and shine!
Charles Haddon Spurgeon understood
that. Spurgeon was sharing with a class
of ministerial students about the importance of making their facial expression
harmonize with the sermon. When
you speak of heaven, he said, let your face light up, let it be irradiated
with a heavenly gleam, let your eyes shine with reflected glory. But when you speak of hell … well, then your
ordinary face will do![ii]
Our ordinary faces are
self-centered, looking-out for number 1, keeping our eyes on our own goals. Jesus says: Change that – shine; turn on the
light for the sake of my Kingdom.
After all, you’re salt AND light!
Isaiah and other prophets had
preached about the darkness (of sin) which covered the land. Jesus also mentioned this in his Sermon on
the Mount:
“In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside
the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have
seen a great light. And for those who
lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” Matthew 4:15-17(NLT)
Later Jesus would call Himself the
light of the world:
I am the light of the
world. If you follow me, you won’t have
to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. John 8:12b(NLT)
And
darkness illuminated became the very problem we all have:
And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but
people loved the darkness more than the light, for
their actions were evil. John 3:19(NLT)
You might ask why Jesus would
condemn everyone as loving darkness (evil) more than God. Well, there’s plenty of evidence on this
one.
a. Scripture – Psalm 2:1 says: Why are
the nations so angry? There’s so much anger in humankind; we follow Cain who killed his
brother Abel. To say we aren’t people of anger is to
deny interstate driving.
b. The
Cross – When the light of God arrived,
humans hung him on a tree with nails driven deep into his hands and feet.
c. Empty
Tomb myths – Even after the resurrection,
the most highly-documented miracle of all, humans still continue (in our
darkness) to doubt, coming up with all kinds of stories about why Easter is a
myth…the resurrection is a fairy tale.
We certainly could go on with
statistics and video clips of reality TV shows if we wanted to wallow in the
darkness of evil in our world. But
suffice to say we humans have a big problem with our darkness.
The Great Light shining in the
darkness is a reminder on this Epiphany Sunday of the Magi who
followed the light all the way to Bethlehem and a child-king. The whole point of God’s incarnation was so
that we would have an invitation to be saved – a way to deal with the darkness
in us.
And then we could be
appropriately cleaned-up by God himself, so that we might do the same kinds of
things Jesus did, healing, helping, comforting, feeding and pointing the way to
salvation for everyone who comes across our path. This is moving towards the light!
What does it look like when you turn on the light?
There are many instances and
persons we could point to in order to get an up-close look at what it means to
turn on the light of Christ, but for the sake of time let’s go with these six:
1. Jesus’ transformation
As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was
transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as
white as light. Matthew 17:2(NLT)
Jesus led Peter, James and John
up on the mountain to encounter the Father.
In that moment the disciples saw the Shekinah glory of God in the face
of Jesus.
So…first priority – Jesus was
ready to be used of God to draw others close.
If you want to follow Jesus and serve Him, be willing to be used for the
Kingdom.
2. Moses and the presence of god
When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying
the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t
aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to
the Lord. So
when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were
afraid to come near him. Exodus 34:29-30
When Moses came down from the
mountain, it was after 40 days of seeking the face of God. Moses was waiting in prayer for God’s
directions.
So…second priority – if you
want to shine as you follow Jesus, get alone with God often – every day. Never lose sight of what God’s hand looks
like moving in your culture. Be like my
friend Donna, who told me once that she never says “amen”…she has so much to
talk about with God, she just never cuts off the conversation!
Be willing to be used, stay in
the presence of God, and then…
3. The angel at the tomb
His face shone like lightning, and his
clothing was as white as snow. Matthew
28:3(NLT)
This angel had witnessed the
resurrection! I don’t know how your face
could NOT be shining after seeing someone raised from the
dead!
So what’s the priority lesson
for us? Be willing to be involved in
evangelism, being Jesus’ witness so others can be brought to a saving knowledge
of Christ. When you witness someone pass
from death unto life, your face will shine, brother!
Willing to be used, staying in
His presence, witness, and…
4. Paul the apostle
As he was approaching Damascus on this
mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to
the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you
persecuting me?” “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the
one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be
told what you must do.” The men with Saul stood
speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul
picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. Acts 9:3-8(NLT)
Paul picked himself off the
ground, and became one of the most obedient followers of Christ we read
about. When God got ahold of Saul of
Tarsus, he knocked him to the ground, read him the riot act and got his attention. But it was Paul the Apostle who got back up,
blinded, transformed and seeing clearly for the first time in his life! God used this new man to write nearly 1/3 of the New
Testament, start churches all over Asia Minor and Europe, and win half of the
pagan Roman emperor’s Praetorian Guard to Christ.
When Paul got knocked to his
knees he asked Jesus, who are you, Lord? That’s the priority lesson for us about
shining: when life seems to knock you
down, lift a prayer that asks: Who
are YOU in my life today, Lord?
Be used, Stay in His presence,
Witness, Bring Him your cares, and…
5. stephen the first martyr
At this point everyone in the high council
stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s. Acts 6:15(NLT)
Stephen was the first one
chosen when deacons were needed in the early church. His face shone like an angel while being put
on trial for heresy. He knew what that
meant – if they crucified Jesus, Stephen was also in trouble. But he didn’t let it stop him from speaking
up for his Lord.
Priority lesson #5 – is stand
up for the faith even if it means death!
Useable, in constant presence
of God, a witness, trusting and standing firm, and…
6. philip the evangelist
a. Philip was Broad-minded
Philip, for example, went to the city of
Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Acts 8:5(NLT)
Philip went to Samaria, to people who were half-pagan and
half-Jew. The Jews and the Samaritans
were enemies; they had a rocky history.
Good Jews wouldn’t even talk to a Samaritan. That was why the disciples were surprised when
Jesus spoke to the woman at the well of Samaria.
Philip was more broad-minded than narrow-minded. Shining for Jesus will not include looking
down on anybody.
b. Philip was Led by the Spirit
As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to
him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” Acts 8:26(NLT)
Philip was led by the Spirit – into one of the toughest places you
can imagine – a desert. Shining for
Jesus won’t always be in a padded pew in an air-conditioned sanctuary. Sometimes the Spirit will lead you to rough,
broken-down, and even dangerous places.
Shine anyway!
c. Philip was Convinced
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the
prophet talking about himself or someone else?”
So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News
about Jesus. Acts 8:34-35(NLT)
Philip was convinced that the only answer he could ever give about
his faith, God’s glory, or any person’s destiny was the truth of Jesus Christ.
Shining for Jesus’ kingdom does not mean preaching the latest philosophy,
your own preferences, political insights or sweet little stories. Shining in the truest sense of being faithful
to the faith once-delivered to the saints is to preach the Word, to tell people
about Jesus, and call them to repentance so they can experience eternal life!
d. Philip was Consistent
The next day we went on to Caesarea and
stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been
chosen to distribute food. Acts 21:8(NLT)
Shining is only possible when
you’re the same person Monday through Saturday that you claim to be on
Sunday. Philip’s home life was such that
when Paul came to town he wanted to stay with Philip’s family. His reputation was without question.
A friend of mine once told me, give
me five minutes with a man’s family and I’ll tell you if he’s a phony or not.
Jesus, Moses, the Angel, Paul,
Stephen, and Philip – God-lovers who never had to tell anyone else that they
were God-lovers; you could see it in their faces!
So…are you turning on the
light?
A little girl got home from
Sunday school, where she had been taught the verse: Let your light so shine before men that they
may see your good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven.
She asked her mother, when she
repeated the verse, what it meant. Her
mom said: Well, it means that when you are
good and kind and thoughtful and obedient, you are letting Christ's light shine
in your life before all who know you.
The very next Sunday in Sunday
school, the little girl got in a bit of a fracas with another student and
created somewhat of an uproar—to such an extent that the Sunday school teacher
had to go and find her mother to get her settled down a bit in the class.
Her mother was concerned when
she got to the classroom and said, Sweetie, don't you remember about letting
your light shine for the Lord before men?
The girl blurted out, Mom,
I have blowed myself out.
Many of us have done just that.
In our relationship to Christ, our light
has gone out.[iii]
The bottom line:
Turn
on the Light of Christ…shine! Don’t blow
out your light!
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Amen
Notes
[i] Title image: By Russell Brownworth [own work]
[ii]
Illustrations
Unlimited © 1988 by James S. Hewett. All Rights Reserved.
[iii]
W.
Frank Harrington, “The Love That Brought Him,” Preaching Today,
Tape No. 51.
