“Live The Change”
Matthew 5:14-16
Sermon Series: “The Real Change Campaign”
Introduction: Last weekend, we began talking about the fact that we need changes in our country. Everyone seemed to agree about the need for change and also the fact that change is often promised but not delivered. This leads to skepticism and cynicism in regard to change even being possible. However, real change is possible according to the Word of God, but the change agent is to be the church, God’s people, instead of governments or politicians. We are learning in this series from the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus has called His people to mount “the real change campaign.” How? We have to live the change. How do we do that? We must let our light shine before men.
1. Symbolism of light-this is what light means in Scripture: A. Light carries the meaning of life while darkness
expresses death (John 1:3-4, John 10:10, Ephesians 2:1-10).
B. Light is symbolic of victory. Light and darkness are
in a battle, but light will overcome (John 1:5, Ephesians 6:10- 12).
C. Light is a picture of salvation while darkness is a picture of spiritual blindness (John 1:6-13, 2 Corinthians 4:1-6).
D. Light is a picture of holiness and purity while darkness is a picture of sin and evil (John 3:17-20).
E. Light is a picture of truth and revelation while darkness is a picture of lies and deception (John 3:21).
2. Nature of Christians-the light of the world is a part of who we are. As we saw last week, change begins within. We move from darkness to light when we trust Jesus. Ultimately, Jesus is the light of the world. He said, “I am light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). However, because the light of the world is in us, we are now the light of the world. We are like the moon shining the reflected light of the sun. If we know Jesus, we have light, victory,
salvation, purity, and truth. We are to reflect that to the whole world.
3. Command of Jesus-He tells us to let our light shine before men. The fact that we are the light of the world implies that the world is in darkness. It implies that the world needs our light. In fact, instead of complaining about the darkness, we should realize that the light shines brightest when the night is darkest and seize the opportunities around us. It shows us that God’s heart is for the whole world, and He wants us to let our lights shine to those close to us and those far away from us.
We are sinning if we do not let our lights shine before men. How can we fail to shine? I believe it is in one of two ways. We can hide our lights through failing to interact with and do good deeds before the world, and we can cover our lights up through sin (1 John 1:5-2:2).
4. Purpose of our light shining-“that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” The point of doing good deeds is not to point to us or build us up but to point to our Heavenly Father and lift up Jesus. People must know why we are doing what we are doing. I believe, based on what Jesus says in verse 16 and the fact that light represents truth and revelation, that sharing our testimony should go hand in hand with doing good deeds. Good deeds open doors to evangelism. If we don’t point people to God, they will think we are trying to be good people, which is the opposite of what we want to communicate. We are trying to communicate the gospel, which is the reality we are sinners who have been saved by grace through the finished work of Jesus (His death, burial, and resurrection), and we serve God out of gratitude for what He has done for us and serve others so they can experience His grace as well.
Conclusion: How can you let your light shine in your family, in your school, at your work place, and in your neighborhood?
