The transcript of the service is below if you wish to read it.
Psalm 119:89-96
89 Your word, Lord, is eternal;it stands firm in the heavens.90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations;You established the earth, and it endures.91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve You.92 If Your law had not been my delight,I would have perished in my affliction.93 I will never forget Your precepts,for by them You have preserved my life.94 Save me, for I am Yours;I have sought out Your precepts.95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me,but I will ponder Your statutes.96 To all perfection I see a limit,but Your commands are boundless.
Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Psalm 119:89-96; Matthew 5:13-16 LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE: Springford Baptist Church: Nov. 1, 2020.
Jesus declares: “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13)
I had someone phone me this week who had recently moved to the Springford area. He had been taking pictures of the outside of our church and wondered what it looked like inside. The architecture intrigued him and he wanted to see more of our church. This got me thinking that as you and I live our lives as Jesus intends, as we shine the light of God’s love wherever we are, we are being His church. We are representing Him. The outcome should be that people will want to see more and know more of who is God!
This shining our lights before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven is also a crucial part of LEARNING THE WAY OF BLESSING.
Jesus initiates this teaching with another picture. “You are the salt of the earth…” (Matthew 5:13) Salt is intended to enhance flavour and to preserve. We are very aware aren’t we when salt has been added to food or if it is missing?
How will people notice if the flavour of God is missing from our words, our attitudes, our actions?
People need to be able to expect that God’s love will characterize everything we say and do. If this is not happening, we have become bland and not useful for the work of God’s kingdom. Jesus urges that this is something to be greatly concerned about.
If people see a beautiful church structure on the outside, but do not encounter God in the people who spend time inside the church, then this is not the building up of God’s kingdom. This is not revealing God through us as we are meant to do.
The other picture that Jesus uses here is of light: “You are the light of the world…” (Matthew 5:14) Again this is our responsibility as Christians, as Christ followers, to shine light in our world. When Jesus says “light of the world” we can understand that wherever we are in our world we are to shine His light. There is no time and no place when we are “off duty.”
Do you catch, as I do, how essential this shining of the light of God’s love and grace is for right now during this pandemic?
People in our world need to see the light of God shining through us! People need to be reminded that there is hope when we turn to God. People need to know that God will be with us through all that is happening.
Notice that the outcome of our light shining and people seeing our good deeds is not to bring attention to us or for us to get credit and to be congratulated. Rather Jesus says, “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16)
People are to know that the reason we do what we do is because of God and this can result in them discovering who God is for themselves.
Listen to how these same verses from Matthew 5:13-16 are expressed in The Message translation:
13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
I am praying that people who need God will open up with God and to God because of the way we are living our lives, because of the way our lights are faithfully shining!
Our Old Testament reading from Psalm 119 sets the scene of someone who has opened up to God and has been able to witness the light of God’s Holy Presence:
89 Your word, Lord, is eternal;it stands firm in the heavens.90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations;You established the earth, and it endures.91 Your laws endure to this day,for all things serve You.
This can also be our testimony. We too have seen that God’s word is eternal. His faithfulness continues through all generations. (vs. 90 a)
If your parents and grandparents also trusted God then you have seen this pattern of God’s faithfulness through all generations and through all circumstances. This is something to hold on to for the time we now find ourselves in.
God did establish the earth and it endures.(vs. 90b) God’s laws endure (vs. 91a). And it is in God’s laws that we find the command to, 38 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39 quoting Deuteronomy 5:6)
This is what is to motivate us to let our light shine!
The Psalm writer continues:
92 If Your law had not been my delight,I would have perished in my affliction.93 I will never forget Your precepts,for by them You have preserved my life.94 Save me, for I am Yours;I have sought out Your precepts.95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me,but I will ponder Your statutes.
This believer in God has trusted God in the past and his life has been preserved. (vs. 93)
He also trusts God for the future. He prays to God, “The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder Your statutues.”
This
possibility of depending on God past, present and future is what can
be highlighted when we let our lights shine reflecting God’s
eternal Light and Love.
God’s
boundless commands (vs.
96) takes
in the understanding that as our Father in heaven is glorified, there
is even more of Him to discover.
When we let our lights shine so that others can see God then there is more and more to be revealed of our boundless God.
Jesus, God’s Son came into our world to show us the Father. When He came as the Light of the World, He knew that the shining of His Light would lead Him to the cross. This event in history did not lead to the extinguishing of the Light, rather as the empty tomb revealed, Jesus overcame the darkness of death forever to shine as the Light of the World and to glorify His Father God in heaven!
In Communion, the Lord’s Supper, we remember Jesus and why He came into our world. We recommit ourselves to reflect the light of God’s Son Jesus who gave Himself for us.
Jesus remains the Light of the World and He gives us, His followers, this mission to let our lights shine in this world of darkness so that people can see God and turn to God!
There is blessing for us and for others in letting our lights shine!!
We’ve just turned our clocks back an hour so that there can be more light in the earlier part of the day. How will we live our lives so that more of Jesus, the Light of the World can shine through us?