Song:
It is a great thing to serve the
Lord
It is a great thing to serve the
Lord
It is a great thing to serve the
Lord
Walking in the light of God!!!
Matt. 5:16, “16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may
see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize
and honor and] glorify
your Father who is in heaven” (AMP).
Light illuminates a room; it
brightens the atmosphere; it shines out!!! Our Bible verse above calls on us to
“shine out” in such a way that our light is identified and recognized. That is
when our light will be useful, impactful, and significant.
In the darkness, people are
uncomfortable but when there is light, they become relaxed. We are to be that
kind of light – to shine everywhere we find ourselves. Teenagers, the time has
come for our light to shine. The darkness in the world is becoming more
frightening and people are desperately in need of light. It is time for us to
rise up and shine.
In Matt. 5:14-16, “You are the light
of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light
a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all
who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may
see your good deeds and moral
excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify
your Father who is in heaven”.
Jesus is talking to His
disciples, His followers. He calls them the “light of the world”. We are
followers of Christ. Whenever we read this Scripture, Christ is talking to us.
We are not just lights to our family, friends, neighbours, school mates and
church but to the whole world. We have to radiate this light in every area of
our lives.
Why should we shine?
Is. 60:1-3, “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For
the glory of the Lord is shining upon you. Darkness as black as night will
cover all the nations of the earth but the glory of the Lord will shine over
you. All nations will come to your light. Mighty kings will come to see your
radiance” (NLT).
The
major battle in the world is between light and darkness. Darkness is actually,
older than light. The Bible tells us, in Gen.
1:1-4, that the earth was in darkness until God created light and separated
both of them. The light dispelled the darkness. But
rather than the simple elements of the weather, the darkness and light here have
to do with the forces of good and evil. This kind of darkness is formed in the
heart of man (Jer. 17:9, Matt. 15:18-19). It is the darkness
that is formed in the heart that brings the darkness (bad attitude, bad
manners, works of the flesh, wickedness, etc) into the world.
1. We are a plus, not a minus. We are an addition, something good & positive, an
advantage, an asset, a benefit/bonus to this world. We have come to encourage,
to motivate and to inspire people to be the best that God wants from them. We
are to bring solutions and not to be the problem. We are to affect the lives of
generations by showing forth the light of Christ. We are to bring about
progress and spread the message of hope to the world (Job 22:29). Our light will differentiate us from the ‘pack’!!!
2. We are world changers. Our territory of influence is beyond our immediate
environment. Christ is the Saviour of the Universe – that is how wide our light
is to cover. We are the light that will dispel the darkness in the world. We
are to provide answers to the world’s questions and angst; to provide good
direction and leadership; and to intercede for others. We have the opportunity
and motive to reach out to the world with our ‘light’, despite our youth (1
Timothy 4:12) and we cannot afford to be found wanting.
...Continues next week by the grace of God!!!
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