“Kingdom of God: His Followers/Lights of the World” 

Our text for tonight is taken from Mt 5:14-16: ‘...Ye are the light of the world. 

We continue, once again, in this subject of ‘Light’ in relationship to the kingdom of God and we will start to see it in terms of our part in it.

Jesus said of Himself: ‘I am the Light of the world’ in John 8:12.

He came as the ‘Great Light’ in fulfillment of the prophecies  
promised to those who ‘walk in darkness, in the shadow of death’.

But, Jesus also spoke of people as the ‘light of the world’.

Now - when Jesus spoke of Himself as the ‘Light’, He was speaking of that inexhaustible, constant, perpetuating source of spiritual nourishment.

He was speaking of being the genuine light that has absolutely no deception in it.

He was also speaking of light that discerns truth from falsehood.

And, He was speaking of light by which direction of life could be established, sustained, and maintained by His working, mighty power.

In the light of all that, then, how could we possibly also be called the ‘light of the world’?

Jesus answered that question in one, short statement.

He said: ‘...he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.’

‘He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness.’ 

And ‘He who follows Me’ shall have the light of Life.
 
He was saying that humanity is capable of being so filled with His righteousness and truth that it can actually become transmitters of His ‘great Light’.        

But that is possible only through those who follow Him, who do not walk in darkness, and who have Him as the light of Life.

When He made the statements of our text for tonight, He was standing before the multitudes on a mountainside, teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God.

The ultimate purpose in His mind - for those in His audience and all who would listen to and heed Him - was to bring many, many into the Kingdom of God.

But - in order for that to happen - He first had to enunciate the nature of that kingdom.

And - the first essential fact that He taught of His kingdom is that its basis is ‘spiritual character’.

It is the character of righteousness that goes deep within man and affects his thought life and everything else about him.

It is the kind of character that becomes the stabilizing and enlightening factor in a world where the conditions of corruption and darkness control helpless and vain men.

And Jesus knew that the character of influence coming out from those who live in His kingdom could change the world’s darkness into light.

If His followers have such a character that overcomes the pull of darkness within themselves, then that corresponding influence would become the outward channel of influence to others.

So He went on to explain how the channel of influence can achieve the results needed to be the ‘light of the world’.

First, He gave the influence that the lights in a Christian community have to the world.

He said: ‘A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.’

The lights of that community identify it as a ‘city’ that is a source of illumination to all surrounding it. 

It is seen far and wide throughout the valleys below it.   

But - it is not just one light that can do that. 

It requires many, many lights to shine throughout the regions below it. 

And, because this ‘city’ is a Christian community, or - we can say, His church, it is a city, then, where the Lord is its Governor. 

It is a city where there is nothing that defiles, that is disrespectful, nor sacrilegious, but rather a city in which each of its members honors its Governor with great esteem and reverence.

And neither is there anything in it that is a corrupting influence which taints or mars its testimony. 
 
Then, secondly, Jesus gave the influence of individual lights.

This time He used the example of a man lighting a candle and not putting it under a bushel basket but putting it on a candlestick where it gives light for the benefit of all living in the house.

Just as the figure of the lights of a city on a hill influences the many, so the individual light on a candlestick is an  influence to those within a man’s immediate sphere.

In either case, of a group or of only one person, the influence remains the same, whether it is universal or in a closed circuit environment.

As far as the Christian walk goes, then, it is to be ‘...blameless and harmless... without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.’ (Phil 2:15)

But - how can we be such devoted followers of Christ that we become the transmitters of His great Light in this way?

We know that light is for the purpose of illumination, to ‘light’ the way, to enlighten the darkness.
 
It is a positive principle of life that shows how life ought to be lived.

It is more than just an ‘example’: it is a force that shows men that life can be lived in this way.

It shines forth in such a way that it can be the catalyst that reveals the truth of what life is all about - what it can be and what it is.   

We are called upon to be ‘light’ in just that way. 

But how can we do that? 

Actually, it is very simple: we live in loyalty to Christ - that is all! 

‘As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.’ (Col 2:5)

By abiding in Him, with the knowledge of He abiding in us, we walk in His light to become light to the world.

Influence of character coming out from us is Christ’s intention in His present government of His kingdom - always has been, always will be!

We are the citizens of His kingdom and, therefore, are the means of influence, the transmitters, of His light to the world.

We are called to take the place of influence and lead people into the paths of righteousness.

We are to be ‘burning lights’, lights that shine so that the world knows about the ‘great Light of the world’! 

The writer to Proverbs, in 8:33-36, wrote: ‘Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.

For whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord.

But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul...’. 

If there is to be any change in our capacity to be ‘light’ to the world, there first must be a change in our own hearts to take place.

It must be a change wherein we submit to the truth of the indwelling Christ, to be so accurately and so fully committed to Him that we dare not dishonor Him, even in the secrets of our hearts!

For, if we miss Christ, if our union with Him does not take priority within the depths of our lives, we do violence to our own soul.

Looking into the light of His face where we see His righteousness in its fullness should be a far better reason to honor and esteem Him than following the seductions the world has that would draw us away from Him.

Surely, we all must know, by now, that, even though the ways of sin may be pleasurable for a while, they do become bitter in the end.

What the ungodly have to offer is always harmful, noxious, and pernicious to the one who claims he has Christ indwelling him.

For, you see, Christ does not delight in sin. He cannot partake of that seduction that is thrilling the one who is submitting himself to the seduction. 

That is arrogant rebellion against Christ. And it does not light His Light.

Job, in Job 24:12-17, told of what it is like to be unyielding and defiant against God - Job 24:12-17.    

He said: ‘Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries: yea, God pays no attention to their folly. 

They are those that rebel against His light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.’

And, then, in verses 14-17, Job spoke of how they operate - in the darkness, in the night, secretly when and where no one can see nor hear them.

And Job concludes with the statements: ‘...they know not the light. 

For deep darkness is morning to them: they are friends with the terrors of the shadow of death.’

Listen! A secret sin, any sin, works in a crafty, deceitful way.

It works with an inconspicuous power until it clamps its grip about us and we find ourselves trapped in it!

Just look all around us and see how it has destroyed so much that ought to be beautiful instead!

It reminds me of a fungus on a tree. In some mysterious way, it has the power to sap the life of that tree. 

The tree may not show signs of the disease right away.

But, sooner or later, the ravages of death start showing.

While the tree may have some life left in it, the fungus keeps on insidiously eating its life away!

How true a picture this is of the force of sin’s ruin. It is cunning, not always seen right away. But it does destroy down to its very roots.
       
Do we realize, I wonder, that for the Christian, purposely engaging in sin is the most selfish of acts.

When we repeatedly indulge ourselves over and over again in same sinful, moral choice, we plainly dishonor Christ, we dishonor our families, we dishonor our friends, we dishonor our fellowship, we dishonor Christ’s universal church.

We make the grace of God of no effect. We make it cheap and Christ becomes of no effect.

And we find it easy to speak the enemy’s reduced language and put the language of God’s light off to the sidelines.

It is all because we are rebelling against the light of the face of Jesus Christ!

When we keep looking away from His face, and not ‘watching daily at His gates nor waiting at the posts of His doors’, we cannot ‘know the light’. 

Are there those among us who are still looking for satisfaction and direction outside of the light of Jesus Christ? 

Are we feebly trying to go in the direction of darkness, into shadows of death, looking for comfort, relief, joy - something that will fill the void we sense deep within us?

Sin welcomes any environment that fosters its growth. Give it an inch of your heart and soon it has taken a mile.   

So many things start small and innocently, We may knowingly engage in them with the idea that we are strong enough to break it off at any time!

But - we deceive ourselves! Yes - we deceive ourselves!

But - how can it be stopped?

When the Spirit of God enlightens our hearts, it gives light there, as the psalmist said in Ps 119:130.

‘The entrance of thy words giveth light’.

The entrance of His words becomes the instrument of the Holy Spirit to guide our feet in the light of Life. 

It gives light into a man’s self, into his straying and unstable ways!

The entrance of God’s word gives light into the impurity of our own hearts and the ignorance and imperfections that cloud our spiritual eyes.

And - most importantly - the entrance that light gives is the light into the Person, Grace, and Righteousness of Christ.

His Light that is to be transmitted to the world to the world comes only from a reverential, steady commitment to Him. 

In it, we find that we sustain no loss in looking into the light of Christ’s face.

We can only gain when we part company with the world in favor of the light of His face.

We always benefit more in that course of life.

That is the course that has a mighty influence on the soul and on our outward walk in the world that makes us useful for Christ in it. 

Oh, how I would desire for every one who names the name of Christ, especially in this fellowship, to realize the need of God through Christ to shine more brightly in every believer. 

If we are the ‘light of the world’, as Jesus exhorted His followers to be, then this must happen.

We must be so desirous - and so guided by the Holy Spirit Whose mind is toward this end - that we come out of the blinding power that sin holds in our hearts!   

Listen! I have said it before, and I say it again: you and I, as the Lord’s people, no longer need to converse in any manner whatsoever with the side of darkness.

Our carnal selves need no longer to be deceived and become a channel for the enemy’s lies nor for satisfying those sinful desires that rob Christ of His rightful place.

We can be the transmitters of light out from His source of  spiritual nourishment that perpetuates His Light!

In His kingdom, character coming out from His truth and righteousness counts because it is the influence the world needs!

So - I say to us all: ‘arise, shine, for thy light is come!’ 

‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’

For ‘ye are the light of the world.’

So, ‘...let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’

I trust we will all ponder these things in the light of the face of Jesus Christ this week!

Let them become in us what Christ desires them to become - the ‘light of the world’!

Amen. 

Let us pray.