“You Are the Light of the World” By Parrish Lee October 14th,
2012 Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city
that is set on a hill cannot be hid… As we begin this message, we see
that it is very simple. After all, we
live by light every day. In fact, so
important is it to us that we make light for the times when there isn’t
any. Lights to light the streets we travel
on; lights to tell us when to go, stop, or slow down. The bulk of our work forces work in what they
call day shift, and studies show people generally aren’t as effective on the
other rotations. When it’s dark and you
walk into a building, what’s the first thing people ask for? someone turn on a light. There are also different types of
light and different degrees of light. We
have lamps, skylights, night lights, neon lights, heat lamps, halogen lights,
L.E.D. lights; we have 3 Watt, 40 Watt, 100 Watt, 1500 Watt and thousands more
in between and above. Our society
learns, inspects, and communicates by lights.
So it would seem simply powerful that the Lord chose this example for us
to relate to. Point #1—Lights have
to know what their purpose is. Genesis 1:4 … and God divided the light from the darkness. I remember when I first got saved,
(I wasn’t raised Christian, so all of this was new to me) I had made up my mind
to do my best not to make waves or open my mouth about religion, and find the
middle, comfortable ground as much as possible.
But you know what happened? There
were so many people who had beat me to it; I kept finding myself in places
where no one was standing up for the Lord.
In my flesh I am a person that hates conflict and confrontation—I think
most of us are—but we are living in a day and time when there is such a strong
absence of light that we can’t help but stand out. There was an article: Over the past
few centuries, science can be said to have gradually chipped away at the
traditional grounds for believing in God.
There is a spirit that attacks believers,
stopping us from seeing for gifts from God, because maybe we don’t get it on
our timeline, instead of asking God, “Search me, Lord, and see if there be any
wicked thing in me that is blocking the presence of your Spirit or the move you
want for me, my family, my ministry…” I
had somebody tell me once, “I prayed for the gift of healing for a year, and I didn’t get it. That just ain’t right.” I asked them, “Did you stop praying?” You know, maybe you didn’t get what you
prayed for because you weren’t willing to wait on God; maybe you should fix
your attitude and then pray about it again.
Our founding pastor once talked about being able to see the mountaintop
and the beautiful things on it—knowledge, wisdom, anointing, love—and have
people turn and look at the base of the mountain, and see the thorns and the
thickets and the climb and the effort it would take to get there, and say it’s
not worth it. I had somebody ask me one
time how they could get to know the Bible as well as I do. I told them, read, study, and pray, and if
you have questions, ask the elders, and when you hear people talking about the
Bible, involve yourself in that conversation—and don’t limit yourself to be
like someone like me, because I’m not where I need to be, and I know God has
more for you. They didn’t want to go
through all of that. “I want God to just
drop it on me. Make it like a pill, or
like magic, the quick thing.” That’s
just playing out God to be cheap. God, I
know that you desire to bring me to such a rich understanding, and that I would
be so instrumental in your service, but, God, I don’t want to study the Bible,
I don’t want to be committed in my prayers, and Lord, you know I don’t want to
visit the sick and those imprisoned…
What about me? What about what I
want? Saints, it is the same foul
spirit, but when we come to God about it, we put the devil on the run. Honest confession is good for the
soul; I have a confession to make—I have had my times of struggling with the
Lord. I wish that I could say that
whatever God has spoken to me in his Word, messages, or just through His
Spirit, I’ve popped right up and ran to do what He said to do. There have been times when He has said pray,
and I’ve gone to get something to eat, or run some errands… He might say
apologize and work it out with that brother or sister, and I think of all the
ways that I think I’m right, or anything else the Lord might lay on my
heart. Thank God for His Word, where it
talks about the rebellious son (Matthew 21:28-32) who, at first, didn’t do what
his Father asked him to do—and then repented—and God forgave him. This is the victory that overcometh the
world. I fell prey to a battle recently, and I’m sure I’m not the only one: Looking at the world around me, the TV shows, the news, the fashions, and celebrating another birthday… There was this voice that came to me and said, “You’re getting old, and past your usefulness.” It was so subtle, I started believing it. I’m sure that the voice is speaking to people all over the world. I’m sure that it’s told some people, “You’re too young.” I’m sure it’s told some people, “You’re the one; you’re more special than everybody else. You ought to be in charge; you ought to be the leader, the great one, the big teacher, the big preacher, the big brother or the big Sir. Just think how everybody’s missing out because they don’t recognize…” I also know a voice that says, “You’re just not important. You’re not as good as everybody else.” Saints, the devil is busy. But, according to the Bible, we are all members of one body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27), everybody has a place, everybody has a calling. The Bible says He formed us in our mothers’ womb (Isaiah 44:24). “I don’t know about that, brother Parrish, what about the people who are smarter, stronger, faster, richer than me?” The Bible says He formed you—point to yourself and say, “I am special.” Black, white, brown, red, young, old, tall, short; He formed you and knows you by name. He has made you the light of the world. Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
|
|
|
