BE A LIGHT LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE

BE A LIGHT LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN; THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. MATT. 5: 16

BE A LIGHT • Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Matt 5: 14 • Jesus declared 2 things through this statement. • 1. If we are the light the world we encompass daily should be lit. • 2. If we are holding the only candle in a dark room, darkness is either our fault or our opportunity (landrews)

BE A LIGHT • What are the benefits of light?

BE A LIGHT • Our bodies need a good quantity of light at the right intensity and at the right time of day to act as cues for our internal body clock. • Light in the morning helps us wake up and feel alert and energized, while dimmer light at night cues us to go to sleep and stay asleep. • 'Light is critical for our health and wellbeing. Ensuring that we receive adequate light levels at the appropriate time of day benefits our alertness, mood, productivity, sleep patterns and many aspects of our physiology, ' says Dr Victoria Revell, a chronobiologist at the University of Surrey. http: //www. netdoctor. co. uk/healthyliving/wellbeing/how-light-affects-yourhealth. htm#ixzz 3 j. Hymc. A 1 A

BE A LIGHT Benefits of Light (Matt 5: 13 -16) • Clarifies • Illuminates • Disinfects • Warms & Assures Safety • Gives Life As Photosynthesis • Reflects What is Missing • Makes things known (reveals) • Promotes Progress

BE A LIGHT Benefits of Light • Stimulates and Motivates • Provides Vision • Adds Credibility • Defeats the darkness • Inspires • Convicts • Exposes Sin and Sickness • Irritates Those in Darkness

BE A LIGHT • Compared to other home lighting methods, natural lighting reduces eye strain and makes it easier for people to see. • Feeling depressed? Science has shown that simply being exposed to natural light for a short period of time can prevent depression in adults as well as children and boost one's spirits. • Another great benefit of using natural light in your home is that it reduces the amount of mildew and mold growth keeping your space healthier for you and your family. • Exposure to sunlight is the primary method in which people receive a sufficient amount of vitamin D.

BE A LIGHT • Vitamin D is an essential mineral for all people. This vitamin has numerous benefits including immune system regulation, body weight maintenance, asthma symptom control as well as helping to keep the brain working efficiently into later life. • Exposure to sunlight is the primary method in which people receive a sufficient amount of vitamin D. • Another great benefit of using natural light in your home is that it reduces the amount of mildew and mold growth keeping your space healthier for you and your family.

BE A LIGHT • The use of natural light in a home or business space is cleaner for all inhabitants and also helps preserve the environment. • Aside from health and energy saving benefits, natural light is also helpful for increasing the aesthetics of a space. • Architects use natural light to make spaces appear larger, illuminate an interior structure and increase the beauty of a space. Natural light will have the same effects on your home.

BE A LIGHT • 14. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a mountain cannot be hid. 15. Neither do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but on the lamp stand. . . you are to let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father. . . (Matthew 5: 14 - 16, HBFV throughout) • Jesus tells those wishing to follow him that they must make a difference in the world. The difference made is the good works believers are to do that are to shine like a light on a lampstand offer a witness for Christ.

BE A LIGHT • In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, from such turn away. II Tim. 3: 1 -15 NKJV • We have to be the light!

BE A LIGHT • The presence of light in darkness is something which is unmistakable. • The presence of Christians in the world must be like a light in the darkness, in the sense that the truth of God’s Word brings light to the darkened hearts of sinful man (John 1: 1 -10) • In the analogy of light to the world, the good works of Christ’s followers are to shine for all to see. Our good deeds must be evident for all to see.

BE A LIGHT • And indeed, our deeds will be evident if they are performed in accordance with the other principles which Jesus mentions in this passage, such as the Beatitudes in Matthew 5: 3 -11. • Notice especially that the concern is not that Christians would stand out for their own sake, but that those who looked on might “glorify your Father who is in heaven” (v. 16, KJV).

BE A LIGHT • What sorts of things can hinder or prevent the Christian from fulfilling his or her role as the light in the world?

BE A LIGHT • The difference between the Christian and the world must be preserved • Any choice on our part which blurs the distinction between us and the rest of the world is a step in the wrong direction. • This can happen either through a choice to accept the ways of the world for the sake of comfort or convenience or to contravene the law of obedience to Christ.

BE A LIGHT • As the light in the world we may be hindered or prevented through any choice we make to compromise or settle for that which is more convenient or comfortable, rather than that which is truly best and pleasing to the Lord. • It is when we depart from the Spirit-led lifestyle that the distinctions between ourselves and the rest of the world become blurred and our testimony is hindered. • Only by remaining focused on Christ and being obedient to Him can we expect to remain as lights in the world.

BE A LIGHT • Isaiah [58: 7 -10] reminds us that merely external worship does not avail with God; it must be joined to internal sincerity. • He encourages his listeners to ‘do away with the yoke, the clenched fist, the wicked word’, and to do it by ‘sharing your bread with the hungry and clothing the man you see to be naked’. • When you do these things, then “light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. ”

BE A LIGHT • If we fail in good works, we are as useless as a lamp whose light is concealed. • By inviting us to be “light, ” Jesus invites us to make him present in the world. • light penetrates darkness. To know the truth and fail to stand for it, Jesus says, is as senseless as lighting a lamp and putting it under a basket. • In other words, we don’t just live out our faith inside the walls of our churches and of our homes. We’re not to be of the world, but we’re to be in the world.

BE A LIGHT • Light illuminates a situation or a place. Light reveals—it reflects the good and the evil. • Light is spread from the inside out. It is not stagnant and cannot be contained. • Light is strongest at the source and becomes weaker as one get further away from the source. • Jesus came to shed light that we may see God through him as well as the true nature of humanity. • Each of us has the Light within us. • We can choose to let that light shine or to hide

BE A LIGHT Statements to Remember • Believe in the dark what He told you in the light. Cori Ten Boom • Bloom Where Your Planted • Stay and face it and let God grace it. • May we grow in Christlikeness so that we may benefit others with the inherent blessings the Lord Jesus has given us. Let’s be a light in the earth.

• Next Week Bible Study • Healthy Christian Session

References • Forty Benefits of Salt and Light by Paul Fritz • What does it mean that believers are to be salt and light? Got. Question? org • Benefits of Natural Light-Patio Enclosure. com 4/4/12 posting • Be A Light-Rev. Lemuel Andrews