You Are The Light
Jesus declared we are the light to the world. Pastor Fua challenges us on are we walking in the light. What does that look like? How do we? How does it change us and how do we reflect God’s love and glory in this world today?
Transcript
Morning church, come on, if you're here for the first time, are you just visiting, welcome to the connect family. The coffees and all that for free, hang around for morning tea, make sure you grab a a welcome bag. It's got some chocolates in there from Pastor Trevor's stash, so make sure you grab a bag. If you're comfortable enough there's a card in there fill out your details would love to connect with you.
There is a lot happening in the church.
Baptisms
Baptisms if you haven't been baptized and and you want to be and it's something that's been dwelling in your heart and you just something's stopping you just do it. Just do it, just get it done. If you choose Jesus Christ as your savior and you love him with all your heart and you want to serve him what's stopping you? We've become all over spiritual and we've gone oh we need four days in prayer, we need to fast for 5 months and then we need to do this and then I'll probably think about it. That's not stepping into your calling. I'm the type of person that if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it and I encourage you if baptism has been on your heart get in there and do it. Let him restore you, let him change something in your heart amen church that's not my sermon here it is here's my sermon, amen.
Matthew 5: 14- 16 (NLT) says this
"You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights the lamp then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."
Who's heard that before? It's the title of my message, ready for it, it's big one. You are the light. See worked on that one, you are the lights. What does it mean to be the light of the world? Now we have people in our lives. You have people in your lives and and this specific people they here right now. I call them the light people. Right and the job of a light person or light people, for some reason they find they have to turn on every single light in the house. Put your hands up if you know the light people. Yeah see I knew it. I knew it, they're real. At first it was a myth and legend but they're real. I live with three of them. I don't know what it is church, there is one light not enough. Why are we turning on the light on this side of the house, to grab something on this side of the house? And the thing about live people, they have relatives. I've figured this out, I've done my research. Right you know who they're related to, the heater people. Right you know the heater people, oh Fua it's cold, it's cold, turn on everything. Right I've got the light people and heater people right here. In this front row and the three light people that I live with I've been I've been watching them and observing them and trying to figure out what's behind all these lights. Why am I going blind all of a sudden, why is there lights on at 1:00 in the afternoon? So here's here's a few things that I've picked up. They turn on all the lights but never find what they're looking for. They turn on all the lights and never turn them off. They turn on all the lights because electricity is free. I love it when it's free. They turn on all the lights in the middle of the day. Sun's not bright enough, turn them all on. Let our people shine and blind them at the same time. Last one, they turn on all the lights and yet they're never fulfilled. It's not, it's not enough, it's not enough. Oh Dad you just you just want to live in darkness. It's go no I'm just blind. We need to be light people, just not these ones. We need to be people who live in the Lord's light. We're always on, we're always shining. We're ready in and out of season. That's why the Apostle Paul says to Timothy be ready in and out of season. We need a light that impacts other communities, families, friends, and our workplaces - we need light that directs our path. We need a light that glorifies our Father, and you won't find that in any light switch or anyone else other than the Father in a world that we live in.
In church, we need to have more light in the world. Would you agree on that? So, what can we do? What's our part? Well, it's simple. How can we be the light? I'm going to share with you three things that I've learned and come across, and still learning. I pray that it gives you some insight on how to be the light. Are you with me? All right:
1. You are restored by the light,
As it says in verse 14, "You are the light of the world." Amen, that's my sermon. Thank you. I'll see you next week. Done. I wish it was that easy. I wish I could rock up and say, "I'm the light of the world."
What is the light? If you're called to be the light of the world, what is the light? Christ is the light, and the light that restores us. We need to encounter Christ's light for ourselves in order to be the light. You can't be something that you've never experienced before. So, in order to be the light, you encounter Jesus in such a way where he fills your heart, he restores things that you may have lost throughout your journey, and maybe you've gone through things and are going through things right now, and along the journey, you go, man, I used to be passionate about that. I don't anymore. I used to like serving, but I just can't get up out of bed. I used to love gathering and taking my kids out to sport teams and gathering with them, but I just don't have that love for people anymore. The light that we encounter fills us, it makes us new, it makes us fresh. All those things that you think you've lost, he will restore back to you. He won't just give back to you what you originally had. What would be the point of that? He will give you something back greater than what you've had before. King David loves us in Psalms 51:12, prays for the Father. He's been separated, sin has grabbed a hold of him, he's separated from the Lord. He wants to regain that joy he felt when he had a close relationship with the Father. He wants to be reminded, he wants that same joy back. And in Psalms 51:12, it says,
"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you."
Restore to me, give me, fill me. If I'm to be the light of the Lord, it's not my personal light, but a light that glorifies the Father. So, if I'm called to glorify the Father, I must encounter the Father for myself. Can't just knock on your neighbor's door and say, "I'm here, I am the light of the world." Probably get arrested or whatever, right? And if you do that, you can't just go in and go, "Right, I'm going to give you all the books of the Bible, and you've got to learn it, and you have to do this and that." No, Paul, Apostle Paul says as well to Timothy, with great patience, with humility, with a heart of love and compassion and grace, that the ones that are broken, the ones that are hurt, need a light in their lives. And when you encounter the Lord for yourself, he fills things in your heart that maybe you've forgotten or maybe you've lost or maybe you've lost passion. Restore to me the joy. Where is your joy? Where is your passion? I see some of you here, and you walk in, and it's awesome, man. Different people, and they walk in differently. On the door, you get the "Hallelujah" Fua, you get those people, and you get the other people, and they go, "Hey, brother." Regardless of how they are on outward expression, that stems from a light that's stemming from a heart that's been restored by the Father.
Many of you may not know this, but there was a time where I was transitioning to Melbourne and leaving New Zealand, and everything that I've known in that. And during that time, I'd given up on music, all of this stuff here. I thought it was rubbish. Who's got time to do all that? Who's got time to set up wires and learn an instrument? I gave up. I lost my love for it, lost my passion. And then, fast forward, I move here and I encounter Jesus for myself, and he shows me a light, a light that restores my heart. And I fast forward no now, and I'm like, a love that I once had for music is now a love greater for Jesus, and my outward expression is my worship. I love playing music more than anything else. It's because of the Father. My musicianship levels have grown, not because of my music teacher or what's on YouTube. He's restored to me not only a love for music or worship, but the love of the Father.
What are you speaking to with the Father? What are you asking him to restore in me? What have you lost? Have you lost your passion? Have you lost your Joy? Is coming to church now something on your calendar? Where is your passion? Where is your love when the Father restores your heart? It really takes you to a different level. It really does. He gives you better than what you had before, greater than before. There's no point asking the Father, Father, give me the same joy I had before when I fell apart. Give me the same love that I had before when my relationship broke down. He would always give you something greater and he would say, "Do you know what? I'm not going to give you the joy you had. I want to give you this joy. This is the joy you need. I'm going to give you this love. This is the love you need. 'Cause you're not going to go back to that condition. You're going to grow and you're going to be the light in the world that I've called you to be. Do you believe that, church? I love this in Revelations Chapter 21:23 and it talks about the New Jerusalem building a new hope and restoration and it says this:
"And the city has no need of sun or moon for the glory of God illuminates the city and the lamb is its light." Revelation 21:23 (NLT)
No need for anything else, church, but the light of the Father that restores you. Who do you look for for restoration, church? Who are you relying on? How far do you think you can go without the Lord restoring the things you need for a firm foundation? That's why sometimes it's hard. We sway from left to right. We can't stay on the path. Maybe we're asking the Father for the wrong things. Church, Christ is the light that restores you and I. Gives you what you need for when you need it and to be the light in the world. Amen. So that's the first thing: restore.
2. Rise Up In The Light
Second thing is this: rise up in the light. Rise up when you're restored. It consumes you. It fills you up. You feel different. You feel different. You can't help but accept the change. And what happens? It rises up from the inside and then it burns out for all to see. There's a rising up attached to it. In verse 15, it says this:
"No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket." Matthew 5:15a (NLT)
You don't go, Father, restore me and then you go back to your old life. Restore me and I'll just keep living the way I'm living. Restore me so I can shine for all to see. So my life is not put under a basket. So I'm not ashamed of who I am. So I'm proud of who I am and the mistakes that I've made. I've asked the Lord to restore me to make me new, make me fresh so I can rise up and shine for all to see.
"Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:15b
You and I belong up high. We're called to shine. And if you're here now and you feel like you got nothing to give, you feel like you're not good enough, or you feel like you don't look the part or whatever it may be, can I tell you that it shines from in? It burns from in here and your outward expression is who you are in Christ. You are called to shine, shine, people, shining and rising up. It should be something that shouldn't be hidden away. We should be celebrated. Rise up. Come out of your slumber. Let everyone see your light. Rise up. Wake up. And Isaiah 60 verse one, I'm going to read it to you. Okay, guys, you ready? You with me? Remember restored, now we're on the rising up. Yep, okay, here we go.
"Arise, Jerusalem, let your light shine for all to see." Isaiah 60:1 NLT
That's not how we read it. If the Lord restores your heart and you're fired up within, this is how you read it:
"Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you." Isaiah 60:1-2 NLT
If I'm filled with the Holy Spirit and he's restored me, I'm not going out there and going, "Arise, arise, rise up." What is that? Be confident of who you are. If you can't say the words in English, say it in your language. But when you say, say it with such a passion and intent to say, "Arise." And I love I found the message translation. It's just another level and it says this: "Get out of bed, Jerusalem. Put your face in the sunlight." It's giving that the theme of getting up, wake up from your spiritual sleep. You can come to church all you want. You can stand on the stage and play music all you want, but still be asleep. You can be spiritual asleep anywhere you go. If you're relying on me and everyone else in here to wake you up from your slumber, you need to go back to the restoration, restoring me a love and a passion, restoring me a heart to listen and then from there, I will rise up. I will rise up from the inside out for all to see, Church. Love this idea of waking up. How many of you guys wake up your kids and are they still asleep now? Now this idea of waking up the kids or waking up people who love to sleep, who loves to sleep? Alex, put your hand. Got to wake up. Wake up. Get up. My dad started off doing the yelling once, you know, wake up. We kind of found a way to block that out so we can keep on sleeping. And he tries a different way and he would get on the piano. It's like an old organ type of thing. And I don't know if it was on purpose, but he would pick a sound that just sounded like a screaming cat and he would turn it all the way up and he would play old hymns like "Old Rugged Cross" and all. And I'm a young father. I'm a young kid. Like, I'm still really, you know, I hear about Jesus, but I know nothing about it. And he's playing and he's playing and we're up straight away. We're up straight away. If you're the light for someone else or light in your community, you have to change it up. You have to change it up. You have to adapt. You have to evolve. You have to go with the flowing in community. The world's changing and always changing. If you're half with Jesus, your restoration and your heart to be to be risen and to rise up, that may be in one community how you adapt, but it may not be in the other. The way you talk, the way you speak, the way you act, there may work for one group of people, but you may need to change it up for someone else. But it doesn't matter how many times you change it up. What stems from the inside is what matters, that the Lord is your light and you are called to be the light in this world. So what will it take, church? What would it take for you to rise up in the light and be an example to those around you? What's stopping you from rising up? What are some of the challenges that you're facing in your life? If Christ's light restores us, it's impossible to stay where we are. It doesn't matter how hard you try, it's just impossible. It consumes you, it changes you from the inside out, you see things differently. Yeah, I was great, but I'm even greater now. Yes, I'm not perfect, I'm going through stuff, my family's not all there, and my relationship is this and that, but that should never stop you from rising up. If we don't take opportunities to rise up, we have missed opportunities to see lives change. Is your light covered and hidden behind the life you live?
That's why we need restoration. A lot of the time, it's hard to know we could be doing all the right things, ticking all the right boxes and all these things, but how do we know we're not spiritually asleep in here? I want to challenge you, Church. The Lord is your light, your encounter with the father is there and always there, and he calls you, he calls you to encounter HIs light. Do you want that for yourself? Do you want that for your family? I know I want that. I want to shine as bright as I can be, even in my family. This morning, my 8-year-old daughter prayed for the first time. Right, and here's the thing, 8 years old and I've been trying to get her to pray at home for the last eight years and uh, so clearly I'm not the light in her life, but the leaders in the kids church, they are. They are the light in these kids' eyes, they're the example, they're restored, they're rising up. Will you continue to rise up, Church, in your challenges, in your hardships? Will you continue to rise up and pursue the father of all that you have?
3. Reach The Oppressed With The Light
And it takes us to our last thing, from restoration to rising up, to reaching the oppressed with the light. What's the point in being restored and having the fire for Jesus and rising up if we're not reaching anyone? I'm restored, I'm rising up just to play piano. I'm restored, I'm rising up just to turn the computer on. No, restored, rising up to reach the oppressed, to reach the lost, to reach the broken, to be an example in your life. We are called to be the light of the world so others can see us shine, to see all the glory in the father, to see the goodness of God shine through your life, to give God glory, to give hope to that oppressed, to see life change through the Lord's light, to give them hope, to give them a light, to give them something that they can hold on to until they encounter Jesus for themselves.
In verse 16, it says this:
"In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:16 (NLT)
Your good deeds are not good deeds when no one can see. That's not a good deed. A good deed shines out for all to see. Everything you do shines out for all to see so they can see your light. Have you ever, many of you here, you got people in your lives where you're just drawn to them? We got those people in our lives. You see them and they got like, you know, Monday morning, they're not like this, they're like, they're like alive, they're like passionate, they're like, doesn't matter what they're going through. Are we those people? In order to reach the oppressed and reach the people that are suffering in darkness, in that the first thing they see is you. And remember we go back to the rising up, you can't be like this, rise up, rise up. Is that the hope we give him? Is that the hope we give these nations, our community, our people?
In Isaiah chapters 59 and 60, the Israelite nation that were under Darkness, they're under darkness is plaguing them, it's tearing them apart from the inside out. I'm going to share a few things around this around the darkness. It says this in 59 chapter 59: 9-13:
'So there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom. We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. Among the living, we are like the dead. We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us. For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord . We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. ' Isaiah 59:9-13 (NLT)
How heavy was that? Now this is probably extreme to what you're going through, but the spiritual darkness that you can have in your lives can look like this. And for the Israelite people, what they were doing, they knew what they were doing, they tried so hard to climb out of it, they trying so hard to find the light. And the thing is, being the light, it requires one thing from you, and the one thing that no one gives them in the story, not one person steps in for the Israelite people, not one. There was no light in anyone but the Lord steps in.
'He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him. ' Isaiah 59:16 (NLT)
He was amazed that no one stepped in. The other translation says he was astonished, he was displeased. The Lord was amazed no one said like what's going on here? I'm restoring you, I'm rising you up, yet no one is shining bright, no one is stepping in. We want the restoration, we want the heart to be to rise up in there, but no one is stepping in. We want to make a difference in our community and reach the lost and the heartbroken. Yet, no one steps in when the Lord steps in. Here, he doesn't step in to judge the people; he steps in to give them hope and restoration. Hope and restoration to restore them. He wasn't angry that no one stepped in; he was amazed because for the Father, He finds joy in watching His work through you. He loves to see His work move in your life so you can be an example of light in your families. He could have come down any time and said exactly this, but He waited. Hence, I'm amazed no one stepped in.
Then it says this in verses 19 and 20:
'“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end. ' Isaiah 60:19-20 (NLT)
No longer will you find the light in anything else other than the father. No longer will you find the light and turning on all the light switches in your life. You won't find the Lord's light there. You can put in place, I mean the story of Isaiah, if you go back a few chapters, they try to look for light through Idols, through worship, through all these different things in that, but it's always drawn back to the one very thing is that Christ is the light and He restores us, and that's what keeps us going.
One of the brothers at the front door said to me this morning, How do you keep going? and I said to him, you have to encounter Jesus daily. Encounter Jesus daily. This is not a monthly thing, man. I said, brother, this is not an every six months or financial year thing, man. This is daily, right? Go, oh yeah, yeah, you have to encounter Jesus daily. You have to ask him to restore me, restore back to me my joy, my passion. I have nothing left, my relationship's falling apart, I've lost my job, my life is going this way, but restore to me my passion to keep serving. I said to the brother out there, the only way I keep going is if I find Jesus every day, again and again and again. If I let Him restore me, you can't reach people if you're not restored and you're not rising up. You can rise up and reach the lost, but if you're not restored, you'll lead them astray. You can reach people and be restored, but if your light is hidden underneath a basket, you will shine for no one. Restored, rise, reach. Isn't that our calling? Isn't that we're supposed to be doing? My calling is not playing piano, my calling is reaching lives to see lives changed, the same change through me that I've encountered myself, the same change you have encountered yourself. Don't you want that for others? Are you living out of the Lord's light in your life, Church? Can I get the team up? Are you letting your good deeds shine for all to see?
This made me think last night as I was working my messages. Maybe some of you here were the light. Maybe there was one point in your life where the restored and the rise and the reach was real. It was. I'm going for it, but you've become tired and weary. You've lost your grip. It's like a tug of war. It's kind of like I can't pull anymore, man. I'm losing grip of this, and after a while, you've lost it. If that's you, the Lord's light restores you. Can I tell you that through the Father, whatever you've lost, He will restore and make you greater than before, make you better than before. I'm a better musician now than I was in all the lessons that got before me. Jesus, I have so much passion for worship now than I did for music back then. Maybe the enemy is telling you right now that you're not great enough to be the light. If you hear and the enemy is telling you that, this is what you say, this is your response: Yeah, you're right. I'm not great, but I'm greater. I'm greater than before. So, enemy, you're right. I'm not great, better, stronger than ever. I don't know why I'm weeping. Oh, passion done pretty well. It's been a couple weeks since I wept, and that, you know, the scripture, he wept. Yeah, help writing that.
Maybe you feel like you have no purpose in your life. What's purpose? What's your purpose? Why are you even here? Why am I even up here? Why is there no tissues here? No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. We can't. We can't. If we are to reach the lost and the broken even in our families, we need to be restored. We need to rise up. We need to reach. The word says that the Father's arms are not too far away, and when the Father steps in with the Israelite Nation, it says that He brings His good arm because you are worth it, you are worth saving, you're worth being the light, there is a purpose behind you. If we don't grab a hold of this church, who will? If we don't shine, who will? If we don't encounter this life from the Lord so others can see it shine, who will? What is the purpose of all this then? I can't, yeah, I can't do church, I can't play church, I just can't. I can't do the whole 10:00-11:30 out the door, but I can do Jesus. I can do Jesus. Jesus is not at 10:00 to 11:30. Jesus is a daily, sold out, this is my life, not just preaching. I want to walk it daily, to be restored, fill me, give me that passion I once lost, give me that joy. Daryl, you keep going, brother, you keep going, man. Need to, man. You tell the enemy Daryl that he's right, you're not great, you're greater. If you knew Daryl's story, for Daryl, it's a daily, it's a restore me, like give me what I once lost, the love, the first time of meeting Jesus and how He's moved through my life, give me that love, give me that love. I don't have it anymore, it's lost along the way. I want that love. Don't you, Church? Don't you want that love?
You are the light of the world, Church, and when you shine, you show the Lord's beauty and power to others, you show the world His beautiful nature and His image and what He has created, you bring joy, hope, love, you lead through the darkness. Church, you remember that. Is your life, like a townhouse barely shining in the valley while you shining bright like a city on a Hilltop that cannot be hidden. Every single one of you is called to be the light of the world, to be restored, to rise up, and to reach. And I pray that you would grab a hold of this, and I pray that you'll leave here today and you will go. What is it that the Lord needs to restore in me? What areas of my life do I need to rise up in? Who do I need to reach in my family, in my workplace? If we, a church that loves God, loves people, change lives, we should be people who are restored, rise, and reach. And I pray that every single one of you grabs a hold of something from this morning and you take it with you and you make a change today. You go, "You know what, here Lord, here I am, all of me." Elena Johnson says something at the traditional service about where are you. Lets be people who step into situations of life, amen. Church.
Let's pray, let's pray, let's pray. Father, I thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. I thank you that we're able to gather, we get to worship, Lord, we thank you that we get to see Your light in our lives daily. We thank you, Lord, that we get to be the light in communities. Lord, we thank you that you restore us daily, that we are called to rise as people, as your people, as your children, Father. And I pray that we would reach out not just to impact lives but to see disciples that are made, Lord, to make disciples, that's your calling, Lord, to go out and make disciples. And I pray, Father, that if anyone else in this building, Lord God, they need a filling, they need a restoration, Lord God, I pray that you would do that right now in this place, that you would cover them, Lord, that you would give them what they once lost, Lord, that you're restoring them, their passion and their joy, Father. And Lord God, I pray that you'll continue to fill us afresh as a fire in our hearts, oh God, the Holy Spirit, Lord God, that we would rise up, we would rise up, Lord God, that we would reach the lost and the oppressed and the hard of the broken, Lord. So we thank you, Father, your light shines brighter than anything in the world, Father, and we are honored, humbled, and privileged to be a part of your light, that we may be a symbol of Your love and Your grace and Your joy in our lives, Father. So others may see on the hilltop. And we thank you, Lord, and his people say amen, amen, amen. Thank you, Church, hang around for a cup of morning tea and next week back baptisms.