May it please God to bless us
together this evening as we continue our meditation on the Sermon
on the Mount, the fifth chapter of Matthew, and this evening
we'll read verses 14, 15 and 16. That's Matthew chapter 5,
reading verses 14, 15 and 16. Ye are the light of the world, a city that
is set on a hill, cannot be hid. Neither do men
light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick,
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Last week we meditated on the
great blessing of being sold in this earth. And now this evening
we come on to this second great blessing to be found as light
of the world. How tremendous a word it is,
if we really think what it means when it directs us to individually,
That's each one of us, if we are born again in the Spirit,
we are the light of the world. And the great reason for that
is, as we conclude this 16th verse, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven. And so, as our light shines,
and may it truly shine, and not be a hidden light, but be a glorious
light which shows forth the blessings of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let us always remember the great
need for Christ to be central in our lives, in all that we
think, and all that we say, and all that we do. Surely is the
great emphasis here as we consider a truth like this spoken to us. The Lord spoke it to the disciples
and the multitude that were there instructing them in this way
and informing them of this fact. Ye are the light of the world. And he then gives an illustration. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hid. Well, we know that cities are
set on a hill. They just cannot be hidden. I
remember there's one particular city in our country, that's Lincoln,
and it's in the Fens, really, and you can be miles away, and
you see this city, and especially the cathedral, which stands up. You just can't miss it. It's
just so clear. You don't need any compass, you
can just make towards that hill. Now what a wonderful thing if
we see the same significance in our lives, that people might
look upon us. It's a very humbling thing to
realise that the great glorious Saviour died on Calvary's cross
to redeem our souls, but it was to bring honour and glory to
his great and holy name. And that surely should be and
must be our desire and our concern that we may show forth His praise. Now we know by nature how reluctant
we are. We can become cold-hearted and
I suppose worse than that, we can be worldly-minded. And you
see where there is that worldliness, there can't be any light. Because
the things of the world are darkness, they're not light. And therefore
if we are found walking in darkness in the world, we cannot expect
them there to be light and that people look and observe that
we are light. So this statement here is very
powerful. Ye are the light of the world. And we're only a light in the
world, of course, because we reflect the great light. And the great light is the Lord
Jesus Christ, when he told us, I am the light of the world. Well, it's a wonderful blessing
if we are then found like that, to be the light of the world.
Because there was a time when we were not in light. in darkness. And the Apostle Paul, when he
wrote to the Ephesians, he highlights the truth of that situation.
And in the fifth chapter and the eighth verse we read, for
ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. You see, there is no light unless
we are found like that in the Lord, because then it's His light
which shines through us. And how humbling that should
be, to think that the glorious light of the Saviour shines through
His people as they walk on the earth. And therefore, this word
is so true, ye are the light of the world. A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hid. We may, where as it were, therefore
be set on a hill, and we don't hide. We don't hide our light. And that's what the next verse
directs us to, when we're told, neither do men light a candle
and put it under a bushel. A bushel is actually a container
that used to hold corn, and corn in those days was of course measured
in bushels, and therefore that was the inference here, this
was a candle putting under, as it were, this bucket or container,
and of course there wouldn't be any light visible really around
it. So here is this statement which
tells us, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel,
but on a candlestick. and it gives light unto all that
are in the house." And so there is the evidence of this light
shining forth, and what a blessing it is when the light does shine. Naturally, sometimes when there's
a dark room or a dark house, a small light brings about an
amazing change. A small light in a pitch black
room brings an amazing change. And therefore we should not think
that we don't show forth any light, but we must show forth
some light, and that may be a small light, but if it's a reflection
of God's light, it will be, in effect, a great light, and it
will be that light which will prove to be a blessing. Because
what does it really mean? Well, it means that our lives
show forth the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our lives show
forth what he has done in his great work of salvation. What a wonderful thing it is
to think that the Lord Jesus is this great and glorious light
of the world. We have that well-known verse
in the 8th chapter of John where we read Jesus speaking and he
tells us in that 8th chapter when we read these words. Then spake Jesus again unto them
saying I am the light of the world He goes on and says, he
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life. And this really directs us to
the situation that if we are to be found in the light, if
we are in the Lord, then there will be that following of the
Lord. And there will be that closeness,
will there not? One of my brothers tonight mentioned
about that Emmaus Road. And you know, thinking of that,
those two on that Emmaus Road, you know, they were really, they
weren't really in light, were they? And they didn't understand
the situation. They were asking each other and
discussing the things that happened. But when Jesus drew near and
went with them, and what did he do? He opened to them the
scriptures. And the light shone. And what
a wonderful light it was, and it shone into their hearts. What
a change it made. What was the change? They tell
us, don't they? Did not our heart burn within
us? And that's the effect of the
great and glorious light of the Gospel. It shines into our hearts,
and therefore the light is there. And, you know, the effect was
tremendous on them, wasn't it really? You know, when he was
revealed to them as the Saviour, they had some good news, didn't
they? And they journeyed all that way, but they didn't stop. They returned immediately to
Jerusalem to be able to tell the disciples of this great news,
the light they'd seen. They wanted to tell the people,
and surely if you and I are a true follower, we should desire that
the light that we've seen by God's grace, we may be able to
speak of for His honour and for His glory. And so we're not to
hide a light, we're not to put it under a bushel. Now, we may
be tempted to do that. We may perhaps fear what people
will say. Well, we should always remember
or try and remember or bring to our remembrance the great
cost of our salvation. To think that the light of the
world was so gloriously merciful and condescending to come to
us and to give us of his light, and therefore what a privilege
it is to show forth that light. Let us never be ashamed of that
dear man on whom our hopes of heaven depend. Let us not therefore
put it under a bushel, but to display it. It must be put on
a candlestick. You know, in the tabernacle in
the temple, there weren't any windows, they had the candlestick. And the oil was lit, and there
was the beautiful light which shone forth. Well, what a light
we have to set forth and to show forth, and it's not anything
that we have done to set forth, it's what God has done. It is
great and glorious grace which he's revealed to us and shown
to us, what he's done for us in dying upon the cross at Calvary. You see, this is then putting
this light, displaying this light, not hiding it. The example here
is so very clear, but on a candlestick. Because when it's on a candlestick,
it gives light all around. And that's the picture that we
have given here. And it giveth light unto all
that are in the house. Well, it's a blessing, isn't
it? If our light, which God has given to us, shines forth in
such a way that it gives light to all those that are around
us. And we can be so, so thankful
for that. In Luke's Gospel, we read, Therefore
whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness, shall be heard in the
light. And that which ye have spoken
in the air, in closets, shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. What a mercy it is if these things
are proclaimed upon the housetops. I said on the Lord's Day. Now
truth is, ye are my witnesses. And if the Lord has given us
light, that is, to be put on a candlestick, as it were, is
to be shown forth, it's not to be hidden. And again we read
of John the Baptist. He was a burning and a shining
light We have, don't we? The evidences of those, in the
word of God, who were burning and shining light. And you know,
it's now our turn to walk upon the earth. For such a time as
this, God's called us to be upon the earth. And God has called
us to shine forth, to show forth that light which he has given
to us. His light. What a wonderful privilege. What a wonderful blessing it
is to be granted this wonderful favor. You know, we cannot but,
I suppose, go back, can we, to the very beginning, the book
of Genesis and the first day of the week and those first few
verses in the first chapter of Genesis. What do we read? We
read this. And God said, let there be light. And there was light. Now that
was a natural light. My friends, today in our spiritual
lives, God says, let there be light. And there is light. And God divided the light from
the darkness and God called the light day, the darkness he called
night. And the evening and the morning
were the first day. The very first thing was light,
naturally. The very first thing spiritually
is light. Light from God. He shines into
our dark heart. Oh, what a blessing it is then
to know that light and then to be able to testify of that light
that has shone into our heart. and giveth light unto all that
are in the house. And so he says, let your light,
your light, the light that God's given, let your light so shine
before men that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father which is in heaven. Now what a mercy when God enables
us to do that which is right in His sight. And good works
are not pleasing ourselves, they're pleasing our Master. They're
letting people know what He has done, His work, in our heart,
the grace that He's given, the love toward us, His patience,
His mercy, the help, the strength. many things we have to be thankful
for which demonstrate good works. They are the effect, they are
the result of God's grace and they will show forth and they
will shine forth and they must really shine forth because we
are not to be found hiding this light, this great and glorious
light of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so As we read these words,
they are very striking, they're very powerful, and we, left to
ourselves, we will ignore them and try and avoid them, because
we know that true religion and walking out our profession will
be costly, will involve persecution, will involve suffering, but be
of good cheer, says the Saviour. I have overcome the world. And so may our light shine before
men, before men. If it doesn't shine, it won't
be before men, will it? Let it shine before men, that
they may see your good works. And the result is not to praise
us, is not to say, well, what a wonderful person that person
is. No, it looks beyond that. And
this is what should always be our concern in our lives. May see our good works and the
effect is to glorify our Father which is in heaven for his great
grace, for his love and mercy. For may the blessed spirit give
us that grace and give us that strength and powerful and high
to walk such gracious words out for the honor and glory of our
God. Amen.