You are the light of the World (Matthew 5:14)

After 5 weeks, I started preaching again and another trip for preaching this coming Sunday. Yesterday, I preached in a small church of less than 100 adults (70 adults present) and I was glad that there were three visitors and they joined us for lunch after the service which ended at 11.45am. The service started about 10.10am and I preached for 47 minutes on a text from Matthew 5:14-16 on the Church being the light of the world. I used multiple texts including 1 John 1:5, 7, 2 Cor 4:1-6; Luke 11:40-41 and two passages from the OT, Daniel 12:3 and Isaiah 60:1-4.

I spoke about walking in the light and that God is light and there is no darkness in Him. I spoke about letting the light of Christ shine through us, especially in the preaching of the Gospel who gives light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. When I came to this verse, my conversion experience flashed in my mind and I testified how on the night of 23rd April to early hours of 24th April, I felt a light in my room, I knelt down and began to weep, and that there was this presence of the Lord in light who appeared and spoke to me: "I am alive. I have died for your sins." But I did not share the last part of my conversion but emphasising that what I encountered that night was the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

I spoke about not involved in hidden works of darkness, in duplicity and hypocrisy and not falsify the Word of God which could only darken our souls and bring darkness to the Church. 

I spoke about doing good deeds as Matthew 5:16 talks that people may see our good deeds and glorify the Father in heaven. I spoke about giving alms in Luke 11:41 and how giving money to others is cleansing of the soul, "all shall be clean to you" in Jesus' words. Oftentimes we are bound with hoarding and clutching at our so-called financial security or savings and not releasing the blessings of God into people's lives through our good deeds. 

I spoke about Daniel 12:3 that the wise shall shine as lights in the universe and we need to be wise in order to shine. And finally if the Church is truly the light of the world, nations will come to its lights and kings to its brightness. Why are we hiding ourselves and content to being small and few in numbers? The nations will come in drove only that if we shine our light into the world.