There is something that happens on New Year’s Eve as
a culture. On New Year’s Eve, as the ball begins to drop in Times Square, as
individuals and as a culture, we begin the transition from a time of reflection
and evaluation of the past that is focused on where we presently find ourselves
to a time of hope for the future. We begin the attempt to leave the past behind
and begin a new year with a new and fresh slate and with new and fresh hope
when it comes to our future. And as part
of that process, we sit down and make a list of what we are going to do
differently in the New Year. We even have a name for that list, don’t we? We
call that list our New Year’s Resolutions.
And what is the case individually is also the case
for us as we live life together in community. Just like individuals, as a
church, we have a tendency to look at the New Year as a time to reflect on the
past, evaluate the present, and plan for the future when it comes to the unique
mission that we have been given. But, this morning, as a church, what should be
on our New Year’s resolution list? What should our focus and our goal be as a
church as plan for the future in 2013?
Fortunately for us, in an account of Jesus life that
is recorded for us in the Bible, called the gospel of Matthew, Jesus provides
for us a timeless goal that we should strive towards, both as individuals and
as a church. So let’s spend our time together by looking at this timeless goal
and its implications when it comes to our future plans as a church, beginning
in Matthew 5:14:
"You
are the light of the world.
As part of perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus
ever preached, which we call the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus paints for the
crowds listening to Him a word picture to describe what the world should see
when they come into contact with His followers. Jesus explains to the crowds
listening to Him that those who follow Him are the light of the world.
Now light, by its very nature, has incredible impact
and influence when it enters into an environment. For example, just think what
happens when you enter into a dark room that you have never been in before and
turn on a light. When you enter a dark room that you have never been in before,
do you have any idea what is in there? No, you have no idea. And because of
that reality, we often find ourselves groping along the wall looking for the
light switch, don’t we?
But as soon as you turn on that light switch, what
happens? As soon as you turn on the light switch, what is in the room is
revealed to you isn’t it? As soon as you turn on that light switch, everything
in the room is displayed for you to see. The whole point of the light is to
reveal and to display what is present in the room.
But light does more than just reveal and display. I
experienced another function and purpose of light first hand during my time in
seminary. While on a camping trip with high school
students to Mt. Adams in Washington State, we decided to go hiking on a trail
called sleeping beauty. It received that name because as you reach the end of
this trail, you find yourself looking towards a mountain ridge that many say
bears the profile of sleeping beauty. I had never hiked this trail, and before
long, I realized that this was not a simple hike. You know you are in trouble
when the person who is leading the hike says “I don’t remember the hike being
this difficult”. And the hike was difficult. The trail was narrow and steep,
with several switchbacks and no areas to catch your breath. By the time we
reached the summit, however, the sun was setting and we realized that no one on
staff had brought a flashlight.
Now being in a dense pine forest in the middle of
nowhere on a hiking trail that is only ten yards wide without any light can be
unsettling. Fortunately for us, one of the students had a pen light attached to
their key chain. So we ended up having 40 students and staff in a single file
line, hands on the shoulder of the person in front of them following a pen
light, for what ended up being a two hour hike down the mountain. And in the
absolute pitch black darkness of that forest, the light from that small pen
light provided the guidance and direction that we needed to navigate down the
mountain.
Jesus point here is that in the same way, as the
light of the world, followers of Jesus are to reveal and reflect Jesus and help
provide the guidance and direction necessary for people to be able to navigate
life here on earth. After providing this word picture what the world should see
when they encounter His followers, Jesus provides two additional images to
challenge the crowds listening. Let’s look at these images together:
A city set
on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it
gives light to all who are in the house.
Jesus begins His challenge to those listening with
two additional word pictures. First, Jesus reminds the crowds listening of a
timeless reality that they were all too familiar of: a city set on a hill
cannot be hidden. A city that is located
in an elevated location can be seen from miles away. In Jesus day, this would
especially be the case after the sun set. In the pitch black darkness of the
desert of Israel, the light of an elevated city would be seen for miles and
miles.
Jesus then provides a second word picture, this time
of a lamp that would be used to provide light in a home. Jesus explains that a
person does not take the time to light a lamp and then place that lamp under a
basket. That would make absolutely no sense. It would make absolutely no sense
to place a lamp under a basket because then the lamp would not be functioning
as it was designed. The lamp would not be fulfilling the purpose that it was
created to fulfill.
Instead, Jesus reminds the crowds that a person
would take the lamp and place it on a lampstand, which would place the lamp in
an elevated position so that the light of the lamp would provide the maximum
coverage possible in the house. For the light to fulfill its purpose to reveal,
display, and to provide the opportunity for those in the house to navigate an
otherwise dark environment, the light needed to be in the right position. After
painting these two word pictures, Jesus makes His challenge to the crowds who
were listening unmistakably clear in Matthew 5:16:
"Let
your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Just like a city on a hill; just like a lamp that is
placed on a lampstand, as Jesus followers we are to live our day to day lives
in a way that reveals and reflects Christ to those around us. But Jesus does
not simply tell the crowds to reveal and reflect Christ: Jesus also tells the
crowds how they will reveal and reflect Christ. Jesus explains that we will
reveal and reflect Christ when we live our lives in such a way that the world
around us may see our good works and glorify God who is in Heaven. Jesus here
is calling the crowds listening, and us here today, to reveal and reflect
Christ by how we love and serve the world around us. Jesus calls His followers
to engage the world by loving and serving those who God has placed around us.
Do you realize that the church is the only
organization that does not exist for the sake of its members? The church has
been divinely designed to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus
to the world. And God places the local church in distinctive environments to be
distinctively different. God has placed City Bible Church in Bullhead City to
be a city within a city that loves and serves those around us. And when we love and serve others in a way
that reveals and reflects Christ, the result is that we glorify God in Heaven.
And that is why we believe and are focused on the
goal that God has given us as a church to be a city in a city that is striving
to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city. We believe that as
we live life together in community with a focus on engaging those in this city
in a way that reveals and reflects Christ by loving and serving those in the city,
we will be the vehicle that God uses to advance His kingdom mission and bring
Him glory.
Now you might be wondering “well that’s great Dave,
but how do we reach that goal as a church? And how do I get to a place in my
life where I am following Jesus is a way that reveals and reflects Christ”?
Friday, we will answer those questions…
No comments:
Post a Comment