A city in a city that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city...

For many of us, we start the new year by spending a time of reflection that reflects on the events and relationships that have shaped our lives, either for better or for worse. Then, after that time of reflection, however long it is, we begin the process of moving forward towards a new year. 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 yet, so often, just like the video we just watched, we end up bailing on our resolutions only weeks after making them. Or, worse yet, we make resolutions that are filled with loop holes and exceptions that result in us living a life that fails to reach any of the goals or aspirations we had set for ourselves at the beginning of the year. And then we end up in that familiar place of frustration because we seem to be unable to make the changes that we believe that we desperately need to make in our lives.

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 2018?

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 space that you have never been in before and turn on a light. When you enter a space 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 searching for a way to bring light into that space, don’t we? And when we are able to bring light into that space, what happens?

As soon as you bring light into that space, what is in that space is revealed to you isn’t it? As soon as you bring light into that space, everything in that space displayed for you to see. The whole point of the light is to reveal and to display what is present in that space.

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. We believe that 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.

That is why we partner with Bullhead City to love and serve the city during our annual Saturday of Service project. That is why we partnered with the Boys and Girls club to sponsor over 80 children for their summer program. That is why we Adopted Coyote Canyon Elementary School to provide technology for their classrooms. That is why we love and served over 2,000 people from our community this Halloween during our Candyland Carnival. That is why we loved and served over 90 children this Christmas during angel tree.

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”? If you are asking those questions, I just want you to know that they are great questions to be asking. And my answer to those questions would be this; when we read the letter that make up the Bible, we consistently see that followers of Jesus who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship that reveals and reflects Christ invest their lives in three specific ways.

First, we see that those who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Christ consistently invested their time with other Christians as they gathered corporately for regular weekly worship gatherings and as they scattered to experience community in homes throughout the week. Second, we see that those who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Christ consistently invested their talents serving God by serving others through the exercise of their spiritual gifts. Third, we see that those who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Christ consistently invested their treasure to support God’s kingdom mission through regular and proportional giving.

And we believe that as individual followers of Jesus consistently invest their time by being involved in a regular worship gathering and a community group; as individual followers of Jesus consistently invest their talents serving God by serving others through being a part of a ministry team; and as individual followers of Jesus consistently invest their treasure in order to help create environments where people can explore and grow in their faith while experiencing community, we will continue to be a city in a city that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city.

We desire that we would be a church that creates environments where people grow in their relationship with Christ and are able to move from being consumers who view the church as a place where they receive spiritual goods and services to being investors who embrace and invest their time, talent, and treasure to advance the kingdom mission that God has given us. And, because followers of Jesus grow and mature in their relationship with Jesus when they  are investing their time in a community group, their talents in a ministry, and their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus, as a church, we believe God calls us to plan for the future with three specific goals that will help you grow in your relationship with Jesus.

First, we have set as a goal for the future that everyone who attends City Bible Church is investing their time, in addition to attending one of our  worship gatherings that we have on Sundays, in a community group. We feel strongly about this goal because we believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs in circles, not rows. And community groups create those transformational environments where people can develop loving and supportive relationships that challenge us to take that next step when it comes to our relationship with Jesus.

Second, we have set as a goal for the future that everyone who attends City Bible Church is investing their talents serving God by serving others as part of a ministry team. We feel strongly about this goal because we believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging the spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us in a selfless way that serves others. We encounter God as we use the spiritual gifts we have been given to help others encounter God. We experience God’s transformational activity in our lives as we help others experience God’s transformational activity in their lives.

Third, we have set as a goal for the future that everyone who attends City Bible Church is investing their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus. We feel strongly about this goal because we believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging the treasure that we have been given to create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience genuine and authentic community. And when we reflect the generosity of Jesus by being generous, we reveal and reflect Jesus to others.

So, as a church, we invite individuals to join us in the kingdom mission and vision that God has given us by planning for the future in three specific ways with three specific goals. As a church, we are not inviting individuals to commit to more than this, but we are not inviting individuals to commit to less than this. We are inviting individuals to plan for the future by partnering with us in the kingdom mission that we have been given as a church by investing their time in a community group, their talents in a ministry, and their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus.

So here are some questions for you to consider as we launch into 2018: Where are you at when it comes to a relationship with Jesus? Are you a consumer who views the church as a place where they receive spiritual goods and services? Are you a consumer who is shopping when it comes to a relationship with Jesus because you are searching, seeking, or skeptical?

Are you an owner who owns a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus but is simply treading water when it comes to your relationship with Jesus and are not investing in the mission He has given us?

Or are you an investor who is embracing and investing their time, talent, and treasure to advance the kingdom mission that God has given us? And based on where you are at when it comes to your relationship with Jesus, what is the next step that you need to take in order to take the next step in your relationship with Jesus?

Is that next step to invest your time in a community group? Is that next step to invest your talent in a ministry? Is that next step to invest your treasure in a way that reflects the generosity of Jesus? Because it is when we invest our time, talents, and treasure into the kingdom mission that we have been given that we become a community of faith that is a city within a city that reveals and reflects Christ as we love and serve the city.

Now, so often when we have looked at this passage as a church, we have stopped with Jesus words in verse 16. However, this morning, I would like for us to spend the rest of our time looking at what Jesus had to say next, because it is what Jesus had to say next that will set the stage for the sermon series that we will be engaging in as we lean into 2018.

Friday, we will look together at what Jesus had to say next...