Letting Your Light Shine

If you would turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. I have an introduction that I'm going to read after we read the text, but I'd like to say something prior to that. Our message tonight is going to center on the glory of God being a light in the darkness. And I mentioned when I first got up here about my heart attack on June 21.

And I want to give you a little bit of background, tell you why the Lord has led me to think along these lines of glorifying God. On June 20, around 11 at night, I had this burning sensation all the way down my front and intense pressure between my back, my shoulder blades. And enough that my wife felt like we needed to call the EMS and have them come and check me out. And they came and did a portable EKG and said, well, we really can't tell the difference between acid reflux and a heart attack unless you had blood work done.

And I decided, well, I'll just wait and see what happens in the morning. So I sat up in the chair all night. And the next morning, my wife knew that I was still hurting. We went to the hospital.

They took blood. The doctor came back in and said, you had a heart attack, which blew me away. They admitted me and scheduled to have a catheterization done on Father's Day the next day.

Now, why I bring this up, what has that got to do with the glory of God? When my wife took me to the emergency room on the 20th, I did all the stuff you've got to do to get checked in. She parked the car, came in, and we thought she'd go back with me. And the nurse said, no, we're sorry, but with COVID, we can't let anyone go back with the patient. So bottom line, when I walked through that door, I wasn't going to see my family again unless I came out of the hospital. And I can tell you this, the head and the tail of it, I was very confident in my standing before the Lord. I knew that if it was His will that I not come out of that surgery, what I thought was surgery, I thought they'd put me out and I'd wake up in heaven or in my room, one of the two, not knowing that they would keep me conscious through the whole thing, which was an experience. But I laid there that night fully confident and yet very emotional because there's a head and a tail of it. I realized my wife had to call our kids and grandkids and say, Papa had a heart attack.

And no, we can't go see him. And so without getting in the nitty gritty, I texted our kids, I sent a text to my wife, I made a text to our grandkids that I didn't text or I didn't send out. I figured if I don't make it, they'll see the text and send it.

But here's the point. I did think, Lord, enable me to glorify you through this, enable me to go into this procedure in a way that would glorify you. And we want to talk about that tonight briefly. I want us just to read Matthew 5 beginning in verse 13 through 16. And we are going to focus just on verse 16 tonight and expand on that. But Matthew 5, beginning with verse 13, Jesus says, You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Keep your place there, but I want to read John 15, 8. Jesus again is speaking, and he says this, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. The works that we want people to see that will glorify God is fruit for His glory. I want to read an introduction to you that I think will set the backdrop for our thoughts tonight.

It has been said that the darker the night, the brighter the light. We live in a world that is becoming more brazenly godless and spiritually darker with each passing day. It's a world where the God-ordained institutions of family, government, and church are being corrupted. It's a world where the voices of politicians, actors, and false teachers drown out the voices of those who hold the Bible in high regard. It's a world that does not value virtue. A world where doing what you need to do to get what you want is becoming the norm, even to the point of sacrificing babies on the altar of so-called reproductive rights. It's a world where the natural man's love of darkness is becoming increasingly evident as sins once done in secret are now exalted on prime-time television. It's a world where many call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Someone has said, first we overlook evil, then we permit evil, then we legalize evil, then we promote evil, then we celebrate evil, then we persecute those who still call it good or it evil, I should say.

That's America today. But in spite of this, beloved, in spite of this, believers can take heart because we know the final chapter in God's ordained script. There's coming a day where every knee will bow of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. But until then, the response of everyone who places their faith in Christ needs to be, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. In that text, the word see, the word see means much more than just the eye.

It means to turn the eye, the mind, and the attention to anything. Surely this would include not only what we do, but what we say when it comes to letting our light shine. Now I want us to consider a premise as we get into this message tonight. If you do not openly connect your testimony of salvation, your light to the works that you do, you may gain glory for yourself without even beginning to glorify God in the eyes of others.

Let me read that again. If you do not openly connect your testimony of salvation, your light to the works that you do, you may gain glory for yourself without even beginning to glorify God in the eyes of others. And we will illustrate this later in the message.

But before we do, we're going to look at five questions. Now not to panic, most of these are short, a couple are longer, and will I trust give us a clearer view, I trust, of the glory of God and what it means to glorify Him. We're going to first of all look at who is to let their light shine, then why are God's children to let their light shine, what do we know about the glory of God, when and where do Christians give God the glory due His name, and finally, how do Christians give God the glory due His name? The first question that we want to consider is who is to let their light shine?

Christians, short answer. In our text, Matthew 5 16, it states, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Obviously that refers to God, and your light refers to our salvation.

The implied subject in that is you. You let your light so shine. Christians are called the children of God in multiple texts, and sons of light, sons of the day, in 1 Thessalonians 5 5. 2 Corinthians 4 6 says, for it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who is shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And beloved, we are certainly debtors to God's grace to have that said of us. 1 Peter 2 9, one of my favorite verses, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.

Why are we a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people? We are that because he wants us to proclaim the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. And then finally, John 8 12, Jesus spoke to them again saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of light. Basically, what we're referring to his faithful obedience to Christ's commands is evidence that we are truly saved. Who is to let their light shine?

Children of God, Christians saved by grace. The second question is why are God's children to let our light shine? There are probably more reasons than this, but three fundamental were commanded to do so. Our text says you let your light so shine before men. Secondly, not only are we commanded to do so, but we should do it because the Father is worthy to be glorified or to let the light of the gospel shine from us that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Revelation 4 11 states, you are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they exist and were created. And then finally, we were created to do so.

We're commanded to do it. The Father is worthy to be glorified and we are created to do so. The Westminster Catechism that our kids learn in church states, what is the chief end of man?

Man's chief end. His purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. The next question, what do we know about the glory of God?

And I'll be quite frank with you, no one can answer this question adequately. And listen carefully to this, if you would. After describing God's awesome power adorning the heavens, Job reminds us that indeed these are the mere edges of his ways and how small a whisper we hear of him, but the thunder of his power who can understand. That's wonderful to me. When I think of the heavens, indeed the heavens and the glory of it are indeed the mere edges of his ways and how small a whisper we hear of him, but the thunder of his power who can understand.

I want to give you an illustration at this point that will bring this to life. For most of human history, the sun was thought to be the largest and brightest body in the heavens and then telescopes came along and now enabled us to see how woefully short our understanding of the universe really was. The sun is but a whisper compared to stars like UY Skitai. Astronomers tell us that it is 1,700 times larger than the sun.

On top of that is 340,000 times brighter. And yet folks, you cannot see it with a naked eye. Now what is the point, as you see on the screen, the point of the illustration is this. Our best understanding of the glory of God falls far short of the reality of who he is. And sometimes we lose track of that. We tend to think of God in human terms because that's all we can do. Yet he so far exceeds our ability to even remotely comprehend. Just like UY Skitai dwarfs the sun, the reality of God's glory dwarfs our understanding. As we gaze upon him through the telescope of his word, our awe should deepen and our desire to make his excellent glory known to our lives should be evident all. 1 Thessalonians 2 12, in that verse, Paul speaks of believers walking worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Let me ask you this question. In your progressive sanctification, in your journey toward Christ's likeness, could it be said of you that you are walking more and more worthy of God? And that's a question all of us have to ask ourselves and answer honestly. Some manifestations of God's glory use the imagery of brilliant light.

Keep in mind UY Skitai as I give this point, if you would, 370,000 times brighter than a sun that you can't even look at for long. Speaking of God, Paul wrote, he who is the blessed and only sovereign, the king of kings and lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen nor can see, to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 1 Timothy 6 15 and 16. The instances of Moses on Mount Sinai, Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, Paul on the road to Damascus, illustrate the brilliance of God's glory. 1 John 1 5 says, God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. God is light. In Psalm 113, I believe it is verse 6, it speaks of God humbling himself to behold the things in the heavens and on the earth.

And I want you to think about that. When I first really started meditating upon that verse, we were in Alaska on a cruise at the booster club at the Christian school where I coached, sent us on, and I was seeing the magnificence of Alaska. And then I read that verse. God humbles himself to behold the things in the heaven, including Ui Sk'tai, that's 370,000 times brighter than the sun. He humbles himself to look upon those things.

The glory of God is far more magnificent than we can ever dream of knowing. The next thing we want to look at is God's glory is reflected in his name. When we hear a person's name, we subconsciously think of his or her reputation and what may be known of his or her character, whether it's good or bad. Two names that I throw out to illustrate this, Lincoln, what we know of him, what do we think of him, Adolf Hitler. When we think of a person's name, we reflect upon what we know about that individual. First Chronicles 29 verse 11 and verse 13 are part of David's prayer concerning the temple.

Let me read those for you. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, and the glory, the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in heaven and on earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head over all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name. Nehemiah chapter 9 verse 5, the Levites said to the people, stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. And I put that in bold print on the screen.

Think about that. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Beloved, we can give it our best shot and we're going to fall woefully short. It's amazing that God takes our praises and listens to them when you think about it. Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. And I think this is a key thing for us to consider. God's glory is connected to his holiness.

A couple of commentaries that I will quote. Jonathan Edwards wrote that holiness is more than a mere attribute of God. It is the sum of all his attributes, the outshining of all that God is. The outshining is another way of saying his glory.

Let me read that again. Holiness is more than a mere attribute of God. It is the sum of all his attributes, the outshining of all that God is.

A.W. Pink wrote that God is called the Holy One because the sum of all moral excellency is found in him. He is absolute purity, absolute purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin. Holiness is the very excellency of the divine nature.

And just two verses. God's glory is connected to his holiness. And these verses have some wonderful phrases. Exodus 15 11, Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you? Glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. And Psalm 29 2, Give unto the Lord the glory due to his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. What a wonderful, wonderful admonition. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. John Piper gives us a definition.

We'll look at two tonight. His is one for the glory of God. He says the glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God's revealed perfections. The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God's revealed perfections. And there are three ways that we want to look at those revealed perfections.

First of all, in the mystery, beauty and expanse of the universe. Listen to Isaiah 40 25 and 26. God says, Whom then will you liken me to?

Or to whom shall I be equal, says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number, who brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one is missing. Now, why did I emphasize he brings out their host by number? He calls them all by name. Astronomers tell us that the estimated number of stars is 100 sextillion stars, and that's only in the observable universe. One sextillion is a one is a one with 23 zeros after it means nothing to me. That's a lot of stars.

That's a lot of stars. And when you think that he calls them all by name, what a glorious God we serve. God's perfections are also revealed in the unique qualities of Earth. And if I were to list these, I do teach this to our teens and the Bible class at the school that I teach Bible, the unique qualities of Earth.

My, my, my, if we believe in evolution, we sure we're lucky. The right atmosphere, the right distance from the right size sun, the right distance from the right size moon, rotation on a task axis so we don't freeze or fry, the right size orbit for the same reason, and on and on and on it goes. Isaiah 45 18 says, for thus says the Lord who created the heavens, who was God who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is no other. God's perfections revealed in the unique qualities of Earth. And then finally, and probably most importantly end of this, God's perfections revealed in the person and work of Christ. And we are told in Hebrews 1 3 that Jesus is the brightness of God's glory and the express image of his person. Beloved, other than looking at creation and just reveling over the fact of the glory that must be behind everything we see in creation, the beauty of it, studying the life of Christ is the best way to get a glimpse of the glory of God. Very briefly, number four, when and where do Christians give God the glory due his name?

When and where? Well Proverbs 3 6 is familiar and it says, in all your ways acknowledge him. I like to think of that as telling us don't departmentalize your faith. And I give this illustration, I've given it from this pulpit, I've given it to the teens many times. As I said, I teach a senior Bible class and was the varsity coach at Alamance Christian School for many years. And I would make this statement to them, if I teach Bible to you any differently than I coach you out there, I'm a hypocrite. I'm a hypocrite. When and where do Christians give God the glory due to his name?

Everywhere. In all your ways acknowledge him. And beloved, let me say this to you, no matter what you are doing, you can do it for the glory of God and be excellent in the eyes of the world. I say this as reverently as I know how to say it, I didn't walk out to coach a soccer game with my Bible under my arm. You know, that all that matters is that we play the game and have a good testimony and that is first and foremost, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things that be added unto you. But I do not believe we glorify God unless we pursue excellence.

And that doesn't necessarily mean winning. It means your best effort all the time in all places in ways that they know you as a child of God are doing it through his enabling and for his glory. First Corinthians 10 31, familiar verses. The context is eating meat offered to idols. The Christians knew that, look, these are just idols.

They're dead figments of man's imagination. But Paul says, hey, if it's going to offend your brother, don't do it. Even though you can do that, don't for their sake. And the little snippet that we take from that, do all to the glory of God, whether you eat it or you don't eat it, make certain you're doing it for his glory. And then Charles Hodge gives this wonderful quote, do all to the glory of God may refer either to our motives why we're doing it, or our methods, what we're doing and how we're doing it. Do all to the glory of God may either refer to our motives or our methods. Let self be forgotten. Let your eye be fixed on God. Let the promotion of his glory be your object in all you do.

Strive in everything to act in such a way that people may praise the God you profess to serve. And I think that's important. Talk is cheap.

Talk is cheap. He is saying, when people look at you and your actions, may they praise the God that you truly profess to believe, that you truly believe. Our final question, and probably one of the most important, and certainly is not exhaustive, is this. How do Christians give God the glory due his name? And our texts glorify means to esteem glorious, to honor, to magnify. If God's holiness is the sum of all his attributes, like we said earlier, the outshining of all that God is, and the very excellency of the divine nature, then we best glorify him by seeking to be holy as he's commanded.

We think that through. To be holy is to be godly. To be godly is to glorify him. To be holy is to be godly, and to be godly is to glorify him. The commentator John Frame says giving honor or glory is to say that someone is deserving of respect, attention, obedience, and imitation.

Giving honor or glory is to say that someone is deserving of respect, attention, obedience, and imitation. True fear of the Lord demonstrates respect and attention, and it's going to result in obedience and imitation. One definition of the fear of the Lord is helpful for me. The fear of the Lord is a reverent attitude of awe and adoration by which the child of God guards and guides his thoughts, words, and deeds by the word of God for the glory of God.

Let me back up and emphasize something here. The fear of the Lord is a reverent attitude of awe. We have described a God who names stars beyond our ability to comprehend. Think of the greatest thoughts that you can think of of God, and you should be in awe of him, but in the church today that is sadly missing proportionately.

Why do I say it that way? There are people who truly are in awe of God. Others, he's the man upstairs, he's the master guard, he's the go-to guy in the sky, you know, and I say that grieving. Some professing Christians have way too shallow a view of awe when it comes to God. It also says adoration. How do you increase in your adoration of God? Look upon what Christ went through in Galilee and Gethsemane and Gabbatha, look at what he went through, and you should adore God for having his beloved Son.

Endure that for you and for me. In practicing the fear of the Lord for his glory, three areas need to be addressed constantly. You ask the question, are my thoughts in keeping with someone who professes to fear God? Psalm 19 14, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, my essential self, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, by strength and my Redeemer. When it comes to your words, do my words reflect a heart that has been changed by the grace of God? Luke 6 45 is a familiar verse to us, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. And then finally, do my actions reflect a heart that desires to give others a biblical understanding of God?

Think about that. Do my actions reflect a heart that desires to give others a biblical understanding of God? Colossians 3 17, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wayne Grudem, another commentator, gives this about the glory of God and how we do it. We glorify God when we reflect well upon his honor or excellent reputation, and this is important, that it's already a reality. In other words, we give others a good opinion of who God is. We give others a good opinion of who God is. We do not add to nor take away from the glory of God's perfect character. Take away from the glory of God's perfect character. Why do I say that?

Because to do either would be to influence who he is, and he himself says that he does not change. Let me say the first part about that again. We do not add to nor take away from the glory of God's perfect character. I want to give you an illustration, a personal one, of that. During college I worked in the summers at the same paper mill that my dad worked at all of his adult life. I was always conscious that how I acted and worked was a reflection on him in the eyes of those who knew that I was his son. One day my father came home from the paper mill and said, I heard some good things about you at the mill today.

Critical. My work did not change who my father was, but it did reflect positively upon his own good reputation that he had already established over the years. The same can be said of Christians when it comes to reflecting well or poorly upon who God is as our father, and here is a critical aspect of glorifying God that we must understand. Unless people know that you are a child of God, your good works might garner praise for you, but they will not garner praise for your heavenly father. Can I say that again? Unless people know that you are a child of God, your good works may garner praise for you, but they will never garner praise for your heavenly father.

An illustration that I could think of, there are two. If my soccer team won a game, I could say, well, praise the Lord. Yeah, the Lord has been good to give them ability, something to draw attention back to Him. Another illustration I would give you, I teach our teams to learn the Word of God in their head, to love the Word of God in their heart, to live the Word of God in their habits, and then to leave the Word of God in their history that they are writing. Well, we had that made into a t-shirt. One of our sons asked us to go on a cruise, a really tough decision for us, but to have us go on a cruise to help watch their kids. So we went, and I wore that t-shirt. And my wife will tell you, that's on a cruise, I'm wearing it out there.

Hundreds and hundreds of people. I had people say, hey, I like the t-shirt. I didn't have to say anything, but learn God's Word in your head, love it in your heart, live it in your habits, leave it in your history. That reflects back on God in a favorable way.

And that is a critical thing that we need to keep in mind. One of the things we need to do is make certain that we're humble. First Peter 4-11 drives this home, and it's an important aspect of glorifying God. He says, if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Amen. Beloved, when someone sees you work, do all that you can to voice gratitude for God the giver of every good and perfect gift, because he enables us to do anything that we do or accomplish. Be humble, be holy. Philippians 2 14-16, do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that have not run in vain or labored in vain. Folks, when you look at the culture in which we live today, that verse right there ought to be implanted in our hearts and minds. How are we going to react when people persecute us?

I didn't say if. I said when people start persecuting us, because we're Bible thumpers, because we're right-wing radicals, we're fundamentalists, if you will, of some faith. How are we going to react? God tells us to be blameless, without fault, make certain you shine as lights in the world and hold fast to the word of life. And then the last thing under this, be honorable, be humble, be holy, be honorable. 1 Peter 2 11-12, beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they observe glorify God in the day of visitation. John MacArthur states that that day of visitation speaks of redemption. He says when the saving grace of God visits the heart of an unbeliever, he will respond with saving faith and glorify God because he remembers the testimony of believers he had observed.

That may be the case with the majority of people. Here's the punchline. Has anyone ever commented about the influence that your life has had upon them spiritually? Has anyone ever commented about the influence that your life has had upon them spiritually? Beloved, our ability to glorify God parallels our knowledge of him, our love for him, and our dedication to him. I want to close with a poem, and after the poem we're going to make four applications and close in prayer. Our Supreme and Glorious God. This poem is based on Exodus 24 10, Ezekiel 1, 26 through 28, and Revelation 4. And in it, it openly admits that there's no way that we can possibly word what the glory of God is like. Great God, unsearchable, thy ways supreme beyond compare. In reverent adoration, Lord, our feeble praise we share. Thy glory is that excellence unique to thee alone, spectacular in majesty, vast universe thy throne. For hungry souls, thy written word grants a faint glimpse of thee. Though dim, the image awes the mind and bows both heart and knee. Thy grander, matchless king of kings and mighty Lord of lords lead saints to meditate on thee and silently adore. Such blinding light, like dazzling flames engulfs thy sapphire throne that rests upon a sea of glass the clearest crystal stone. The splendor of thy glory draws the heart to holy thoughts, its brilliance shames the rainbows boast and pales heaven's host to naught. Thy whisper, mutes the thunder crash of lightning around thy throne, Jehovah, high and lofty one who calls all things thine own. Pure worship of the heavenly throng envelops me in praise or overwhelming me with joy that sets my grateful heart ablaze. None but thyself can fully know the glory that is thine, all saints, all tribute saints may offer thee fall short by thy design. Yet fearing thee and loving thee and walking in thy ways, I'll seek to glorify thy name beyond my earthbound days. Jesus said that loving God with all your heart soul mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself fulfills all of the law. As we close, surely there can be no better way to be a light in the dark, there can be no better way to be a light in the darkness that reflects the light of God's matchless glory than to love him and to love our neighbor as ourself.

Four application questions. Are you growing in your awe and adoration of God? Are you growing in your awe and adoration of God? Are you grateful for the grace that has made you a child of light? Are you guarding and guiding your words and deeds with an eye toward garnering his well-done good and faithful servant? I mean that that's a decision folks daily throughout the day. Are you guarding and guiding your thoughts?

If we get it done there, here and here are going to take care of themselves. Are you guarding and guiding your thoughts words and deeds with an eye toward garnering his well-done good and faithful servant? And then finally, are you giving others a biblical view of the God whom you profess to serve in noticeable ways? Please bow for the benediction if you would. Philippians 1 9-11. And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment that you may approve the things that are excellent that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Amen.