Go and make disciples of all nations. That’s what we want to do, that’s our mission that we’ve been diving into the last few weeks. We know it’s a call we’re all called to, regardless of our spiritual gifts and talents. We also know that we’re not supposed to do it alone, we’re supposed to do it as a committed member of the local body of Christ: the church.
We have a responsibility to challenge one another, love one another, and to serve one another. When we each do our part, it makes a vibrant church capable of standing against the gates of hell.
But, we don’t do this just to build up the body. We aren’t just supposed to be a healthy church and leave it at that.
This is one of the things Jesus said about why He came: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10). Our call is much the same, we build one another up and grow in love, but we don’t do this for ourselves, we do it for the sake of the lost! I like this point that Francis Chan makes, “A church that fails to look at the world around it is no church at all.”
I want us to look closely at Matthew 5:14-16 this morning. These words are Jesus’ words, and it’s what He told to His disciples, not just the twelve that followed Him during His earthly ministry, but anyone who would be His disciple.
“You are the light of the world. 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. 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.”
As a church, our focus cannot be inward all the time. Sometimes, yes, we must look inward to fix things that aren’t right, but if the focus stays inward for too long, we run the risk of dying. We have the light of the world living in us, amongst us: Christ Jesus, and so, He says that since that is true, we are the light of the world.
We live in a very dark world, there is no question about it. Anxiety, depression, anger, rage, lust, hatred, pride; all of these just permeate our world in increasing measure each and every day. But, we have the light that can do away with all of these things! We are supposed to shine that light, in the same way that a city on a hill can’t be hidden, neither can a light be hidden in the darkness. Jesus told us to let our light shine so our good works can be seen by all men so they will glorify God!
We live in a dark world, but we can choose to either be a lighthouse or a bomb shelter. We can choose to shine the light of hope through a relationship with Christ, or we can hunker down and think only about ourselves and feel protected in our little bubbles. The choice is ours, but if we choose to be a bomb shelter instead of a lighthouse, we’re going to die.
I think the right choice is fairly obvious: we must choose to be a lighthouse. What does that look like? How can we each do our parts to be a lighthouse?
First, be known by your love. Are you known by your love? If you asked people that you interact with at work, would they say you are a loving person? If you asked the people you interact with online, would they say you are a loving person? If you asked your family who see you at your most vulnerable, would they say you are a loving person? Are you known by your love?
John 13:34-35 says this, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
If we want to shine our light, and let others see the light of Christ in a way that leads them toward Him, we must love one another. Every thing that we do, every activity we do, should be a manifestation of love: preaching, teaching, encouraging, rebuking, serving, studying, suffering, praying, every thing we do should flow from a heart of love for one another because we understand that each and every person is made in the image of God, and each and every person is loved deeply enough by Him that He sacrificed His only Son for them!
Imagine you’re one of the disciples, and you’ve just spent the last three years following Jesus around Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. You’ve seen Him multiply fish and bread to feed a crowd of thousands. You’ve seen Him turn water to wine. You’ve seen Him walk on the waves of the water. You’ve seen Him calm an angry storm with just a few words. You’ve seen Him cleanse diseases. You’ve seen Him heal a broken body. You’ve seen Him raise someone from the dead. You’ve seen Him drive out demons! That would change you, right?
Galatians 5:22-23 gives a good idea of what love looks like in action. It’s the fruit of the Spirit, but since we know God is love, it makes sense that what the Spirit creates in us is love in action: it is joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and practices self-control.
What this means and what Jesus was saying to His disciples was that if they really were going to follow Him, really be His disciples, then what they had seen Him do and what they had done with Him needed to change them in a way that was visible to every person they met. If it didn’t, then He called to question the level of their dedication.
We must be known by our love.
Second, live in community. If we want to be a lighthouse to shine the light of Christ into the darkness, we must live in community.
John 17:20-23 says, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
One of Jesus’s greatest desires for those who would follow Him, He says, is that we would be one, in the same way that He and the Father are one, that we would be in Him and we would be one with one another.
I want you to consider what this means for us. Jesus desires for us, the church, those who follow Him, to be one as He and the Father are one. They were inseparable. They were of one mind. They had everything in common.
This is the kind of community and unity the early church showed as well. I often come back to Acts 2 to talk about the model for how we should be living as the body of Christ. Acts 2:44-47 gives us this picture of the early church, “And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
This is the community, the unity, Christ desires for His church. Why? The goal of living in this type of unity is so that the world may know that God sent Christ and loved them. I want you to write that in your bulletins this morning. He wants us to live in community and unity in the church so those that are not yet a part of the body of Christ can see that God did indeed Christ to save them from their sins because He loves them!
Live in community.
Third, be a priest. If we want to be a lighthouse and not a bomb shelter, showing Christ to others instead of holing up, we need to be priests.
1 Peter 2:9 says to us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
Biblically, priests had a few responsibilities: they proclaimed God to the people, they sacrificed for the sins of the people, and they ministered to the spiritual needs of the people.
We are called to do the same as priests, each and every one of us. We are called to proclaim God, to tell people about who He is and what He has done. We are called to tell others about the great love He has for us, a love so great that it sent His Son to the cross to die for their sins. We are called to speak about His blessings on our lives and about the joy we have in Him.
Proclaim the Lord!!
We are called to sacrifice ourselves to Him. We are called to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, completely devoted and given up for Him and for His sake to be used by Him in any way that He can.
We are called to minister to the spiritual needs of others. We are called to point others to their need for a Savior, and then we’re meant to point them to that Savior. We’re called to pray with people. We’re called to love them with the love of Christ. We’re called to encourage them. We’re called to call sin out. We’re called to extend God’s grace and mercy toward those who fall short of the glory of God.
For some reason, which escapes me sometimes when I look at the failure of humans in general, but for some reason, God has chosen to make the church, the body of Christ, His mouthpiece, His hands, and His feet. He has chosen to work through us to bring people to Christ. I want to tell you something really cool: Our church is essential to God’s ongoing plan of redemption, so you, as a part of our church, your role in the church is a part of that plan!
Be a priest!
Be known by your love, live in community, and be a priest. In this way, we can shine our light for all to see so they will see Christ living in us.
So that leaves us with our three questions:
1. What steps can you take to be an example of love in our church? Whether you are a “leader” in the church or not, how can you lead others in being more loving?
2. What would it mean for your church to live as a compelling community—a group of people who demonstrate love, unity, and hope in such a way that the unbelieving world is compelled to find out what is going on?
3. Read 1 Peter 2:4-12. How should Peter’s description of our calling as the church affect the way we think about and interact with our surrounding community?